The postdoc call (PD_18) financed from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund contributes to the strengthening of centres of excellence in Hungary by funding young researchers with a doctoral degree and by creating a predictable domestic postdoctoral system. With the funding, young researchers with a PhD/DLA degree (postdoctors) have greater chance to become the outstanding representatives of Hungarian scientific life in the future.

Available budget

In order to achieve the objectives of the call the NRDI Office has earmarked a total budget of HUF 1.5 billion from the NRDI Fund for the 2018–2021 period in line with the Act on the Central Budget and with regard to the programme strategy of the NRDI Fund.

Funding amount and eligible expenditure

The maximum amount of funding is HUF 16,008,000 per project for a period of up to 36 months. In addition to the personal remuneration payable to the postdoctor and related taxes payable by the employer, overhead costs are eligible up to 5% only. The eligible amount of wage is HUF 350,000 per month.

Duration of the project

The maximum duration of projects is 48 months. Projects shall commence between 1 September 2018 and 1 December 2018. The earliest date for reporting costs is the project start date specified in the funding agreement.

Submission of applications

Complying with its legal obligation, the NRDI Office enables applicants to submit their applications exclusively electronically. In this case, the documents required in Point “H” of the call to be submitted by regular mail / with electronic signature must be signed electronically as specified in Point “H” of the call and attached to the application on the Online Application Portal by the deadline for electronic submission, that is, by 8 February 2018 at 16:00 (CET).

Please note that all documents required to be submitted by regular mail/with electronic signature must be submitted in the same way, that is, all documents must be submitted to the NRDI Office either by regular mail or electronically provided with electronic signature.

In the case of regular mail, the submission is successful if the proposal was finalised electronically by the applicant and approved by the head of the host institution by 8 February 2018, and if the documents required in Point “H” of the call to be submitted by regular mail were sent to the Customer Service of the NRDI Office postmarked no later than 15 February 2018. In the case of electronic submission, the submission is successful if the proposal was finalised electronically by the applicant and approved by the head of the host institution by 8 February 2018, and if the electronically signed versions of the documents required in Point “H” of the call to be submitted by regular mail / with electronic signature were submitted through the Online Application Portal.

Eligible applicants

Researchers with Hungarian or foreign nationality may apply jointly with a host institution seated in Hungary which shall be

• higher education institution, research centre, research institution, budgetary organ or a budgetary organ institution with legal personality if it qualifies as a research facility under the law;
  
• a business company which has at least two completed business years, maintains double-entry accounting and is not subject to the simplified entrepreneurial tax (EVA) or the small taxpayers’ itemized lump sum tax (KATA), provided that it should pursue RDI activities (it can only apply for funding for non-economic activities); or
  
• non-profit organisations qualifying as research and development organisation according to its core activity.
  

After winning the funding, throughout the entire implementation period the postdoctoral researcher must be a full-time worker of the host institution under an employment contract, civil service contract or other contract aimed at performing work.

Further eligibility terms for postdoctors

Only those postdoctors are eligible for the funding whose doctoral (PhD/DLA) diploma was issued not earlier than 1 January 2011, or – if the postdoctor does not possess the doctoral diploma when applying for the funding – in whose case the awarding decision of the doctoral council of the university was adopted not earlier than 1 January 2011 (this fact must be evidenced in the application by an official document). Researchers with children are eligible for preferential terms in respect of the period after obtaining the PhD/DLA degree: they can apply with a doctoral degree obtained before 1 January 2011, if the child/children was/were born after obtaining such degree.

One applicant may only submit one application. At the time of submitting the application and, if selected for funding, during the PD_18 funding period the postdoctor is allowed to be the leader or participant in a researcher-initiated research project (funded under K, FK, NK, NF or NN type schemes) or the leader of a project funded under a postdoctoral call providing only research funding (former OTKA, PD1 type schemes), if these projects thematically overlap.

Eligible objectives and actions

The postdoc call is not bound by any thematic priority and is not restricted to any area of science. Applications can relate to any kind of discovery research, if otherwise the application meets the conditions laid down in the call. Those actions are eligible which aim to achieve the key objectives developed on the basis of the research and work plan specified in the postdoc call and set out in the research project plan submitted to the NRDI Office. The postdoc call only funds wage-like payments to the postdoctor and the related employer contributions, so the funded postdoctor has to make a statement that he/she has access to the infrastructure and resources necessary for performing the research tasks undertaken in the application.