The application form will ask you for the following obligatory information, without which it will not be possible to complete the form:

• Project title
• Project protocol
• Affiliation of the Principle Investigator and Signing Official. These must be located at the same research institute. Signing Official is the person in charge of Scientific Research at the PI's institute, this will often be the Head of the Department.
• Project description in Norwegian
• information on performed DPIA
• Provisional titles of planned publications
• Keywords
• Projected start and end date for the project
• Invoice information
• Information on all project participants. Each project must at least register a Principal Investigator and a Signing Official.
• Information about which data is applied for (wave of data gathering, Young-HUNT or main HUNT)
• If applicable: which other registries will be used in combination with HUNT data (note: each registry has their own application procedure, and PI must file applications to these registries too)
• If applicable: what kind of samples, how many, and in which concentration. Information on where samples will be analyzed. 

Documents:

• Data  Protection Impact Assessment*
• REK (ethics committee) application
• REK approval

*You do not need this if you only use adult HUNT data from HUNT2, HUNT3 and HUNT4, without merging with other data registers. In all other instances, a DPIA is necessary.

After you sent in your application, you will receive an automatic affirmation of sending. This includes a summary of what you sent to us. 

Shortly after, one of our staff will register the application in our database and send you an affirmation of this with a reference number. This reference number is what you need to request the variables for your project. 

PI = Supervisor for the PhD student

Please be aware that the data file will be made available for downloading to the Principle Investigator. If you wish HUNT databank to make the data file available to someone other than the PI (the PhD student for instance), it should be mentioned in the application.

The student's supervisor should be mentioned as the Principle Investigator.

Please be aware that the data file will be made available for downloading to the Principle Investigator. If you wish HUNT databank to make the data file available to someone other than the PI, it should be mentioned in the application.

Master's thesis agreements for the use of HUNT data do not allow publication as a peer-reviewed article without additional permission and payment.

When your application is sent to HUNT, you will get an automatic notification of receipt. 

Shortly after, one of our staff will register the application in our database, and send you an affirmation of this with a reference number. This reference number is what you need to request the variables for your project.

With the reference number ready, open HUNT web databank

Login with your username and password

Request the variables you need for your project - the protocol is guiding in which variables can be requested. Please note: 

• Age and sex are included in each data delivery - the variables cannot be ordered.
• Very large variable orders (>1000) will be rejected and the PI will be asked to reduce the number of variables requested. The 1000-variables rule applies also when additional variables are requested later in time, such that the total number of variables for a project cannot exceed 1000.
• Some variables are the result of additional projects or analyses other projects have enabled. For these variables, we ask you to contact the PI of the original project and offer the PI a contribution to the project by collaboration.  

For more information on the variables, you can access the sites with questionnaires or spørreskjema (more complete, in Norwegian).

HUNT operates with the following time frames for projects, depending on the number of publications involved, with a maximum of 4 years:

HUNT does not enter into agreements that span over more than 4 years, but it is possible to apply for an extension by the end of this period. 

The duration of an agreement can never exceed the duration of the REK approval.

For an overview over the costs for the right to analyse HUNT data and publish on that, see:
https://www.ntnu.edu/hunt/pricing-hunt-projects

For an estimation of costs for the use of samples in your project, see our site on biospecimens from HUNT, or contact HUNT biobank for more information. 

An invoice for the project will be sent after the agreement is signed and the data is made available to the Principle Investigator.

New applications are assessed by HUNTs Data Access Committee for quality and feasibility and compatibility with HUNTs purposes More on the criteria for assessing HUNT applications can be read in our guidelines. Dates of DAC meetings and corresponding deadlines can be found on our website. 

With DAC positive, and all the necessary documentation sent in, HUNT will send out an agreement for signing by the PI and the Signing Official for the PI's Insitute. The agreement settles the rights and duties of the PI and HUNT regarding the research project, and we advise all PIs to read it carefully. 

If samples are analyzed / delivered to someone other than the PI who receives the data file, a Material Transfer Agreement may need to be signed in addition. 
In the case of sample delivery to a laboratory outside of the PIs institute, a Third Party Contract must be signed by the laboratory receiving the samples.

With the signed agreement(s) returned to HUNT, we will proceed with the delivery of samples and data, and the sending of merging bridges to other registries if requested. 

While the project is ongoing, the REK approval must always be valid, as long as publications are pending.

Before sending a manuscript to a scientific journal for peer-review, send it in to HUNT for approval by the Publication Committee. They will check whether the publication is in accordance with the agreement for your project.

Please use the Checklist when sending in your manuscript

Read the guidelines for publication for more information.

If, in the course of a project, a PI sees a need to alter a project, an application for change must be sent to HUNT Research Centre. Read more on how to apply for changes such as: 

• an extension of the duration of a project,
• an expansion of the project with more planned publications or
• an application for more variables in the project:

https://www.ntnu.edu/hunt/project-changes

Please follow the procedure for ending a HUNT project when all manuscripts are published and you do not longer require HUNT data.