Applications and evaluation
For more information on the Icelandic Research Fund, its rules, processing of application, and so forth, please consult the IRF Handbook .
Video tutorials
Short video introductions to the application system are available here .
Timing
The call for grant applications to the IRF is announced at least 6 weeks before the deadline. Provisional dates for the application process are found in the below table.
| June 15th | Application deadline |
| August-december | Evaluation of Expert panels |
| January (after the deadline) | Allocation |
Types of Grants
There are four grant types: project grants, grants of excellence, postdoctoral fellowship grants and doctoral student grants (see table below), and these grants are awarded for up to 36 months.
Projects that are the subject of grants of different types may overlap, provided that there is a match between the scope of the project and the project budget.
Thus, it is possible to submit separate applications for a grant of excellence and a project grant for projects with similar or overlapping aims, provided that there is a match between the scope of the project and the project budget in both applications. The IRF reserves the right to fund only one project with overlapping aims.
A fairly even cost distribution is expected from one grant year to the next. For more information on grant cateries and rules and regulations, see the IRF's Handbook.
| Type of grant | Maximum length (in months) | Maximum amount (ISK) |
| Grant of excellence | 36 | 124,800,000 |
| Project grant | 36 | 52,800,000 |
| Postdoctoral fellowship grant | 36 | 29,700,000 |
| Doctoral student grant | 36 | 20,352,000 |
Evaluation of applications and allocation
When
an application has been successfully submitted to the Icelandic Centre
for Research through the electronic submission system, it is processed
as follows:
INITIAL SCREENING
All applications are screened by the expert staff member from the Icelandic Centre for Research. Incomplete applications and applications where IRF rules have not been followed are rejected without further review, and the applicant is notified of that outcome.
EXPERT ASSESSMENT OF APPLICATIONS
All applications are assessed by the relevant Expert Panel, which seeks the opinions of two or more anonymous external reviewers for applications for project grants, grants of excellence and postdoctoral fellowships. Doctoral student applications are assessed within the Expert Panel. The Expert Panel processes each application with a reasoned, written report and ranks applications based on the expert assessment.
FUNDING DECISION
When the Expert Panel has finalized its review and ranking of applications, the chair of each panel meets with the IRF Board and gives an overview of the Expert Panel's deliberations and whether problems arose in the assessment of applications. The Expert Panel chair covers in detail all applications that received an ‘A' rating. Decisions on funding are taken by the IRF Board following presentations from Expert Panels. If necessary, the Board can solicit advice beyond that which the Expert Panels of the funds can provide. In addition to the Expert Panel review, the IRF Board must take into consideration the general policy of the Science and Technology Policy Council, the funding policy approved by the Science Committee of the Science and Technology Policy Council, and the annual budget of the fund. When allocation has been decided, applicants are sent a reply containing the final assessment of the Expert Panel.
The Board's decisions on funding from the IRF are final. Under Art. 4 of Act No. 3/2003, the funding decisions of the IRF Board are not subject to administrative complaints.
GRANTS AWARDED
Information on grants awarded is available here .
