Over € 67 million given to basic research by the NCN

For the 13th time, the National Science Centre has announced a call for proposals under its OPUS and PRELUDIUM funding schemes. Researchers may apply for funding from a pool of ca € 67 million.

Researchers at the beginning of their career in research who hold no doctoral degree can submit their proposals under the PRELUDIUM 13 call. Although the funding-winning projects will be supervised by an established researcher, their authors will carry out the research themselves. The projects’ completion time may span one, two or three years, with a funding limit of ca. € 14 000, 28 000 or 43 000 respectively. In the current edition of the funding opportunity, the budget has been set at over € 7 million.

Supporting researchers at the onset of their careers is one of the National Science Centre’s priorities. In 2016, we contributed 24 per cent of the research budget towards funding beginner researchers’ projects, internships and scholarships, including the PRELUDIUM programme, said professor Zbigniew Błocki, director of the Centre. This funding scheme is the first step in a beginner researcher’s experience of the research grant system.

All researchers, regardless of their experience and academic degree, may apply for funding under the OPUS 13 call. Resources received may be used for establishing a research team and purchasing equipment required in the research. There is no cap on the funding of individual projects; projects may be carried out within 12, 24 or 36 months. The total funding of the 13^th edition comes to nearly € 60 million.

Proposals must be submitted via the OSF system (https://osf.opi.org.pl) by 16^th June 2017.