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8. Presentation of funded research infrastructure projects

The funding schemes described in Chapter 4 have enabled the implementation of significant RI developments in recent
years in the framework of competitive public funding programmes.

Since 2015, many calls for proposals have been announced independently or as part of the RDI funding programme aimed
at the development of research infrastructures. The RI development projects financed from national or EU sources strength-
ened the knowledge base and international cooperation relations. Projects submitted to the calls announced by the NRDI
Office and the managing authorities were assessed by expert panels based on excellence and future potentials, with a par-
ticular focus on increased research cooperation and networking. It was also expected to use the procured equipment for
educational purposes, and in many funding schemes the level of involvement of young people, the openness of the given
infrastructure and the impact on regional development were also among evaluation criteria.

Importantly, RI development projects were required to be directly or indirectly aligned with the national sectoral priorities
or smart technologies defined in the S3. The funding schemes also anticipated projects to contribute to the achievement
of internationally outstanding scientific results, as well as to scientific excellence, stronger scientific positions for Hungary,
the national/international networking of research infrastructures, and the international competitiveness of the domestic
RDI system. However, as the development level of Hungarian regions – and thus their access to the structural funds –
vary significantly, a large part of the development projects were implemented in the convergence regions.

The following part of the chapter introduces a few recent RI development projects which have special importance both
in terms of national R&D and international connection.

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