Call for proposals: Indigenous guidelines for NordForsk

Call deadline: 14.08.2025 at 13:00 (CET)

Available budget: NOK 0.5 million

Important: Please read the instructions in the application form as well as the call text to access all the necessary information to write your proposal. You can use the preview form function to see the instructions in the application form.

Background

There are several guidelines and roadmaps that support researchers in conducting research involving Indigenous people and help Indigenous people to become aware of their rights as participants of research. Such guidelines are crucially needed for enhancing Indigenous peoples' self-determination in relation to knowledge production. However, there is a lack of common guidelines for Indigenous research in the Nordic countries. There is, therefore, a need to map and review the guidelines in the Nordic countries and in Canada, and when relevant, use guidelines of other Indigenous people and global guidelines like CARE principles of Global Indigenous Alliance as benchmarks.

The Nordic Working Group, consisting of members engaged in Indigenous research at Nordic academic institutions and the Saami Council, has asked NordForsk to initiate a call for proposals to support the development process.

The project funded under the call will produce a report for the Nordic Working Group. The report will support the formulation of the Nordic guidelines for research involving Indigenous people.

The tasks of the project are to:

1. Review the existing guidelines and make constructive comparisons for the use of the Nordic Working Group developing guidelines for research involving Indigenous people.
2. Scan new and emerging trends in guidelines for research involving Indigenous people.
3. Write recommendations for guidelines for research involving Indigenous people to the Nordic Working Group.
4. Draft a toolkit to implement the Nordic guidelines for research involving Indigenous people to be considered by the Nordic Working Group.
   

The project is set to begin in September 2025. NordForsk will facilitate a kick-off meeting where the project’s researchers will meet with the Nordic Working Group. During this meeting, the project’s researchers will refine the project plan and timetable in collaboration with the Nordic Working Group. The report’s content, including its analysis and recommendations, should be fully prepared for communication to the Nordic Working Group by 15 March 2026. The Nordic Working Group and the project’s researchers will finalise the Nordic guidelines for research involving Indigenous people by June 2026.

See also: How to apply