To our PIs and Partners

Information about the Foundation’s policies on issues arising from the corona situation.

The Trond Mohn Foundation fully understands that the corona situation, and the measures taken to increase the health service’s capacity and to prevent infection from spreading, can put many of our PIs and project owners in a challenging situation.
The Foundation therefore wishes to take steps to ensure the best possible project implementation, and we have confidence in our partners and PIs to deal with the challenges in the way that best serves the projects.

Projects That Start Up in 2020
We ask projects that have been invited to enter into a grant agreement to contact the Foundation if the corona situation makes it difficult to finalise documents as planned. We want to contribute to the rapid start-up of projects.

We also ask PIs for new projects for which a project grant agreement has been signed, but where the start-up of research activity will be significantly affected, to contact the Foundation as soon as possible.

Ongoing Projects
We assume that it will vary between projects whether and how much the progress and implementation of project plans is affected. Where relevant, PIs should consider what adaptations can be made to maintain the highest possible activity in projects, based, of course, on the project’s objectives as set out in the project grant agreement.

As regards reporting, we will not request progress reports or notifications of changes in the present situation. It is only necessary to inform the Foundation immediately if there is a risk that it will not be possible to carry out a project. We ask other projects to give notification of any changes and deviations from the project plan in connection with the annual reporting that is due by 1 November. By then, we will probably also have a better basis on which to assess the need for any adjustments.

The most important thing in this situation is to safeguard public health and to help society to handle the pandemic in the best possible way. PIs and project staff who have to prioritise working for the health service during the pandemic can rest assured that the Foundation will be flexible as regards extensions of the project period or postponing the end date for research fellowships / postdoc positions. At the same time, we wish to emphasise that funds from the Foundation must be used to implement the research plan, cf. the project grant agreement, and not for other activities. For example, the Foundation’s funding for research fellows who are now helping the specialist health service shall be put on hold until the research activity is resumed. The hospitals have their own arrangements for paying those who are reassigned to work on combating the pandemic.

The funds the Foundation has allocated to a project will not normally be increased even if the project’s costs increase as a result of the corona situation. For a limited period, however, we can change the allocation of costs over time. Get in touch in good time before the invoice date if such a situation arises.

If you have other questions about possible changes to projects as a result of the corona situation, please first contact grants@mohnfoundation.no. We will endeavour to be flexible and find solutions for individual projects. However, it may take somewhat longer than usual to deal with queries due to the unusual circumstances.

31.3.2020

Illustrasjon: Gerd Altmann, pixabay