Announcement of OPUS 19, PRELUDIUM 19, and a new POLS call

We have launched new editions of the most popular calls, OPUS and PRELUDIUM, as well as a new POLS call funded from Norway Grants and addressed at researchers arriving to Poland from other countries.

POLS is one of the three calls funded from the Norway Grants 2014–2021 under the “Research” Programme. The National Science Centre is the operator of the basic research part of the Programme. The objective of the POLS call is to promote researcher mobility; it is addressed at researchers arriving from all over the world who wish to carry out their research in Poland. A principal investigator must be at least a PhD holder who have not lived, worked, studied or managed a research project in Poland in the two years prior to the closing of the call. Researchers can apply for project funding ranging between EUR 100,000 to 200,000, which can be used to finance the costs of remuneration for the research team, depreciation or purchase of equipment, materials and services, conference fees and travel expenses, as well as other project-related costs. The maximum indirect costs under the POLS call can account for up to 25% of the funds applied for in the project, including the value of the purchased research equipment, with the exception of subcontracting costs. Research projects may last either 12 or 24 months. In justified cases, the project implementation period may be extended, however no longer than by 30 April 2024. The total call budget is over EUR 7,000,000.

In the meantime, the OPUS call, addressed at researchers at any stage of their research career, has just entered its 19^th edition. Research projects may be carried out over a period of 12, 24, 36 or 48 months. Since the previous edition, the OPUS call has been extended to include certain elements of the HARMONIA call, whereby researchers can apply for funding of research projects carried out in bilateral or multilateral international cooperation as well as initiatives involving large-scale international research infrastructure. A principal investigator under the OPUS call must have at least one paper published or accepted for publication or at least one artistic achievement or achievement in research in art completed. The principal investigator must reside in Poland for at least 50% of the project duration period. In addition to the principal investigator, research may be carried out by co-investigators, including students, PhD students and post-docs. However, as of the previous edition of the call, researchers who have been awarded a PhD degree by the host institution for the project cannot be employed as post-docs. Indirect costs may be a maximum of 20% of direct costs and will be calculated on the direct costs, including equipment, devices and software. The terms of the OPUS call do not specify the total minimum or maximum amount of the project budget and as much as PLN 450,000,000 in funding is available in total.

Furthermore, the 19^th edition of the PRELUDIUM call has just been announced. It is addressed at researchers who are not PhD holders. The subject of the project may, but does not have to, be connected with the subject of a PhD dissertation. Young researchers are eligible to receive funding for projects to be carried out over the period of 12, 24 or 36 months. Depending on the project duration, the grants may amount to PLN 70,000, 140,000 or 210,000 PLN respectively. Indirect costs may be a maximum of 20% of direct costs. As of the previous edition of the call, the indirect costs are calculated on direct costs, including research equipment, devices and software. Apart from the principal investigator and the mentor, the research team may only include one other member. Not unlike in the OPUS call, the principal investigator must reside in Poland for at least 50% of the project duration period, and is eligible to take on that role in the PRELUDIUM call only once. The total budget of the call is PLN 35,000,000.

Proposals must be submitted electronically via ZSUN/OSF, available at https://osf.opi.org.pl.  The proposal submission deadline is 16 June 2020. The call results will be announced in December 2020 at the latest.