Available budget
In the period 2024–2028, the Ministry of Culture and Innovation allocates a combined budget of HUF 19 billion from the NRDI Fund for the programme of the EXCELLENCE projects (EXCELLENCE_24), the ADVANCED projects (ADVANCED_24), the STARTING projects (STARTING_24), and the programme of thematic research projects based on Hungarian–Austrian and Hungarian–Slovenian bilateral cooperation (ANN_24 and SNN_24).
Duration of the projects
Projects shall commence on 1 January 2025, and the maximum project duration is 36 months (SNN_24) and 48 months (ANN_24), depending on the relation.
Amount of funding
According to the call, a maximum of HUF 56 million for a maximum of 48 months can be requested for each Hungarian project in the Hungarian-Austrian relation (ANN_24); a maximum of HUF 42 million for a maximum of 36 months can be requested for each Hungarian project in the Hungarian-Slovenian relation (SNN_24). If the duration of the project is shorter, requested funding should be decreased on a pro rata temporis basis. Apart from remuneration and related taxes payable by the employer, certain tangible costs are also eligible, as well as overhead costs at a flat rate of 20% of the direct project costs. The implementation of ANN and SNN type projects may involve participating researchers, technical staff, and students. They do not have to join the proposal but it is recommended to list the participating researchers in a separate part at the end of the research plan. The earliest date for reporting costs is the project start date specified in the funding agreement.
Submission of applications
The applications have to be submitted in the English language. The request for funding has to be prepared and submitted in the Electronic Proposal Review system (EPR) of the NRDI Office (https://www.otka-palyazat.hu/). The proposal has to be submitted only electronically, none of its parts has to be sent to the NRDI Office on paper.
A proposal can be considered submitted if it is electronically finalized by the principal investigator and approved by the representative of the host institution by the submission deadline defined in the call for proposals. Furthermore, the electronically signed versions of the documents, required to be submitted with electronic signature in the call, have to be submitted through the EPR as well.
An ANN_24 proposal has to be submitted by the Hungarian researcher to the NRDI Office, while the matching proposal has to be submitted by the Austrian partner to the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The proposal can only be supported if the Hungarian proposal is supported by the NRDI Office and the Austrian proposal is supported by the FWF.
Submission and evaluation of the SNN_24 proposals take place according to the so-called Lead Agency principle: if the amount of the research support required by the Hungarian partner exceeds that of the Slovenian partner, the NRDI Office administers the evaluation; if the amount of the research support required by the Slovenian partner exceeds that of the Hungarian partner, the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) administers the evaluation.
The applications submitted to the NRDI Office must describe in the work plan how the proposed research work is distributed between the Hungarian and the foreign parties. The research plan must explain the added value of the international collaboration. In case of the SNN_24 proposals, furthermore, the budget and its justification by the foreign partner have to be attached as well.
Eligible applicants
Principal investigators can apply jointly with the host institution which has to be a Hungarian based
- higher education institution, research centre, research institution, budgetary institution or an institution thereof having legal personality that qualifies as a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation under Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014;
- business company which has at least two completed business years, maintains double-entry accounting that qualifies as a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation under Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014;
- non-profit organisation that qualifies as a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation under Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.
Throughout the entire implementation period the principal investigator shall be employed by the host institution under an employment contract, civil service contract, or other contract aimed at performing work.
One principal investigator can submit only one proposal in this call; parallel EXCELLENCE_24, ADVANCED_24, or STARTING_24 proposal cannot be submitted. Supported K_23, FK_23, PD_23, SNN_23 project and Frontline (KKP) project starting after 31 December 2020 also constitute ground for exclusion.
Eligible objectives and actions
Project proposals can cover discovery research in any fields of science, regardless of thematic priority, if otherwise the application meets the conditions laid down in the call. All activities are eligible that are performed by the participating domestic researcher(s) or research group(s) in order to attain the primary goals set out in the discovery research plan submitted to the NRDI Office.
Customer service contacts:
email: nkfialap@nkfih.gov.hu
phone: +36 (1) 795 9500
Personal appointments (pree-booked only): H-1077 Budapest, Kéthly Anna sq. 1. (2nd floor)
Customer Service hours of operation: Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m to 4 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 12.00 a.m.
Managed by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office), the National Research Excellence Programme announced on 14 May 2024 aims to strengthen researcher creativity and excellence by supporting the implementation of promising research projects initiated by researchers, which are expected to produce outstanding scientific results on a global scale, thus increasing the recognition of Hungarian researchers and research results. The key objective of the international cooperation sub-programmes (ANN_24, SNN_24) is to encourage the cooperation between Hungarian research groups and foreign collaborative partners, thus strengthening the international embeddedness of Hungarian science.
12 valid proposals were submitted for the ANN_24 sub-programme by 17 June 2024. The total amount applied for in the proposals submitted was HUF 603,965,000. The Research Council of Hungary decided on the proposals at its evaluation meeting on 6 November 2024.
Under ANN_24, Hungarian researchers were required to submit their project proposals to the NRDI Office, while the foreign collaborative partners had to submit their parallel project proposals to the Austrian Science Fund (hereinafter referred to as “FWF”).
ANN_24 is only eligible for funding if the national project proposal is selected for funding by the NRDI Office and the Austrian parallel proposal is supported by the FWF. For ANN_24 proposals, the FWF notified the NRDI Office of the project proposals recommended for funding in its letter dated 3 December 2024.
The decision on funding was made by the President of the NRDI Office granting a total of HUF 153,792,000 in non-refundable funding from the NRDI Fund to 3 outstanding research proposals.
FUNDED PROJECTS
Funding organisation: Ministry of Culture and Innovation
Source: NRDI Fund
Date of decision: 18 December 2024
| Project code | Principal investigator | Host institution | Research organisation | Project title | Amount of awarded funds (in HUF thousands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 149456 | György Csaba | Pázmány Péter Catholic University | Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics | Scalable Magnonic Neural Networks | 55 908 000 |
| 149481 | Anna Éva Enyed | University of Szeged | Department of Molecular and Analytical Chemistry | Fine-tuning the properties of 8-hydroxyquinolines for enhance targeting of collateral sensitivity in multidrug-resistant cancer | 55 947 000 |
| 149501 | Péter Apor | HUN-REN Research Centre for the Humanities | Institute of History | Tackling Empire: The Post-Imperial and the Colonial in Austria and Hungary, 1918-1939 | 41 937 000 |
Managed by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office), the National Research Excellence Programme announced on 14 May 2024 aims to strengthen researcher creativity and excellence by supporting the implementation of promising research projects initiated by researchers, which are expected to produce outstanding scientific results on a global scale, thus increasing the recognition of Hungarian researchers and research results. The key objective of the international cooperation sub-programmes (ANN_24, SNN_24) is to encourage the cooperation between Hungarian research groups and foreign collaborative partners, thus strengthening the international embeddedness of Hungarian science.
29 valid proposals were submitted for the SNN_24 sub-programme. The total amount applied for in the proposals submitted was HUF 1,149,775,000. The Research Council of Hungary decided on the proposals at its evaluation meeting on 6 November 2024.
Under SNN_24, Hungarian researchers were required to submit their project proposals to the NRDI Office, while the foreign collaborative partners had to submit their parallel project proposals to the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (hereinafter referred to as “ARIS”).
SNN_24 is only eligible for funding if the national project proposal is selected for funding by the NRDI Office and the Slovenian parallel proposal is supported by the ARIS. For SNN_24 proposals, the ARIS notified the NRDI Office of the project proposals recommended for funding in its letters dated 5 November 2024 and 5 December 2024.
The decision on funding was made by the President of the NRDI Office granting a total of HUF 239,469,000 in non-refundable funding from the NRDI Fund to 6 outstanding research proposals.
FUNDED PROJECTS
Funding organisation: Ministry of Culture and Innovation
Source: NRDI Fund
Date of decision: 18 December 2024
| Project code | Principal investigator | Host institution | Research organisation | Project title | Amount of awarded funds (in HUF thousands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 148580 | Gitta Zsófia Schlosser | Eötvös Loránd University | Institute of Chemistry | ARIS Lead Agency: Autologous blood preparations with extracellular particles and hybridosomes for regeneration | 36 000 000 |
| 148581 | Erika Nagy | HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network | Institute for Regional Studies | ARIS Lead Agency: (Hidden) Industrial Champions: Origins, Features and Futures of Industrial Small Towns. A comparative study of Hungary and Slovenia | 35 770 000 |
| 150561 | József Kalmár | University of Debrecen | Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry | Bioaerogels for stimuli-responsive drug delivery | 42 000 000 |
| 150615 | János Osán | HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research | Institute for Energy Security and Environmental Safety | Size-resolved sampling and analytical methods for identification of wood and waste combustion as a source of ambient aerosols generated by domestic heating | 41 943 000 |
| 150907 | Szilvia Veres | University of Debrecen | Institute of Crop Sciences | Nano-nitrogen as a possible alternative for ecologically efficient plant production in water deficient environment | 41 990 000 |
| 151010 | Miklós György Keserü | HUN-REN Research Center of Natural Sciences | Institute of Organic Chemistry | Two-photon excitement activated antibody-drug conjugates | 41 766 000 |
To ensure value-based professional evaluation of proposals arriving in large quantities from the fields of discovery and applied research and innovation, to assess professional reports of funded projects and to prepare policy opinions, the NRDI Office intends to expand its expert pool in all fields of expertise.
Professionals who have registered in the database of the NRDI Office can become responsible contributors, as independent peer-reviewers, to the evaluation process in which the professional quality, novelty content and commercialisation perspectives of the proposals as compared to the requested funding should be assessed as core considerations.
The registration process can be initiated through the registration form of the NRDI Office’s website. Registration is continuously open.
Requested data within the expert registration form include:
- personal data, contact details (necessary for contracting review assignments);
- classification of professional skills and competencies and research areas (to get review invitations fine-tuned to your field of expertise);
- topics of the previously reviewed proposals;
- present and past jobs, interest networks (in order to pre-screening of conflicts of interest in a given rview assignment), education, scientific titles, most important publications and intellectual works demonstrating your professional experience;
- language skills.
Professionals once registered in the database of experts may be invited by the NRDI Office to review submitted proposals, to assess professional reports of funded projects and to contribute to policy opinions.
Each proposal is reviewed by several independent experts at the same time. Experts selected from the database to review proposals, to assess professional reports and facilitate expert opinions will be contracted by the NRDI Office on a case-by-case basis. When concluding such a contract experts must declare that the review assignment is not obstructed by any conflict of interest whatsoever. Depending on the competition type, written expert reviews must be prepared in 15-28 work days and submitted electronically via the online review portal of the NRDI Office.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information contact at phone +36 1 795 9500 or email at szakerto_regisztracio@nkfih.gov.hu