LEAP-SE Cofund Call 2026

Proposals in the call may be submitted by the following entities laid down in the Act on the National Science Centre:

1. universities;
2. federations of science and HE entities;
3. research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences operating pursuant to the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1796, as amended);
4. research institutes operating pursuant to the Act on Research Institutes of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 498);
5. international research institutes established pursuant to other acts and acting in the Republic of Poland;

5a. Łukasiewicz Centre operating pursuant to the Act on the Łukasiewicz Research Network of 21 February 2019 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 2098);

5b. institutes operating within the Łukasiewicz Research Network;

5c. Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education operating pursuant to the Act on the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education of 13 September 2018 (Journal of Laws 2024, items 570 and 1897);

6. Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences;
7. other entities involved in research independently on a continuous basis;
8. groups of entities (at least two entities mentioned in sections 1-7 or at least one institution as such together with at least one enterprise);
9. scientific and industrial centres laid down in the Act on Research Centres of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 498);
10. research centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences laid down in the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1796);
11. scientific libraries;
12. companies operating as R&D centres laid down in the Act on Certain Forms of Support for Innovation Activities of 30 May 2008 (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2474);
13. legal entities with registered office in Poland;

13a. President of the Central Office of Measures

14. natural persons; and
15. companies conducting research in other organisational form than set forth in sections 1-13.

If a research project is carried out by two or more Polish entities applying for NCN funding, they must set up a group of entities (see point 8 above) and as such submit NCN proposals. NCN proposals are submitted by leaders specified in the research project cooperation agreement concluded by the group of entities. An entity employing the principal investigator acts as the leader of the group of entities.

If, pursuant to Article 27 (1) (2) of the NCN Act, Polish entities cannot set up a group of entities, they are not eligible to apply for NCN funding of a joint research project.

A template research project cooperation agreement concluded by a group of entities.

The principal investigator of the Polish research team must hold at least a PhD degree when submitting an NCN proposal. Additional restrictions are described in Chapter IV, §13-20 of the Terms and regulations on awarding funding for research tasks funded or co-funded under international calls launched by the National Science Centre and carried out as multilateral collaboration UNISONO, annexed to NCN Council Resolution No 74/2025 of 11 September 2025.

The call addresses the following topics:

1. Assessment of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and integration of RES in sustainable energy scenarios;
2. End-of-life and second‐life management and environmental impact of RE components;
3. Smart stand‐alone systems;
4. Smart grid (different scales) for off grid application;
5. Processes and appliances for productive uses (agriculture, mobility and industry);
6. Innovative solutions for priority domestic uses (clean cooking and cold chain);
7. Production and utilization of Green Hydrogen.

The call supports innovative research projects into energy transition and renewable energy.

NCN proposals covering research tasks overlapping tasks specified in another proposal submitted earlier to an NCN call can only be submitted once the evaluation of the previous proposal or appeal procedure has been completed otherwise than by awarding funding.

Research projects may be planned for a period of 24 or 36 months.

We recommend that Polish applicants should consult the budget table of the Polish part of the project with the NCN. To receive NCN feedback in time, please send the budget table in .xlsx format to alicja.dylag@ncn.gov.pl by 22 January 2026.

Creating a project budget is one of the most important aspects in the project planning which aims at identifying the required resources and estimating the costs required to perform the research tasks. The project budget must be based on realistic calculations and must comply with the guidelines laid down in the Types of costs in research projects funded by the NCN and carried out as the multilateral collaboration UNISONO.

The maximum budget of the Polish research team is not pre-determined, however, the justification of the expenses versus the scope of tasks is assessed by the international expert team. The proposal may be rejected if an unreasonable budget is planned and/or discrepancies are found between the costs of the project carried out by the Polish research teams in the NCN proposal and the joint proposal.

The budget in the NCN proposal must be quoted in PLN, while the budget in the joint proposal, in EUR.

The EUR budget for the Polish part of the research project in the joint proposal will be calculated according to the following exchange rate: EUR 1 = PLN 4.2791.

Project costs include direct and indirect costs.

Direct costs include:

1. remuneration:
   • full-time employment: funds for full-time employment of a principal investigator or post-doc(s);
   • additional salaries for members of the research team, including the principal investigator;
   • salaries and scholarships for students and PhD students;
2. purchase or manufacturing of research equipment, devices and software;
3. purchase of materials and small equipment;
4. outsourcing;
5. business trips, visits and consultations;
6. compensation for collective investigators; and
7. other costs crucial to the project.

Salaries of the administrative staff and conference costs (renting a venue, catering) can only be funded as indirect costs.

Indirect costs include:

• indirect costs of Open Access of up to 2% of direct costs, which can only be spent on the costs of open access to publications or research data,

• other indirect costs of up to 20% of direct costs, which may be allocated to costs indirectly related to the project, including costs of open access to publications and research data. When the project is carried out, the host institution must arrange with the principal investigator for the distribution of at least 25% of the indirect costs’ value.

Research projects carried out by Polish research teams are funded by the NCN as long as foreign partners are also allocated project funding.

The terms of the call do not specify the maximum number of the research team members. For more information on the budget for salaries and scholarships, please read the Types of costs in research projects funded by the NCN and carried out as the multilateral collaboration UNISONO.

NCN scholarship recipients and/or post-docs in the project must be recruited in an open call procedure. Please read the Regulations for awarding scholarships in NCN-funded research projects.

Scholarship recipients and post-docs must not be named in either joint proposals or NCN proposals.

Yes, they can. For more information, please read the State Aid section.

Joint proposals are subject to an eligibility check performed by the NCN, other research-funding agencies participating in the call and the LEAP-SE Cofund Call 2026 Secretariat.

Joint proposals approved as eligible are subject to a merit-based evaluation performed by an international expert team according to the call documents.

NCN proposals are subject solely to an eligibility check performed by the Scientific Coordinators.

The eligibility check of NCN proposals includes verification of proposals for completeness and compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the call documents and Annex to Resolution No 74/2025, including compliance of the expenses with the Annex: Types of costs in research projects funded by the NCN and carried out as the multilateral collaboration UNISONO. Information in NCN proposals and in joint full proposals must be consistent.

Open access publication of research results.

LEAP-SE Cofund Call 2026, launched under Horizon Europe, is governed by European Commission’s regulations on open access publication of research results. More information on European Commission’s requirements can be found here.

Please read the call documents on the LEAP-RE call website (LEAP-SE Cofund Call 2026 Call Text, Chapter 11: Open Access and Open Data).

The LEAP-SE Cofund Call 2026 will be concluded on the date specified in the call documents (November 2026). Project Coordinators will be notified of the call results first. Polish research teams will be notified by way of a decision by the NCN Director.

In the event of a breach of the call procedure or other formal infringements related to actions performed by the NCN, applicants may appeal against the decision by the NCN Director with the Committee of Appeals of the NCN Council.

Before submitting an NCN proposal at national level:

1. make sure that the information in and annexes to the proposal are correct. Checking the proposal for completeness in the OSF submission system with the Sprawdź kompletność [Check completeness] button does not guarantee that the information entered is correct and the required annexes have been attached;
2. disable the final version of the proposal to the NCN;
3. download the confirmation of proposal submission which must be signed by the principal investigator and authorised representative(s) of the entity;
4. upload the signed confirmations of proposal submission.

Once the proposal is completed and all the required annexes attached, use the Wyślij do NCN [Send to NCN] button to submit the proposal to the NCN electronically via the OSF submission system.

For more information on the call, go to the LEAP-RE Consortium website. The terms and regulations on awarding NCN funding can be found in NCN Council Resolutions No 74/2025.

Should you have any more questions or queries, please contact us by e-mail or by phone:

• Alicja Dyląg,
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  Please call between 9:00 AM and 12:00.

• Michał Olejnik

On 24 November (10 am CET), a webinar for applicants will be held. Register here (mandatory).