Svalbard Strategic Grant (SSG)

The Svalbard Strategic Grant is a seed money program aimed at advancing coordination, collaboration and data sharing between researchers with a relevance to Svalbard.
The program encourages different kinds of efforts, including workshops, projects and other activities that advance coordination, collaboration and data sharing between researchers and research communities in Svalbard. Such activities could also include pilot studies and the planning of larger applications and/or projects.
A total of up to NOK 4 million is made available for workshops and other collaborative activities every year. Workshops may receive a maximum of NOK 400 000 to cover direct workshop costs and up to NOK 60 000 for organizational and work-related reporting costs. Other collaborative activities, including projects, may receive a maximum of NOK 500 000.

Relevance to Svalbard
The activity must be an international collaboration with a minimum of three partners. At least one party must be a Norwegian research institution. The activity must involve researchers from at least two of the four permanent research communities (Longyearbyen, Ny-Ålesund, Hornsund, Barentsburg) in Svalbard. The funded activities should take place in Svalbard or have an immediate relevance to research in Svalbard.

Priority in this call will be given to projects that:
- Continue to develop the existing four Ny-Ålesund flagship programs.
- Develop existing and establish new SSF cooperation initiatives for scientific cooperation in Svalbard.
- Follow up the recommendations outlined in reports from previous SSF Workshops (organized by SSF or by researchers with SSF strategic funding support).
- Increase mobility between the research bases.
- Develop observation systems/platforms for SIOS.