Grants for congress planning

Congress planning grants are available to Norwegian professional communities seeking to host an international rotating congress in Norway. The grant covers costs related to the bidding process and planning for these congresses.
En gruppe mennesker snakker sammen i et svært møterom
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Type of service
Grants
Target audience
Professional communities represented by an organisation
Application deadline
Ongoing
How much
Up to NOK 200,000
Application type
Call for applications: Congress planning

A professional congress is a structured event where professionals in a specific field meet to exchange knowledge, present research, discuss current issues and promote professional development. A professional congress has a clear academic or professional focus.

The congress typically includes research presentations, professional discussions, presentations, workshops, panel discussions and networking activities. Its aim is to build competence, inspire new thinking and enhance quality in both research and practice.

International congresses are professional gatherings for international organisations and/or associations whose members span national borders. We support congresses with at least 250 delegates that rotate between different geographical regions around the world.

Professional communities represented by an organisation (associations, interest groups, academia or research communities) that plan to bid to host an established international congress.

We do not support

  • Business conferences and seminars
  • Congresses with fewer than 250 delegates
  • National congresses
  • Rotating Nordic congresses
  • Permanent international congresses in Norway
  • Commercial congress organisers
  • Establishing new congresses in Norway
  • Conferences/professional gatherings without academic content

The grant of up to NOK 200,000 will cover 100% of the external costs associated with the bidding process to host the congress (phase 1) and planning the congress once the bid has been successful (phase 2).

  • Phase 1: Preparing the bid and managing the related process. We pay grants of up to NOK 100,000 in arrears.
  • Phase 2: Planning the professional congress (once the congress has been awarded). Grants of up to NOK 100,000 are paid in arrears.

If the congress is not held in Norway, you will not receive the part of the grant that covers planning (phase 2). You cannot apply for phase 2 alone.

The grant must be used to cover external costs.

Costs not covered

  • The applicant's personnel costs
  • Subsistence allowance or reimbursement of food and drink expenses for the applicant's own employees
  • Hospitality expenses (restaurants, alcohol, gifts for delegates or business partners)

Costs related to running the congress itself are not covered.

You must submit your grant application before starting the activities, and it must include the following:

1. About your company

Under Who are you:

  • Briefly describe your organisation and your role in the field. Why are you well placed to attract a congress to Norway?

2. Project description and funding

Under Project description:

  • Describe the international congress you would like to bring to Norway. When and where will the congress take place? What would winning the bid to host this congress mean for you?
    • Briefly describe the activities you will carry out when bidding to host the congress in Norway (the bid process). Specify the timeframe for this activity, from start to finish.
    • Briefly describe the activities you will carry out to plan the congress if you win the bid to host it in Norway. Specify the activity's start and end dates.
  • Describe the specific costs that need to be covered and provide an estimated amount. Divide the total costs between phases 1 and 2 of the congress planning process. Please note that the grant does not cover your staff costs or hospitality expenses.

Under Your own resources:

  • Describe the resources available to you (your own employees, external expertise, business partners, etc.). Show us how highly you prioritise this conference by outlining the resources you and any business partners will commit to the work.

3. Additional information

Here, you should upload relevant information about the congress and any other details you think we should know.

The project period (eligible costs) starts on the date you submit your application.

Application processing

We provide grants for congress planning under the rules for de minimis aid.

A company (including both you as the applicant and any group you belong to) may receive a maximum of EUR 300,000 in de minimis aid over a three-year period. This means that you must submit a declaration of de minimis aid as part of our application process. Your CEO will receive a task to complete this declaration. We cannot make a decision on your application until we have received the declaration. You must complete the task as soon as possible and within three weeks.

If we approve your application, we will send the grant offer to the CEO or a person authorised to sign on behalf of the company, as registered in the Brønnøysund Register Centre.

We pay the grant in arrears after you complete each phase. Upload documentation for approved costs as part of your payment request. Request payment via My Page/Online Banking. Only a person with a registered role in the Brønnøysund Register Centre can submit the request.

Read more about disbursement and reporting

Please note: If, after phase 1, you have not secured the congress for Norway, let us know in the disbursement request and state that the remainder of the grant (for phase 2) can be cancelled.

Key conditions for funding

To receive services from us, your company must uphold the principles of responsible business conduct and actively consider its own sustainability risks. Read more about sustainability and responsible business conduct.

State aid rules

Funding from Innovation Norway must comply with State aid rules. There are five general conditions for State aid that must be met.

The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) is part of the State aid rules. It contains provisions that allow us to provide support to companies in various circumstances. One or more provisions may apply to each case. Read more about GBER.

Legal basis for the scheme

Our funding schemes have been notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority, ESA. The legal basis for these notifications is available on the National Legal Basis page.

Other public funding

You must state in the application whether you have applied or intend to apply for other public funding for the project. We also determine the level of our funding based on an overall assessment of how much public funding is needed for the project to proceed.

When determining the grant amount, we therefore assume that you will not receive any other public funding, including SkatteFUNN, beyond what is stated in the application. This applies to funding for the project costs used to calculate our grant (eligible costs). If you nevertheless receive other public funding, including SkatteFUNN, after we have made our offer, and it covers the same costs, we may reduce or withdraw our grant accordingly.

This does not prevent the company from receiving other public funding for project costs other than those on which we have based our assessment.

Log in
You can start your application for a congress planning grant on My Page.
Frequently asked questions and answers
General information about the application process, how we assess applications, project details and the types of ideas we do not support.

Kontaktpersoner

Bjørn Krag IngulSeniorrådgiver
+4792689772