Spring NCN calls

Proposals are now being accepted under OPUS 27, our call for researchers at all career levels, and PRELUDIUM 23, for pre-PhD researchers. The total budget of the two calls is 490 million zlotys and proposals may be submitted until mid-June.

Under the new calls, researchers can apply for grants to fund basic research projects in any scientific discipline.

Of all NCN calls, OPUS has the broadest formula: it is open to researchers at all career levels, including those who have not yet earned a PhD degree. The applicants must demonstrate a track record of at least one paper published or accepted for publication or, for research in art, at least one artistic achievement or achievement in research in art.

OPUS 27 grants can be used to fund projects with or without the partnership of foreign institutions, as well as those that require the use of large international research equipment. The spring iteration of the OPUS call does not include the lead agency procedure (LAP).

OPUS projects may take 12, 24, 36 or 48 months and involve post-docs and senior researchers, as well as students and PhD candidates. Funds from the project budget may be used for the purchase of research equipment, devices and software, materials and small equipment, outsourced services, business trips, visits and consultations, as well as compensation for collective investigators. Although there is no upper limit of funding available to a project, the budget must be compliant with the call terms, and the costs must be reasonable and crucial to the project.

PRELUDIUM 23 is targeted at researchers without a PhD degree. Grants can go toward funding projects to be carried out at Polish host institutions over 12, 24 or 36 months, with budgets of up to PLN 70,000, 140,000 or 210,000, respectively. The subject matter of the project may, but does not need to, be related to the subject of the doctoral dissertation.

The PRELUDIUM project team may consist of up to three members, including the PI and the mentor. The project budget may go toward funding the salary of the research team members (except the mentor), research equipment, software and devices, materials and small equipment, outsourced services, business trips, visits and consultations, as well as compensation for collective investigators and other necessary costs crucial to the project provided that they are in line with the Types of costs in research projects funded by the NCN.

More funding available

The total budget of OPUS 27 to be distributed among successful applicants is 450 million zlotys and that of PRELUDIUM 23 – 40 million.

“This is the first time in a while that the budgets are higher than in previous iterations. This is thanks to the announcement made by Minister of Science Dariusz Wieczorek that the NCN will receive an additional subsidy of 200 million zlotys before the end of this year”, said Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, Director of the National Science Centre.

The Minister of Science, Dariusz Wieczorek, announced his decision to provide the National Science Centre with additional resources to fund research projects at a press conference on 14 February. 

“This is a step in the right direction; it will allow us to fund more valuable projects and, in the long run, boost the competitive edge of Polish science in the international arena”, Prof. Jóźwiak emphasised, “I am hopeful that, thanks to these higher budgets, the success rates in OPUS 27 and PRELUDIUM 23 will also go up significantly”, he added.

Evaluation procedure and call results

OPUS 27 and PRELUDIUM 23 proposals may be submitted until Monday, 17 June, via the OSF system.

Proposals may be submitted by universities, research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, research institutes, scientific and industrial centres, research centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences, scientific libraries, companies and legal entities with registered offices in Poland. Individuals who are not employed at any institution may also apply as long as they are going to be employed from the grant resources.

OPUS and PRELUDIUM proposals are evaluated by Expert Teams set up for each panel (e.g. HS1, NZ1, ST1). Merit-based evaluation consists of two stages: first, the proposals are evaluated by experts appointed to the Expert Team by the NCN Council, and then evaluated by external reviewers. Both at stage 1 and 2, the final decision is agreed on by the Expert Team as a whole, based on individual evaluations made by experts and reviewers, following a team discussion.

Call results will be published once the evaluation procedure has concluded, at the latest in December 2024.