Purpose of the call

Supporting basic research leading to excellent results, based on international cooperation.

General conditions

The proposals have to be submitted by the Hungarian researcher to OTKA and by the foreign researcher to a funding agency in the respective country simultaneously. At the time of submission, the Hungarian researcher has to possess a PhD degree (diploma) and to be affiliated with a research institution in Hungary. The proposal can be funded only if the Hungarian proposal is supported by OTKA and the foreign proposal is supported by the funding agency in the respective country simultaneously. Proof of funding of the foreign proposal has to reach OTKA within 9 months of the submission of the OTKA proposal.

An electronic copy of the Declaration on International Cooperation (doc) completed and signed by the principal investigator of the foreign matching proposal is part of the OTKA NN proposal – failure to submit the completed document results in exclusion of the NN proposal from OTKA evaluation on formal grounds.

One applicant can be a principal investigator in a maximum of two research projects funded by OTKA. The applying researchers have to declare their current funded projects and proposals under consideration. The research plan, the budget, the description of the expected results and the researchers’ activities to date have to be appended to the proposal in an annual breakdown. In the review process, the research reports of those funded by OTKA during the three previous years (2010–2014) will also be considered.

Types of expenses

The support is primarily aimed at covering the costs of the cooperation and the joint research. The costs of employing doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers involved in the project, acquiring smaller equipment and research tools, and presenting the research results at conferences can also be covered. From the OTKA support, the principal investigator can be entitled to personal salary according to employment status in three categories, but this amount cannot exceed 25% of the total support.

The host institution is entitled to an overhead of 20% of the research funding, 5% of which has to be spent on acquiring scientific information (library, data base). The host institution is required to spend at least half of the scientific information expenses on Open Access costs that also have to be reported. To the extent of another 5% of the funding, based on the principal investigator’s discretion, other overhead type costs can be covered (telephone, internet, administration).

The suggested funding period of the research projects based on cooperation is 3 years, but it has to match the funding system of both parties. The maximum length of funding period is 4 years. There is no limit to the amount to be applied for but it is suggested that the request be compared to the criteria in other OTKA calls. Insufficiently justified budgets result in rejection.

Evaluation of the proposal

The submitted proposals are evaluated against the following main criteria: basic research nature of the project, scientific significance, novelty, scientific and social applications of expected results, influence of international cooperation on doctoral training and advancement of doctoral students in Hungary, personal, institutional, and methodological conditions of the research, financial justification of the requested funding, proposed workload of researchers, scientific results to date (publications, citations), results of completed or running OTKA projects. The cohesion and proportionality of the work plan, the budget, the expected results, and the workload are also important criteria. The intensity of the proposed international cooperation is an important aspect of the evaluation; priority is given to the proposals that plan cooperation with foreign researchers who apply for funding in the research funding systems in their own countries to cover the costs of cooperation with the Hungarian researcher.

Submitting the proposal

Proposals can be submitted through OTKA’s electronic system, available with detailed proposal guidelines at the homepage (www.otka.hu). Submission is continuous; the starting date of the project can be expected from 6 to 18 months within the submission date. Evaluation processes of the proposals take place twice a year. Evaluation of proposals submitted in the EPR system by February 10 and mailed by February 17 is expected to conclude in July, 2015. The applicants receive written notification on the decision.

In addition to the online submission, one printed and signed version of the proposal has to be sent as a registered mail to the OTKA Office. (Mailing address: 1476 Budapest 100, PO Box 289, delivery address: 1093 Budapest, Czuczor u. 10.) Please indicate on the mail: OTKA proposal for international cooperation – NN. The proposal is evaluated on the basis of its electronic version, the printed version provides authenticity.

Based on the reviews of external experts, these proposals are evaluated by OTKA’s International Committee. The amount to be spent on funding NN proposals depends on OTKA’s budget in any given year.

László Péter Kollár
President, OKTA Board