The programme follows a funding model that supports forefront discovery research while offering grant opportunities to internationally top-performing researchers for implementing their projects at a Hungarian host institution in connection with European Research Council (ERC) calls. This way, the Forefront programme enhances Hungary’s efforts to become a regional hub for research, development and innovation.
This call for proposals aims to help internationally acclaimed researchers to prepare for and succeed in ECR calls.
The KKP_21 call is only open to researchers for discovery research projects without any thematic restriction, provided that the applicant’s scientific track record 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 ten years and can be reasonably expected to continue this level of performance on the basis of their research plan.
The call is financed from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.
Eligible applicants
Applications are eligible if submitted by any of the following types of organisations having a legal personality and a registered seat in Hungary:
- 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 RDI Act;
- non-profit organisations qualifying as research and development organisation according to its core activity
(hereinafter: host institution) jointly with a Hungarian or foreign citizen researcher with a PhD/DLA degree (hereinafter: principal investigator), provided that he or she meets with one of the following conditions:
- has led an ERC-funded Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant, Advanced Grant, or Synergy Grant project which was successfully closed after 1 January 2017, or is currently leading one such project and it is scheduled to be closed before 1 October 2021;
- applied for an ERC Starting Grant, Consolidator Grant, Advanced Grant, or Synergy Grant after 1 January 2017, and the application made it to the second round of evaluation but was not selected for funding;
- was involved as a principal investigator in an individual basic research project with a budget of at least HUF 100 million, financed from a major international research fund (e.g. Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institutes of Health – NIH, Australian Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council – BBSRC, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft - DFG), and the project was successfully closed after 1 January 2017.
Throughout the entire project implementation period the principal investigator must be a full-time worker of the host institution under an employment contract, civil service contract or other contract aimed at performing work.
Eligible objectives and actions
Those actions are eligible which aim to achieve the key objectives developed on the basis of the research and work plan specified in the “Forefront – Research Excellence Programme” call and set out in the research project plan submitted to the NRDI Office.
Duration of the project
The project must start between 1 June 2021 and 1 October 2021, and must be implemented within 60 months from the start date. Eligible project costs can be declared from the start date of the project specified in the grant agreement.
Total available budget and maximum funding per project
The total budget earmarked from the NRDI Fund for the implementation of the programme between 2021 and 2026 is HUF 3 billion, including HUF 600 million to be disbursed in 2021. The maximum amount of grant for the maximum duration of 60 months is HUF 300 million per project (i.e. an annual average of HUF 60 million) as non-refundable funding. Funding intensity is 100%.
Submission of project proposals
All applications must be submitted in English irrespective of the field of science. Project proposals must be prepared and submitted electronically through the Online Application Portal of the NRDI Office by 16:00 CET on March 1, 2021 in line with the Guidelines for Applicants.
The call notice lists the documents required to be submitted to the NRDI Office by regular mail or electronically provided with electronic signatures. Applications may not be submitted in person.
The documents to be submitted by regular mail must be sent in one copy, provided with original signatures and seal, to the Customer Service of the NRDI Office postmarked no later than March 4, 2021. In this case, the submission is successful if the application was finalised electronically by the applicant and approved by the head of the host institution by March 1, 2021, and if the documents required by the call to be submitted by regular mail/with electronic signatures were sent to the Customer Service of the NRDI Office postmarked no later than March 4, 2021.
Complying with its legal obligation, the NRDI Office enables applicants to submit their applications exclusively electronically. In this case, the documents required by the call to be submitted by regular mail/with electronic signature must be signed electronically, as specified in the call, and must be attached to the application on the Online Application Portal by the deadline for electronic submission, that is, by March 1, 2021 at 16:00 CET. In this case, the submission is successful if the proposal was finalised electronically by the applicant and approved by the head of the host institution by March 1, 2021, and if the electronically signed versions of the documents required to be submitted by regular mail/with electronic signature were submitted through the Online Application Portal.
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.
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.
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
The NRDI Fund Programme Strategy for the year 2019 has been endorsed by Government decree 1622/2019. (X.31.).
The timing and the budget of European-financed non-refundable and refundable RDI schemes under the EDIOP (GINOP) and CCHOP (VEKOP) programmes have been approved by the Government within the Annual Development Framework Programme, upon the proposal of the NRDI Office. Pursuant to the Government Decree 106/2018. (VI. 15.) on the amendment of certain Government Decrees related to development policy due to the Government being restructured, the 2nd priorities of the EDIOP/GINOP and CCHOP/VEKOP (i.e. research, technology development and innovation) operational programmes are commanded to the political responsibility of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MIT) instead of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office as from 16 June 2018.
The chart below shows the calls for proposals and their budget relating to the main target areas, broken down by the sources of funding and the years:
- Corporate/Business RDI
- Excellence programmes for institutions
- Development of research infrastructure
- Excellence programmes for researchers, and
- Promotion of international cooperation programmes.
Source |
Specificity |
Budget 2015 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2016 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2017 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2018 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2019 (Bn HUF) |
||||
non- refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
||
GINOP |
Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme (EDIOP/GINOP) European funds for the entire country except the Central Hungary region |
391,721 | 56,035 |
112,19 |
36,717 |
70 |
10,684 |
- |
6,21 |
- |
VEKOP |
Competitive Central Hungary Operational Programme (CCHOP/VEKOP)European funds for the Central Hungary region |
- |
42,64 |
- |
- |
5,49 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
NKFI Alap |
National Research, Development and Innovation Fund made up of the innovation tax paid by enterprises |
11,29 |
68,43 |
- |
87,34 | - |
79,47 |
- |
77,284 |
- |
Target areas | Calls for proposals |
Budget 2015 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2016 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2017 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2018 (Bn HUF) |
Budget 2019 (Bn HUF) |
||||
non- refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
non- refund- able |
refund- able |
||
Corporate/ business RDI |
Support of business RDI activities |
|||||||||
Support of business RDI activities GINOP-2.1.1-15 |
73,39 |
|
|
|||||||
Support of business RDI activities VEKOP-2.1.1-15 |
19,97 |
|||||||||
Support of business RDI activities KFI_16 |
21 |
|
35,44 |
|||||||
Funding to SMEs and large companies for RDI activities 2018-1.1.2-KFI |
20 | |||||||||
Funding to micro and small enterprises for innovation activities 2018-1.1.1-MKI |
10 |
|||||||||
Support for market-driven research, development and innovation projects 2019-1.1.1-PIACI_KFI |
45 | |||||||||
Open Innovation 2019-1.4.1-NYÍLT |
1 | |||||||||
Business RDI, loan | ||||||||||
Support of business RDI activities loan scheme l GINOP-8.1.1-16 |
18,59 | |
||||||||
Business RDI, combined with loan | ||||||||||
Business RDI combined with loan GINOP-2.1.2-8.1.4-16 |
54,81 |
61,50 |
||||||||
National technology and intellectual property venture capital programme | ||||||||||
National technology and intellectual property venture capital programme GINOP-8.1.3/A-16 |
32,1 |
|||||||||
Smart specialisation venture capital programme | ||||||||||
Smart specialisation venture capital programme GINOP-8.1.3/B-17 |
70 |
|||||||||
Smart specialisation venture capital programme VEKOP 2.1.2-17 |
5,49 |
|||||||||
Intellectual property rights |
||||||||||
Intellectual property rights GINOP-2.1.3-15 |
0,251 | |||||||||
Support of activities fostering the domestic and international protection of intellectual property with the aim of facilitating the utilisation of such intellectual property IPARJOG_15 |
0,3 |
0,1 |
0,2 |
0,11 |
||||||
Innovation voucher | ||||||||||
Innovation voucher GINOP-2.1.4-15 |
0,163 |
|
|
|||||||
Innovation ecosystem | ||||||||||
Innovation ecosystem – start-up and spin-off GINOP-2.1.5-15 |
4,714 |
|||||||||
Innovation ecosystem (start-up) ÖKO_16 |
1,5 |
|||||||||
Exportable innovative product development | ||||||||||
Support of exportable innovative product development for an innovation-driven export expansion GINOP-2.1.6-16 |
1,225 |
|
||||||||
Funding for the export oriented R&D activities of domestic businesses Export_17 |
4,83 |
|||||||||
Prototype, product, technology and service development | ||||||||||
Prototype, product, technology and service development GINOP-2.1.7-15 |
48,79 |
|||||||||
Prototype, product, technology and service development VEKOP-2.1.7-15 |
10,35 |
|||||||||
Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs through adaptive technology innovation | ||||||||||
Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs through adaptive technology innovation GINOP-2.1.8-17 |
|
36,717 |
|
|||||||
Institutional excellence programmes |
R&D competitiveness and excellence cooperations |
|||||||||
R&D competitiveness and excellence cooperations GINOP-2.2.1-15 |
93,764 |
|
|
|
||||||
Competitiveness and excellence cooperations VEKOP-2.2.1-16 |
2,29 |
|
||||||||
National Competitiveness and Excellence Programme NVKP_16 |
28 |
|
||||||||
R&D competitiveness and excellence cooperations GINOP-2.2.1-18 |
10,684 | |||||||||
National Excellence Programme 2018.1.2.1-NKP |
5 |
|||||||||
Competitiveness and excellence cooperations VKE_17 |
16,73 | |||||||||
Competitiveness and excellence cooperations 2018-1.3.1-VKE |
26 |
|||||||||
Research infrastructure development of Higher Education and Industry Cooperation Centres |
||||||||||
Research infrastructure development of Higher Education and Industry Cooperation Centres GINOP-2.3.4-15 |
38,86 |
|||||||||
Research infrastructure development of Higher Education and Industry Cooperation Centres FIEK_16 |
8 |
|||||||||
Establishment of centres of competence – development of research infrastructures | ||||||||||
Establishment of centres of competence – development of research infrastructures 2019-1.3.1-KK |
8,5 | |||||||||
University Innovation Ecosystem | ||||||||||
University Innovation Ecosystem 2019-1.2.1-EGYETEMI ÖKO |
1,94 |
|||||||||
Infrastructure |
Excellence of Strategic R&D centres | |||||||||
Excellence of Strategic R&D centres GINOP-2.3.2-15 |
64,25 |
|
||||||||
Excellence of Strategic R&D centres VEKOP-2.3.2-16 |
4,02 |
|
||||||||
Strengthening research infrastructure - internationalisation, networking | ||||||||||
Strengthening research infrastructure - internationalisation, networking GINOP-2.3.3-15 |
25,29 |
|
|
|||||||
Strengthening research infrastructure - internationalisation, networking VEKOP-2.3.3-15 |
6,01 |
|||||||||
ELI laser research centre | ||||||||||
Implementation of the ELI laser research centre (ELI-ALPS) large project, Phase 2 GINOP-2.3.6-15 |
42,249 | |||||||||
Research infrastructures for excellence |
6,21 |
|||||||||
Research Excellence Programmes |
Researcher-initiated research projects | |||||||||
Researcher-initiated research projects K_15; K_16; K_17 |
5,98 |
7 |
6,5 |
|
|
|
|
|||
Researcher-initiated research projects K_18 Research projects initiated by young researchers FK_18 |
9,4 |
|||||||||
Thematic research projects and thematic research projects based on international cooperation K_19; ANN_19; SNN_19 |
5,8 | |||||||||
Postdoctoral programme | ||||||||||
Postdoctoral programme PD 2015/1,2,3 |
1,57 |
|||||||||
Postdoctoral excellence programme | ||||||||||
Postdoctoral excellence programme PD_16; PD_17; PD_18; PD_19 |
1,8 |
1,5 |
1,5 |
4 |
||||||
Research projects initiated by young researchers | ||||||||||
Research projects initiated by young researchers FK_17; FK_19 |
3 |
|||||||||
Research teams with significant achievements of internationally outstanding impact | ||||||||||
Research teams with significant achievements of internationally outstanding impact KH_17; KH_18; KH_19 |
1 |
1,2 |
|
1 |
||||||
Frontline – Research Excellence Programme | ||||||||||
Frontline – Research Excellence Programmem KKP_17, KKP_19; KKP_20 |
3 |
|
3 |
|
||||||
Mecenatúra (Patronage) programme | ||||||||||
Mecenatúra (Patronage) programme | 1 | |||||||||
Kabay Programme | ||||||||||
Kabay Programme | 1 | |||||||||
National Excellence Programme | ||||||||||
National Excellence Programme NKP_17 |
10 |
|
|
|||||||
International cooperation |
Request national funds in connection with the research funding programmes of the European Research Council | |||||||||
ERC_HU_15 (450 Bn HUF); ERC_16_MOBIL (200 Bn HUF); |
0,45 |
0,45 |
0,1 |
0,1 |
|
|||||
Research projects based on international cooperationk | ||||||||||
NN_17, ANN_17, SNN_17; V4-Japan Joint Research programme (2015: 45,5 Bn HUF); KNN_16 (2016: 72 Bn HUF); NN_18, ANN_18, SNN_18 |
1 |
1 |
||||||||
Support to foster Hungarian participation in the Horizon 2020 joint programmes and joint technology initiatives | ||||||||||
KKV_15 (2015-16: 60 Bn HUF, 2017: 100 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.4-KKV (2018: 100 Bn HUF); EU_KP_16 (2017 84,7 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.2-EU_KP_16 (230 Bn HUF, 2018: 80 Bn HUF); NEMZ_15 (1 380 Bn HUF); NEMZ_16 (2016: 710 Bn HUF, 2017: 697,5 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.5-NEMZ (2018: 442 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.6-NEMZ_ECSEL (2018: 760 Bn HUF); ERA-NET Infect-ERA (2015: 40 Bn HUF, 2016: 40 Bn HUF); ERA-NET E-Rare-3 (2015: 45 Bn HUF, 2016: 45 Bn HUF, 2017: 45 Bn HUF, 2018: 46,5 Bn HUF); M-ERA.NET-2 (2015: 90 Bn HUF, 2016: 90 Bn HUF, 2017: 90 Bn HUF); JPND (2017: 190 Bn HUF, 2018: 200 Bn HUF); FLAG-ERA JTC (2015: 200 Bn HUF, 2017: 155 Bn HUF); Quant-ERA (2017: 90 Bn HUF, 2018: 93 Bn HUF); ERA PerMed (2017: 100 Bn HUF); EUREKA_15 (400 Bn HUF); EUREKA_16 (2016: 400 Bn HUF, 2017: 400 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.3-EUREKA (2018: 75 Bn HUF); 2019-2.1.2-NEMZ (2019: 395 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.3-NEMZ_ECSEL (2019: 707 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.6-NEMZ_KI (2019: 100 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.4_KKV (2019: 100 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.5-EU_KP (2019: 80 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.1-EUREKA (2019: 500 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.7-ERA-NET (2019: 832,5 Bn HUF), EIT KIC (500 Bn HUF) | 2,2 |
1,5 |
1,9 |
1,4 |
3,214 |
|
||||
H2020 Teaming | ||||||||||
H2020 Teaming |
1,91 |
|
||||||||
Programme-based bilateral R&D cooperation projects | ||||||||||
TÉT_1517_IN (2017: 300 Bn HUF); TÉT_1517_IL (310,932017: 311 Bn HUF); TÉT_1617_CN (2017: 200 Bn HUF); TNN_16 (2017: 150 Bn HUF); INN_16 (2017: 150 Bn HUF); TÉT_17_VN (2017: 200 Bn HUF); KRP (2017: 154 Bn HUF); TÉT_17_RU (2017: 150 Bn HUF); TR-NN_17 (2017: 150 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.17-TÉT-KR (2018: 200 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.16-TÉT-IL (2018: 310 Bn HUF); 2019-2.1.14-ÖNVEZETŐ (2019: 100 Bn HUF), vietnami TéT (200 Bn HUF), indiai TéT (300 Bn HUF) | 0,79 |
0,68 |
1,83 |
0,67 |
1,72 |
|||||
Support of Bilateral science and technology (S&T) cooperation | ||||||||||
TÉT_1517_AT (2017: 20 Bn HUF); TÉT_15_TR (30 Bn HUF); TÉT_15_AR (50 Bn HUF); TÉT_15_MN (20 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.13-TÉT-FR (2018: 20 Bn HUF), 2018-2.1.14-TÉT_15_-CN (2018: 40 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.12-TÉT-_16_HR (2018: 20 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.11-TÉT_16_-SI (2018: 20 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.15-TÉT_16_-PT (2018: 20 Bn HUF); TÉT_16_RS (20 Bn HUF);2018-2.1.10- TÉT_16_-MC (2018: 20 Bn HUF); TÉT_16_FR (30 Bn HUF); TÉT_16_JP (50 Bn HUF); TÉT_17_AT (20 Bn HUF); TÉT_17_FR (20 Bn HUF); 2019-2.1.10-TÉT-IL (930 Bn HUF), 2019-2.1.11-TÉT (2019: 160 Bn HUF), UK_GYAK_17 (2017: 25 Bn HUF); 2018-2.1.1-UK_GYAK (2018: 25 Bn HUF), 2018-2.1.7-UK_GYAK (2019: 30 Bn HUF), |