Eligible applicants

Proposals for this call may be submitted as direct beneficiaries by a company that is 100% owned by a state-recognised higher education institution in Hungary or a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation responsible for managing public research centres. The company’s main activity must involve technology transfer and exploitation (TTC). Additionally, proposals may also be submitted by a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation that conducts scientific research through its public research centres or research institutions. For all applicants, the Funding Declaration can only be issued to a TTC. (If the applicant research and knowledge-dissemination organisations carrying out scientific research through its budgetary research centres or research institutions does not have a wholly-owned company at the time of submission of the project proposal, which carries out its main activity of technology and knowledge transfer/knowledge exploitation (TTC), it must set up such a company by the date of the funding decision ¹). By the start of the project, the company is expected to prepare its proof of concept along the guidelines developed by the National Innovation Agency (hereinafter: NIÜ) in the framework of the “Technology Transfer Company” project. The agreement of the proof of concept with the NIÜ and its approval by the NIÜ is a condition for the issuance of the Funding Declaration.

The Call is open to both individual applicants and consortia. For the purposes of this Call, the term applicant refers to the organisation independently implementing the project specified in the project proposal or, in the case of a consortium proposal, the leader of the research consortium established for implementation (consortium leader). A consortium member refers to any additional participant in the research consortium. The applicant (in the case of an individual proposal) and both the applicant and the consortium member (in the case of a consortium proposal) are collectively referred to as applicants, while those receiving funding are referred to as beneficiaries.

In the case of implementation in a consortium structure, both the consortium leader and the consortium member must comply with the conditions set forth in the Call. A consortium consists of one consortium leader and one consortium member.

In the case of a consortium, the members must enter into a Consortium Cooperation Agreement for the establishment of the consortium no later than the submission of the project proposal. A separate Consortium Cooperation Agreement must be concluded for the implementation of the funded project before the Funding Declaration is issued.

The consortium member cannot be modified until the funding decision is made. During the implementation period, modifications are only possible in particularly justified cases and require the prior approval of the NRDI Office.

The additional conditions for applicants, including the list of ineligible applicants, are set out in point 6 of the Guidelines annexed to this call.

The TTC (direct beneficiary) must enter into an agreement with the institution or organisation holding 100% ownership rights over it (either a state-recognised higher education institution in Hungary or a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation that conducts scientific research through its public research centres or research institutions) (final beneficiary). Under this agreement, the final beneficiary commits to further developing its own research results for practical, technological and societal utilisation, contributing to the long-term growth of the Hungarian economy. The funding for this is derived from public financing provided through the NRDI Fund under this Call (re-granted funding), supplemented by the direct beneficiary’s own or market-based resources as specified in point 6.1 of the Call.

Detailed requirements regarding the direct beneficiary (TTC), the final beneficiaries (state-recognised higher education institutions or research and knowledge-dissemination organisations that conduct scientific research through their public research centres or research institutions), and the re-granted funding are set out in the Operations Manual, which is annexed to this Call.

Total budget and the maximum amount of funding

The call is financed from the Innovation Sub-fund of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund. In order to achieve the objectives of the call, the Funder provides a total budget of HUF 3 billion from the NRDI Fund.

Total expected number of funded projects: 8 to 12. The number is indicative and may change depending on the requested and awarded amount of funding.

The maximum amount of funding per proposal is HUF 350 million.

The maximum amount of funding per consortium is HUF 500 million.

The funding intensity for funded projects is 90%. The direct beneficiary undertakes to supplement the amount of funding at the TTC project level by 10% from its own resources or from market sources during the implementation of the project.

Duration of the project

Maximum project duration is 36 months, with no possibility for extension.

Two milestones should be planned for the whole project, at the end of month 12 and month 24. At the end of month 36, the project ends with a final milestone (only the final milestone can be less than 12 months).

Submission of proposals

Project proposals may be submitted online, by logging in and completing the online application form at the Participant Portal (Pályázati e-ügyintézés) available at www.palyazat.gov.hu. The finalised proposal must be submitted together with a duly signed (authenticated) declaration verifying the electronic submission of the proposal, in line with the Guidelines.

The declaration must be signed (authenticated) as follows:

1. provided with the authorised signatory’s qualified electronic signature or advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate, or
   
2. the declaration must be authenticated using the ePaper service.

The ePaper service is available free of charge, but requires electronic identification (e.g. ClientGate+ registration or DÁP ID). The ePaper service is available at https://epapir.gov.hu/ .

After applying an electronic signature or using the ePaper service: 

1. attach to the finalised proposal a declaration provided with a qualified electronic signature or authenticated using the ePaper service, and then
2. submit the proposal in accordance with the instructions in the online form.
   

Proposals can only be submitted via the Participant Portal, without the need to send it on paper to the NRDI Office.

Deadline for submission

Proposals are accepted electronically on a rolling basis from the official opening of the online form until 12:00 (CET) on 10 April 2025. The expected date for the launch of the online form is 17 March 2025, the opening of which will be announced on www.nkfih.gov.hu.

Evaluation process

Applicants who meet the admission requirements and satisfy the eligibility and formal assessment criteria will be invited to present their project plan in person. The evaluation will consider both the written proposal and the in-person presentation.

The expected date of the funding decision is June 2025.

Project implementation

Projects can start between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2028.

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¹ In this case, the applicant research and knowledge-dissemination organisations will not be the direct beneficiary of the funding, but the direct beneficiary will be the TTC established by the applicant under the terms of the Call