The KKP_19 call is only open to discovery research projects without thematic restrictions provided that the applicant’s scientific resume and research plan meet the requirements set out in the call. Applicants have the highest chance if they have achieved internationally outstanding scientific results in the past five years and can be reasonably expected to continue this world-class performance on the basis of their research plan.

The call is financed from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

Submission of project proposals

Project proposals can be submitted electronically through the Online Application Portal of the NRDI Office by 4 June 2018 at 16:00 (CET), in line with the Guidelines for Applicants. All proposals must be submitted in English irrespective of the field of science.

Complying with its legal obligation, the NRDI Office enables applicants to submit their applications exclusively electronically. In this case, the documents required to be submitted by regular mail / with electronic signature must be signed electronically as specified and must be attached to the application on the Online Application Portal by the deadline for electronic submission, that is, by 4 June 2018 at 16:00 (CET).

An electronic submission is considered successful if the proposal was finalised electronically by the applicant and approved by the head of the host institution, and all the documents required to be submitted by regular mail / with electronic signature were signed electronically as specified and were attached to the application on the Online Application Portal by the deadline for electronic submission, that is, by 4 June 2018 at 16:00 (CET).

In the case of regular mail, submission is considered successful if the proposal was finalised electronically by the applicant and approved by the head of the host institution by 4 June 2018, and all the documents required to be submitted by regular mail / with electronic signature were sent to the Customer Service of the NRDI Office postmarked no later than 11 June 2018. Proposals may not be submitted only electronically or in person.

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.

Eligible applicants

Researchers (leading researchers) with Hungarian or foreign nationality may apply jointly with the host institution which must be

• a higher education institution, research centre, research institution, budgetary organ or an institution thereof having legal personality if it qualifies as a research facility under the RDI Act
  
• a non-profit organisation if it qualifies as a research facility under the RDI Act
  

At the time of application and throughout the entire implementation period the leading researcher must be a full-time worker of the host institution under an employment contract, civil service contract, works contract or other contract aimed at performing work.

• Leading researchers must hold a PhD/DLA degree and must be affiliated with a Hungarian host institution.
  
• Leaders of projects selected for funding in this call may not apply for funding from the Call for researcher-initiated research proposals in the first 36 months of the funding period.
  
• Leading researchers’ performance history must fall within the top 10% of their respective fields of science (for the detailed criteria of research, publication or application performance and international embeddedness see the call for proposals).
  

Eligible objectives and actions

Actions aimed to achieve the key objectives developed on the basis of the research and work plan specified in the “Frontline” – Research Excellence Programme call and set out in the research project plan submitted to the NRDI Office, are eligible for funding.

Available budget

The total budget earmarked from the NRDI Fund for the implementation of the programme between 2019 and 2023 is HUF 3 billion (EUR 9.8 million), including HUF 600 million (EUR 1.9 million) to be disbursed in 2019.

Maximum grant per project

The maximum amount of grant for the maximum duration of 60 months is HUF 300 million (nearly EUR 1 million) per project (an annual average of HUF 60 million i.e. EUR 0.2 million) as non-refundable funding. Funding intensity is 100%.

Duration of the project

The project must start no earlier than 1 January 2019 and must be implemented within 60 months from the start date. Eligible project costs can be declared from the start date specified in the grant agreement.