How to start a research project

• It's ok to start small: If you have an idea for a larger project, try to start working on it with the research time and funds (annuum) that you already have.
• Schedule a start-up meeting: Contact the Director of Research in order to find out how the administrative staff can assist you in developing a project.
• Communication: Start thinking about how you would like to disseminate the findings and results from your project. Our communication staff can give you advice on how you can use various channels to make the findings and conclusions of your research known.
• Data management: make plans for how you want to organise the data in your project; how you will collaborate on data with project partners; and how the data will be stored and/or made available as open data at the end of the project. See our web page on data management plans, and feel free to contact the library for guidance and help with data management!
• Familiarize yourself with rules and routines: On the webpage Information for Researchers, you will find guidelines and routines dealing with research activity at MF, from research funding and research leave to data storage and preservation and questions about privacy. If you have a question, contact the Director of Research.

Start the process with a « one-pager » .

As you plan a project, it can be useful to describe the project briefly and concisely, on one A4 page if possible. This can help you to narrow down the project idea early on. A «one-pager» can be useful when communicating with potential partners for the project.

Suggested outline:

• Title
• Goal (The main research question, or which challenges the project will help to solve.)
• Background (Why is this important?)
• For EU projects: Is this a European problem? Or can it be solved at the national level?
• Do solutions already exist? If so, why are they not sufficient?
• Why research this now? (What might happen if the topic is not investigated now?)
• Why are the people on the project the best qualified to accomplish this task?
• Impact/result (Who will be able to utilize the results, and for what?)
• Who will do the research work? (project group, network, consortium)
• A short text about expected activities, expenses and duration

More pointers for working on a project proposal

• Project Canvas is a method developed by the Research Council for working on a research idea. The method can help you map the strengths and weaknesses of the project, see new possibilities and narrow the project idea. This tool can assist in both internal discussions and in involving others who are going to participate in the project.
• Oslo University Hospital has a helpful FAQ page that touches on many questions about writing applications.

Expectations surrounding open research make it important to think through routines for data storage, both during the project and when it comes to the reuse of data after the project is concluded.

You will find more information at the library's website on Research Data, and in MF's Standard Procedures for the Storage of Research Data.

All research projects and student projects that deal with personal data are to be reported to the Sikt Data Protection Services (formerly Norwegian Centre for Research Data, NSD).

For more on this topic, please go to Personal Data Management Guidelines for Research and Academic Work at MF.

Applications for external research funding usually involve a risk assessment for the planned project. In projects with collaboration partners, a due diligence assessment must also be made with regard to the welfare and safety of participants and employees in the project.

For details, see MF's website on Sustainability and the Act on business transparency and work with basic human rights and decent working conditions (the Transparency Act) (in Norwegian only).

Examples of and recommendations on how to integrate gender considerations into research and research projects:

Good communication ensures that results from your research are widely known and have an impact. The communication department can help you make a plan for communication, choose appropriate channels of communication, to setting up a website for the project. Read more about how the communication department can assist you.

During the application phase, the finance department will assist the project leader with assuring the quality of the project budget. Together you must ensure that the project finances and academic relevance are approved by the project owner (MF) before the application is sent.

It is a good idea to arrange a start-up meeting with the finance and research departments. There you can plan the management of the project finances, reporting and other routines. The e-mail address to the finance department is okonomi@mf.no.

For larger externally funded projects the administration organises status meetings every six months throughout the project period.

In the implementation phase, the project leader will receive assistance with managing the project finances and reporting. You will also meet a helping hand at the library, the IT-department and the communication department.

The finance department takes care of the formal establishment of a project and passes the project number along to the project leader. Stay in touch with the finance department for the duration of the project.
Have questions? Don't hesitate to contact the finance department (okonomi@mf.no) or research department (forskning@mf.no).

Finances and reporting for projects with external funding

Nearly all projects that receive a grant must provide progress reports to the funding agency (The Research Council, EU etc.) as the project progresses. A final report must also be written. Therefore, stay in touch with the finance department during the project, especially regarding any change to the budgets.

• Projects funded by The Research Council (RCN) are to report via My RCN Web. Those responsible for reporting will receive information about this by e-mail in plenty of time before the deadlines.
• Projects administered through DIKU (Erasmus + etc.) will receive reminders from DIKU about sending in progress reports and a final report.
• For EU-projects, the finance department must approve the financial midway report (Form C).

MF's library can assist with systematic searching and knowledge mapping, reference management, advising in connection with publication channels. The library also offers relevant software for reference management, bibliometric analyses and surveys.

Need help with technical tasks, such as data storage? Contact the IT-department. See also the webpage Standard Procedures for the Storage of Research Data.

Near the end of a project, a meeting is arranged where the project leader and the administration go through, among other things:

• the status of the academic and financial final reports,
• the requirements for communicating research news from the project, and
• a brief evaluation of the project; have new research questions arisen that you wish to work on further?

If you have any questions, contact the research department (research@mf.no).

In the Standard Procedures for the Storage of Research Data you will find information about the preservation, anonymization or deletion of data from completed research projects. If you have any questions, please contact the IT department (it@mf.no).

To facilitate further research, research data may be made available to other relevant users. Deposit your research data in the MF Open Research Data repository, ensuring the long-term preservation of archived data.

Description of MF as an Institution

You should base your text on the one published at the website About MF. It is best if the text is tailored to the specific role that MF will have in the project.

Letter of Intent

Several funding institutions require the inclusion of a Letter of Intent (LoI) in the application. Writing a LoI might be required both when you participate in a project outside of MF and when you lead projects with partners at other institutions. Check the text of the call for proposals to find out if specific requirements for the LoI have been laid out. To prepare a Letter of Intent, contact the director of research.

PIC Number for EU-applications

In order to participate in a Horizon Europe-application or an application for funds from ERC, these must be registered with MF's PIC-number. The code you are to use is 902765033 (as of October 2021).
Other Standard Information for Use in Applications

• Type of participant: R&D (Research and Development)
• Legal name: MF vitenskapelig høyskole for teologi, religion og samfunn
• Correct acronym: MF
• Legal address: Gydas vei 4, postboks 5144 Majorstuen, 0302 Oslo