KREFTFORENINGEN

Their core work

Kreftforeningen (the Norwegian Cancer Society) is Norway's largest cancer organization, primarily known nationally for funding cancer research, running prevention campaigns, and supporting patients. In the EU research context, they participate as a national cancer research funder in ERA-NET Cofund networks — bringing Norwegian national programme funding into coordinated transnational cancer research calls. Their role is not laboratory research but rather research programme management: co-funding transnational projects, aligning Norway's cancer research priorities with those of European partner nations, and enabling Norwegian researchers to participate in pan-European translational cancer studies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The early project (TRANSCAN-2, 2015–2021) carries no keyword metadata in the available data, making direct comparison difficult. However, TRANSCAN-3 (2021–2027) shows a vocabulary that emphasizes research programme alignment, national funding coordination, and transnational call management — suggesting the organization's EU role has matured from simple participation toward a more explicit focus on the governance and funding infrastructure of European cancer research. The continuity across both TRANSCAN projects indicates this is not a shift in direction but a deepening of the same strategic commitment: using ERA-NET frameworks to embed Norwegian cancer funding within European research coordination.

Kreftforeningen is on a long-term trajectory of sustained engagement in European cancer research coordination — TRANSCAN-3 runs to 2027, and their consistent involvement across both TRANSCAN generations signals they are a stable, recurring partner in any ERA-NET or joint funding initiative in oncology.

How they like to work

Kreftforeningen has never held a coordinator role in H2020 — they join as a participant in large, multi-country consortia rather than leading them. With 39 unique partners across 22 countries, they operate within broad networks typical of ERA-NET Cofund structures, where each member represents a national funder rather than a research team. This means engaging with them is less about accessing a laboratory and more about accessing Norwegian national cancer research funding streams and the networks those streams connect to.

Kreftforeningen has built connections with 39 unique consortium partners across 22 countries through the TRANSCAN network, giving them a broad European footprint in cancer research circles. Their network is characteristic of ERA-NET consortia: wide geographic spread, with partners drawn from national cancer research funders and institutes across Europe.

What sets them apart

Kreftforeningen occupies a specific and hard-to-replicate niche: they are Norway's primary non-governmental cancer research funder, which makes them the natural gateway for any consortium wanting to include Norwegian cancer research funding or institutional credibility in oncology. Unlike university partners who contribute scientific expertise, Kreftforeningen contributes funding authority and national programme access — making them valuable when a consortium needs a recognized national cancer body from Norway rather than another laboratory. For projects targeting public engagement, patient advocacy, or policy impact in cancer, their brand and public mandate in Norway adds weight that a research institute cannot provide.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TRANSCAN-3
  The larger of the two projects (€306,081 EC contribution, running to 2027), this ERA-NET Cofund represents Kreftforeningen's most current and substantial EU engagement, coordinating sustained collaboration across national cancer research programmes.
• TRANSCAN-2
  The earlier phase of the same ERA-NET series (2015–2021), demonstrating Kreftforeningen's long-term, multi-cycle commitment to European translational cancer research coordination rather than one-off participation.