FAQ

The research project proposal must be submitted by a legal entity or a consortium of legal entities (SMEs, larger entities, Research Organisations, Universities). In order to be considered eligible, your legal entity must be registered in Norway. If not, the legal entity must be registered in an ESA Member State and have one or more Norwegian partner(s) or subcontractor(s). The budget share for the Norwegian partners shall be at least 70%.

To answer this question, we offer and strongly recommend the Idea Outline support. Please fill in the “Idea Outline” form to arrange a first meeting with the Arctic Phi-Lab.

We strongly recommend submitting an “Idea Outline” and ask for a meeting with Arctic Phi-Lab 4-6 weeks before the cut-off date of the Open Call. It is not mandatory to submit an “Idea Outline”, but this will give the Arctic Phi-Lab an opportunity to help you scope the project so the chances of success will increase.

ESA Phi-Lab Norway aims to select on average about 4-6 projects per Open Call, and we will have two Open Calls per year. Exact cut-off dates for the upcoming Open Calls can be found on www.arcticphilab.no.

ESA Phi-Labs intend to bridge the gap between research and commercialization of innovative products or services. The applicants can be research institutes, startups and well-established companies.

The ESA BIC supports start-up companies and focuses on company development in
an early stage.

The full application documentation can be found here. Please carefully read through all the documents and check compliance with the ESA Phi-Lab Norway application criteria.

ESA Phi-Lab Norway Research Proposal Application consists of:

• Cover Letter including Requirement Checklists (in the template)
• Executive Summary
• R&D and Potential Impact Proposal
• Activity and Management Proposal
• Draft Research Contract including Draft Service Agreement

The applicant shall use the templates provided.

The evaluation procedure is carried out in two stages:

First stage: The Tender Opening Board (TOB) takes place after the submission deadline is closed and it assesses if all formal requirements have been met. If the TOB ask for any details or changes, you have 48 hours to respond to still be in the evaluation process.

Second stage: The Tender Evaluation Board (TEB) meeting takes place after the
TOB to evaluate the submitted documents and the applicants’ performance at a short pitch (digital) and Q&A session (up to 30 minutes). The TEB evaluates each of the applicants against the evaluation criteria and decides whether or not the company will be invited to sign a contract. The TEB meeting usually takes place about a month after the submission deadline. The applicants will be notified in writing shortly after.

Detailed information about the evaluation process and a description of the criteria

After approval, the applicant will be invited to a “Contract Signature Meeting”. It will take a few weeks to sign the contract (after providing the minimum required information, e.g. tax and social security compliance certificates).

The project period is up to 24 months.

The Arctic Phi-Lab can provide a combination of seed funding, expertise support, data, infrastructure and facilities. The total value of support from the Arctic Phi-Lab range between 200.000€ (minimum) up to 500.000€.

No, it’s not de minimis relevant.

All costs must be necessary for the execution of the project.

The project may consider:

• Staff costs
• Subcontracting costs
• Access to data sources or intellectual property
• Materials, equipment, and facilities
• Travelling, subsistence, and accommodation costs

All costs must be without VAT and in Euro. For more detailed information read the
Open Call Invitation.

Yes, that is a possibility for some of the other member states, but not all. We advise you to check specific tender conditions of the other Phi-Labs (Austria, Switzerland, UK, Poland, Finland, Netherlands, Spain will soon be operational).