Lost in Conversion

Managing Currency Volatility in EU-Funded Research Projects in Norway

Abstract

What is new?

The article presents the issues connected to budgeting for projects that gets funded in Euro (EUR), but operate in Norwegian kroner (NOK), and argues that risk mitigation solutions must operate at three levels: institutional (adopting financial risk management strategies), (inter)national (buffer mechanisms at national level, reconsidering the EU-Norway relationship as well as the non-peg status of the NOK), and EU level (developing contractual instruments to reduce inequities due to exchange rate fluctuations).

What was the approach?

The paper uses a conceptual and policy-analysis approach, drawing on internal institutional guidelines and practices developed at the University of Oslo, complemented by EU regulatory documents as well as policy literature, in order to identify vulnerabilities and propose mitigation options.

What is the academic impact?

The paper identifies the vulnerabilities in managing research projects in non-Eurozone countries and identifies a multi-level approach for mitigating these risks.

What is the wider impact?

The paper highlights the need for research managers to integrate a finer currency-risk assessment into proposal design and project budgeting, and to advocate internally and with funders for institutional hedging strategies, national buffer schemes, and more flexible EU contractual instruments that protect project viability.