Target group:
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Objectives:
Applicants can apply for a grant to enhance their cybersecurity.
Deadline:
The application deadline is once to twice a year.
The next application deadline will be October 1, 2024.
IS
Eligible projects tasks must fall under the following categories related to cybersecurity:
strengthening cybersecurity culture and awareness,
efficient education, research and development,
secure digital services and innovation,
stronger law enforcement, defense and national security,
effective response to incidents, and
strong infrastructure, technology and legal framework.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) according to the EU definition:
Applications to the fund are submitted using Rannís' electronic application system.
Rannís‘ expert panel evaluates applications and gives grades according to a rating scale. The NCC-IS Board is then given the ranking of the applications and prepares an advisory list. The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation makes the final decision on allocation based on the list from the NCC-IS Board.
The following items are used as a basis for evaluating applications:
All applicants will be notified whether or not they have received a grant. It is assumed that the notification of allocation is published on Rannís internal website no more than two months after the application deadline ends.
If a grant is awarded, a written agreement is made between Rannís and the beneficiary within one month of the grant being awarded. The grant is paid in two installments and is deposited into the bank account of the beneficiary concerned: 80% of the grant is paid immediately upon signing the allocation terms, and the remaining 20% after the electronic report on the implementation of the project and the allocation of the grant has been received by the administration. However, it is possble for the grant to be paid out in one go if the total grant amount is less than one million ISK.
In order for an application to be considered eligible for funding, the project's connection to the cybersecurity fund's goals must be clear. The project and its time schedule must be well defined.
No later than 12 months after the end of the project's timeframe, the beneficiary must submit a final report to Rannís. This deadline is based on the project schedule in the application. A report is a summary of the project with an introduction, body and presentation of the main results/outcome.
Rannís considers it desirable for the beneficiary to present the project for which he/she has received funding e.g. via a newspaper article, on his/her website, a magazine article, a presentation or a poster.
The NCC-IS Board of Directors is made up of six individuals for a two-year term. In 2024, the Board is made up of the following individuals;
The expert panel consists of three individuals with expert knowledge in cybersecurity.
The Icelandic Centre for Research (Rannís) manages the fund in collaboration with NCC-IS and oversees the review and assessment of applications.
