Coordination & Capacity Kick-off

The Coordination and Capacity Kick-off Call is a preparatory initiative intended to support the development of project concepts for the upcoming LANGSPIL Interdisciplinary Call. The Kick-off grants support Polish research teams, particularly those led by early-career researchers, in: 

• Forming international partnerships with collaborators from the EEA countries to address complex research challenges. 
• Developing interdisciplinary projects concepts with potential to be submitted as proposals under the LANGSPIL call. 

This will be achieved through: 

• Bilateral Working Visits: Funding is directed toward on-site visits, enabling partners to refine project ideas and exchange expertise through in-person cooperation. 
• Tailored Capacity Building: Based on the obstacles identified in the application process, the National Science Centre (NCN) will provide beneficiaries with targeted support, including workshops and expert facilitation. Where feasible, these measures will be extended to all potential LANGSPIL applicants. The scope and format of these activities will be decided once the submission period has ended. 

While this initiative will support the preparation of partnerships and concepts for applications, the submission of applications in the subsequent LANGSPIL Call will remain optional. 

The LANGSPIL call, scheduled for launch in November 2026 with a submission deadline in early 2027, will focus on interdisciplinary basic research. With a total budget of 12,000,000 EUR, the call will support 3-year projects that integrate multiple disciplines, with a particular emphasis on the methodologies and approaches of the social sciences and humanities. Projects will be implemented through bilateral collaboration between Poland and the Donor States, addressing complex challenges in at least one of the following priority areas: the European green transition; democracy, rule of law, and human rights; or social inclusion and resilience. Furthermore, meaningful collaboration and knowledge exchange with non-academic partners will be highly encouraged.

The eligible Applicant is a research organisation defined by Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty and established as a legal person in Poland. The Article 27 section 1 of the Act on the National Science Centre of 30 April 2010 indicates the eligible entities’ catalogue, which may apply in the calls launched by NCN. In Coordination & Capacity Kick-off these are: 

1. University
2. Federation of science and HE entities 
3. Research institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences
4. Research institute 
5. International research institute 

5a. Łukasiewicz Centre

5b. Institute operating within the Łukasiewicz Research Network

5c. Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education 

6. Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences
7. Entity involved in research independently on a continuous basis (not listed in sections 1-6)
8. -
9. Scientific and industrial centre
10.  Research centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences
11.  Scientific library
12.  Company operating as R&D centre 
13.  Legal entity established with registered office in Poland

13 a. President of the Central Office of Measures

The Principal Investigator (holder of at least a PhD degree) must be employed by the Applicant at the time of proposal submission.

What are the subjects covered by the call?

Applications may be submitted to the call in any of 26 NCN panels comprising three groups:

• HS –Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences;
• NZ – Life Sciences;
• ST – Physical Sciences and Engineering.

Furthermore, concept developed during realization of the Coordination & Capacity Kick-off grant must address challenges within one of the three priority areas:

• the European green transition,
• democracy, the rule of law, and human rights,
• social inclusion and resilience.

Annex 1 to the call text serves as the application form. All mandatory fields, text boxes, and tables within the form must be fully completed, and character limits must be respected. Applicants must strictly adhere to the quantitative limits specified for the Principal Investigator’s track record (Part C of the form), where a maximum of 3 publications and a maximum of 3 completed or ongoing research projects may be listed.

The application form also serves as a questionnaire to evaluate the needs of potential beneficiaries regarding capacity building activities. Based on the information gathered in Part D of the form, NCN will determine the format of the support provided. The details will be communicated to beneficiaries once the call results are announced. 

The Cooperation & Capacity Kick-off grant is awarded as a lump sum of 2,800 EUR, intended to cover travel and subsistence costs for the Principal Investigator’s on-site visits to the EEA countries or, in justified cases, for a researcher from the EEA country visiting Poland. All other expenses are considered ineligible.

The exchange rate valid for this call is: EUR 1 = PLN 4.2426.

The lump sum will be settled upon the submission of at least one Expression of Interest (template provided in Annex 4 to the Call text), which must be signed by a representative of an entity from Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein. This document must confirm that the interdisciplinary project concept was advanced through at least one on-site meeting. Failure to submit the Expression of Interest will render the lump sum ineligible, requiring a full return of awarded funds. 

Additionally, beneficiaries must submit an Interdisciplinary Project Concept (template provided in Annex 5 to the Call text), developed in active collaboration with the partner(s) from the EEA countries within the framework of the Principal Investigator's existing employment contract. 

No, state aid is not eligible under this call. Applications in which grant funding will constitute state aid will not be considered. For detailed information, please refer to the NCN regulations on state aid.

Grant applications shall be submitted electronically to: 

• the electronic delivery address (EDA) of the National Science Centre: AE:PL-30168-16398-EHSIE-12 (for all Applicants) or 
• the electronic delivery box of the National Science Centre (/ncn/SkrytkaESP) (for Applicants that are public entities specified in Article 2 of the Act on the Electronic Delivery of Documents of 18 November 2020). 

The completed and signed applications must be submitted before the deadline specified under the Basic Information section of this call. Depending on the method of submission, proposals will be considered effectively served on the receipt of the Official Confirmation of Submission (Urzędowe Poświadczenie Przedłożenia, “UPP”) or confirmation of receipt (dowód otrzymania). 

The application deadline is September 1, 2026, at 14:00, UTC+02:00 (CEST).

Any corrections or revision of proposals after this deadline will not be possible.

Each Applicant may submit a maximum of one grant application per Principal Investigator. Each application shall name a specific Principal Investigator. In cases where more than one application is submitted for the same Principal Investigator, only the first application registered as submitted will be considered. All subsequent applications will be rejected.

Applications undergo an administrative and eligibility check by NCN Coordinators. Proposals meeting all requirements are recommended for funding. In the event of budget limitations, priority is assigned based on the Principal Investigator’s track record (assessed relative to their career stage) in the management and/or participation in: 

1. Non-academic cooperation (NGOs, industry, policy). 
2. International research projects. 
3. Domestic research projects. 

If further differentiation is required, preference will be given to: 

• Early-career researchers and representatives of underrepresented genders. 
• Ensuring a balanced success rate across the three thematic priorities. 

Detailed assessment rules are specified in Annex 3 to the Call text. The call results will be announced in October 2026, with the signing of grant contracts scheduled for November 2026. 

The Coordination & Capacity Kick-off call results shall be announced on the NCN website in October 2026 at the latest.

The call results will be communicated to the applicants by an electronically delivered decision of the NCN Director.

The Applicant (Project Promoter/Project Investigator) should get acquainted with the rules for delivering the NCN Director’s decisions.

The decisions of the NCN Director may be appealed against to the Appeal Committee of the Council of the National Science Centre, in the event of a breach of the call procedure or other formal infringements. The appeal shall be lodged by the Applicant within 14 days of the effective delivery of the decision.

More information on appeal procedure can be found here.

To facilitate the formation of international partnerships, NCN has launched a dedicated EEA & Norway Grants Partner Matchmaking Tool, available here. We hihgly encourage all interested to register in the database to maximize the chances of finding a potential partner for Coordination & Capacity Kick-off and other calls within the Basic Research Programme framework.

NCN will host a webinar on the Coordination & Capacity Kick-off followed by a Q&A session on 8 July 2026 at 10AM CEST. The webinar will be held via the ClickMeeting platform, interested participants can register in advance using the following registration link. Please note that the number of participants is limited to 500.

For any further inquiries or questions regarding the upcoming calls, please feel free to contact us at Norway.Grants@ncn.gov.pl.