A funding boost in the NCN’s budget will enable 485 researchers to receive over PLN 693 million for their basic research under recently concluded OPUS 26 and SONATA 19. We will fund 237 projects that are included in the standard ranking lists and all 248 projects on the waiting lists compiled by the experts in the calls.
Under the OPUS call, which is addressed to a wide range of researchers, proposals may be submitted by all those whose publication track record includes at least one paper published or accepted for publication, and there are no restrictions on experience, academic degree, or title. Proposals may cover Polish research projects as well as projects with foreign participation and with the use of international research equipment by the Polish research teams. Similarly to other editions of the call launched each autumn, OPUS 26 was also open to funding proposals for projects carried out in international cooperation pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure (LAP) under the Weave Programme, where researchers could carry out their projects in collaboration with research teams from Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg or Belgium – Flanders that applied for funding of the same projects from their respective research funding agencies under the Weave Programme.
Under OPUS 26, the National Science Centre received 1737 proposals for a total of nearly PLN 2.6 billion, of which almost PLN 441 million was awarded to 267 research projects. The projects recommended for funding in the call included 127 proposals from the waiting lists, for a total value of PLN 191.9 million. The success rate was 15.4%. As regards 34 proposals for international research projects conducted pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure, recommended for funding by the Expert Teams of the National Science Centre, they must be approved by the partner institution, which is why they are not included in the lists we have just published. The funding decisions on proposals submitted to OPUS 26+LAP/Weave will be made on a rolling basis, following approvals from the respective partner agencies (Result Publication Schedule).
SONATA 19 is addressed to researchers with a PhD degree conferred within 2 to 7 years before the proposal submission year and aims to support innovative research of researchers at the onset of their research career. In this round of the call, 1148 proposals were submitted to the National Science Centre for a total value of over PLN 1.25 billion. 218 projects with a value of nearly PLN 252.4 million were recommended for funding, out of which 121 projects with a value of almost PLN 141.3 million were originally placed on the waiting lists, although due to the funding boost of the NCN’s budget, they will ultimately receive funding. The success rate under SONATA 19 was 19%.
On 8 April 2024, the NCN Council passed a resolution on the OPUS 26 and SONATA 19 waiting lists which have been compiled by the experts at the second stage of evaluation. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education awarded additional PLN 200 million to the National Science Centre and approved its material and financial schedule at the beginning of May, which is why the NCN Council decided to increase the budget of OPUS 26 and SONATA 19 pursuant to Resolutions Nos 47/2024 and 48/2024. This enabled us to fund all 248 projects on the waiting lists.
The lists of projects recommended for funding under OPUS 26 and SONATA 19 and their descriptions for the general public are available on our website (Call Results).
Ranking Lists to be downloaded (.pdf): OPUS 26, SONATA 18
Service of Decisions
Today, the funding decisions will be served for both proposals recommended for funding and not recommended for funding under OPUS 26 and SONATA 19. The funding decisions of the NCN Director will be served on the applicants in an electronic format and will be sent to the electronic address indicated in the proposal.
If the applicant is an entity described in Article 27 (1) – (7) and (9) of the Act on the National Science Centre, the funding decision of the NCN Director will only be served to the applicant’s Electronic Delivery Box (ESP ePUAP) address specified in the proposal. If a natural person applies and provides their ePUAP address in the proposal, the funding decision will be sent to that address, however, if no ePUAP address is specified, they will receive an e-mail with an electronic address from which they will be able to download the NCN Director’s decision.
The funding decisions by the NCN Director are also sent to the principal investigator and, if a natural person applies, to the participating entity specified in the proposal.
Applicants who have not received a decision are recommended to check if their electronic address (ESP, ePUAP, e-mail) provided in the proposal is correct and if they provide an incorrect e-mail address, they should contact the NCN Program Officer in charge of the proposal specified in the OSF submission system.