Call for Applications: Young CAS Grant

Application deadline has expired, next call will be announced February 2025.

The Young CAS Grant (YCG) is a collaborative initiative between CAS, the Young Academy of Norway (AYF) and The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (DNVA). The programme offers residential fellowships designed to empower and support young researchers in their pursuit of career development and network expansion. The Young CAS PI’s collaborate with their handpicked international team of researchers whereby they also gain valuable experience as research leaders. 

CAS will select two Young CAS projects for the period of August 2025 to June 2027. The applicant will serve as the PI of the project.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Young CAS Grant, applicants must:

• Have completed a PhD and be below the age of 40 at the application deadline. Extensions will be granted for statutory leaves of absence, compulsory military or civilian service, and continuous full-time and/or part-time sick leave equal to at least eight weeks full-time absence. There are no age limits for other project participants.
• Maintain a full-time academic position at one of our partner institutions throughout the entire period. The position does not have to be permanent, and you may change affiliation between partner institutions. Our agreements with our partner institutions ensures that the applicant will be granted paid leave by the home institution during the stay at CAS. But please note that your application needs to be supported by your head of department. 
• While project leadership experience is preferred, it is not mandatory.

Are you currently employed in a temporary position?

Applicants in temporary positions are also eligible to apply for the Young CAS Grant. However, your employment period must cover at least your first year in the programme. If your employment circumstances for the second year of the program are uncertain, you can still apply. However, to receive funding for the second year, you need to be reemployed at one of our partner institutions. In this scenario, you are required to submit a second letter of support from your new institution’s head of section no later than two months before the start of the second year. 

Project Focus

Young CAS Grant projects should be blue-sky and curiosity-driven, challenge given truths and demonstrate the potential to advance the research frontier of the relevant field(s). Researchers from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. However, please note that laboratory-based research cannot be conducted at CAS. Projects involving laboratory work, fieldwork, or data collection are welcomed if they aim to develop the theoretical aspects of the research.

Successful applications should clearly outline how the Young CAS Grant, through its gatherings, research stay and networking opportunities, will contribute to realising the project’s objectives and further the applicant’s career.

What does CAS offer?

• Assistance in planning and organising the three workshops in year one.
• Five well-equipped office spaces for the research stay at CAS during the second year.
• Well-equipped seminar rooms with video conferencing equipment. CAS is wheelchair accessible, with ramps and elevators.
• IT and library services during the research stay.
• Pleasant accommodations within walking distance of the Centre for researchers not based in the Oslo area.

Two-year programme 

Each Young CAS PI will receive a grant of up to NOK 750 000 over two years, distributed as follows:

First year: Organise three intensive workshops with a budget of up to NOK 250 000

Second year: Convene a core group at CAS for a two-month research stay, with a budget of up to NOK 500 000.

CAS will provide administrative support to the PI throughout the two years.  

For a comprehensive breakdown of budget inclusions, please refer to the “What can the funding cover?” section below.

Detailed two-year programme

The programme is structured as follows:

Year 1 (August 2025 - June 2026)

• The first workshop, lasting three to five days, will take place in the autumn semester of 2025 at CAS’ premises.
• The second workshop, lasting three to five days, is ideally held at the PI’s home institution sometime in between workshop #1 and #3.
• The third and final workshop in spring 2026 will involve a three to five-day return to CAS, with the possibility of hosting a dinner at The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (DNVA). 

Year 2 (August 2026 – June 2027)

In year 2 the PI gathers a core group at CAS for a two-month period, enabling in-depth research activity. 

The core group, which includes four to five participants (including the PI), should preferably be international and composed of scholars who participated in the first year’s gatherings. 

Each participant should stay for a minimum of four weeks, which may be split into two stays. The PI must be present to lead the group during the entire two-month period.

When planning your workshops and research stay please note that CAS is closed between 1 July and 14 August. Moreover, during the Easter week and the week between Christmas and New Year's Day there is no administrative support present at the Centre. 

What can the funding cover?

The grant covers the following:

• Travel expenses for PIs and project participants who live outside the Oslo area.

• Accommodation expenses pertaining to the workshops and the two-month research stay at CAS. For participants from outside the Oslo area staying at CAS for more than 30 consecutive days, the current monthly rate to be used in the budget is NOK 22 000.
  
  For stays shorter than 30 days the daily accommodation costs in apartments will increase. The current cost is NOK 1900/night.

• Food expenses:
  -  Daily lunches for the project participants during workshops and the research stay.
  -  Occasional dinner outings, adhering to CAS’ fixed rates for restaurant outings. 
  -  Participants staying in a hotel for shorter periods can have their dinner expenses covered, but the amount must be agreed upon in advance. Moreover, only food meals purchased in restaurants can be reimbursed, as we cannot refund grocery shopping.

• Teaching replacement costs. The budget can be used to cover documentable teaching replacements costs necessitated by participants’ stays at CAS in the second year. The draft must include estimated costs, the name of the researcher, and the period for the buyout. Please note that CAS does not accept overhead costs. The PIs do not need buyouts, their home institutions grant them paid leave and cover any additional costs.     

  Please note that accommodation expenses for PIs based outside of the Oslo area will be covered by additional means and should therefore not be included in the project budget. 

  In the case you or your project participants need to bring family please contact us for further information.

Venues and office spaces

CAS and the PI’s home institution provide venues for the workshops. CAS also provides office spaces and seminar rooms for the research stay in year 2. Thus, these costs should not be included in your budget draft.

The application must include:

• A description (3-4 pages) of the research project, including clear hypotheses/research questions and objectives. The project will be evaluated by a panel of generalists. This implies that the objectives and potential impact of your project should be clearly and succinctly explained, so that individuals outside your specific field of expertise can assess and understand the value of your research.

  The focus of the application should be on what will be accomplished during and because of the grant. If you or members of your research group already serve as PIs of other projects with external funding, explain how these can complement the Young CAS project, how the different projects will be coordinated, and how CAS funding will provide added value.

• A plan (1 page) for implementing the activities during the project period. The plan should show how you will organize and lead the project to achieve its objectives, and how the workshops and research stay will contribute to their realization. The plan should also explain how the stay will benefit your professional development and research. Neither the workshops nor the research stay should be used to write applications. However, it will be considered an advantage if the project can be developed with the aim of applying for funding from other research funding bodies such as the Research Council of Norway and the European Research Council (ERC). 
   
• A list of 3-5 researchers who will belong to the ‘core group’. The list should include the participants’ academic titles, their area(s) of expertise and their institutional affiliations, as well as a brief reasoning for the composition of the group and how the members contribute to the feasibility of the project. However, a letter of intent from the participants is not necessary.
   
• A budget draft following the above guidelines. The budget draft must include information about the number of participants and an overview of the costs associated with travel, accommodations, and meals for each gathering in year 1 and the research stay in year 2. The potential buyouts during the research stay must also be included. Please provide necessary explanations of the expenses. Download budget draft template here >
   
• A brief ethical self-assessment (no more than half a page) certifying that you are familiar with the relevant ethical guidelines. Please read our guidelines for ethics in research >
   
• A CV including a publication list. The CV should not exceed four pages. Download template here >
   

• A letter of support for the period of August 2025 to June 2027 from the head of section at your home institution. As noted above, you can still apply even if you do not know where you will be employed during the second year of the programme. If you are employed in a temporary position the letter of support should specify the exact period of employment. 

  It should also describe how the grant will enhance the applicants career opportunities and benefit the research of the department or institute.

  Additionally, the letter shall serve as a formal confirmation that: 1) You will keep your salary and be exempt from other obligations during the periods of absence due to your Young CAS Grant activities and 2) Your home institution will host the second gathering during the first year.

If the research requires pre-approval from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, the Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics, or a similar body, this must be obtained before the start of the project. In the application, you must confirm that the necessary pre-approval will be obtained.

How to apply? 

The application must be submitted electronically in UNIFOR’s electronic application system >

All documents should be written in English and saved and uploaded as PDF files. Required templates are available on the application portal.

The applications should be submitted by 23:59 on the specified date. Late submissions cannot be processed as the UNIFOR system closes after the deadline.

The selection process.

A selection committee, consisting of representatives from CAS, the board of directors, and the Young Academy of Norway (AYF), will present a shortlist to the CAS board of directors, which will ultimately select the two Young CAS Grants in February 2025.

The selection is based on scientific quality, the applicant’s merits and the project’s alignment with CAS’ mission and criteria in this call.

Applications that do not meet the formal criteria will be rejected.

Inquiries can be directed to adviser Helene Ramnæs >

Go to UNIFOR application portal >