The total budget of discovery research calls have increased continuously from HUF 7.9 billion in 2015 to the present HUF 16.5 billion, of which HUF 12 billion has been awarded now by the NRDI Office. In the domestic system of discovery research calls the NRDI Office provides funding opportunities for postdoctors just starting their researcher careers (PD_18), young researchers launching their own research projects or research groups (FK_18), and more experienced researchers (K_18) in the area of discovery research.  

Dr. Zoltán Birkner, President of the NRDI Office pointed out: “One of the goals of funding discovery research from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund is to make research an attractive career opportunity for young people and encourage researchers under 40 years to launch own projects. Early career researchers have won one third of the total amount of funding this year in the framework of the Thematic research proposals of young researchers and the Postdoctoral excellence programme.” 

The project proposals were assessed by anonymous reviewers against the criteria indicated in the calls, with the involvement of expert panels and specialised scientific councils. On the basis of the anonymous reviews and the ranking set up by the expert panels, the councils did not diverge from the expert panels’ professionally substantiated recommendations and proposed the same projects for funding to the President of the NRDI Office. The President of the Office agreed with the proposal and approved it without any change (after handover and takeover of tasks and completion of administrative duties required by the new governmental arrangement at the end of July). The official notifications are currently being sent out to the applicants.

• The K_18 call for researcher-initiated research projects and the FK_18 call for young researchers under 40 years of age had a total budget of HUF 9.4 billion.
  • The call for researcher-initiated research projects (K_18), designed to strengthen researchers’ creativity and effectiveness in any field of science, contributed to the launch of 192 new projects with a total of HUF 6.5 billion in funding.
    2018 winners of the Call for researcher initiated thematic applications (K_18)
    
  • The separate FK_18 call provided funding to researchers under 40 years of age for teaming up and launching independent research projects in Hungary. In the framework of the call for thematic applications specifically targeted at young researchers (FK_18), researchers under 40 years have the opportunity to launch altogether 93 new projects with a total funding of HUF 2.9 billion.
    2018 winners of the Call for thematic applications initiated by young researchers (FK_18)
    
  
  
• The Postdoctoral excellence programme (PD_18) provides grant for a period of three years to 68 early career researchers with a doctoral degree.
  2018 winners of the postdoctoral excellence programme (PD_18)
  
• Of domestic research groups whose excellent results had the most significant international impact 26 met the rigorous eligibility criteria and won altogether HUF 500 million in the funding programme aimed at promoting the international visibility of domestic scientific achievements (KH_18).
  Winners of the call titled “Funding for research teams with significant achievements of internationally outstanding impact” (KH_18)
  
• The call for international collaborative research projects, which promotes cooperation between domestic research groups and foreign partners, nearly HUF 670 million was awarded to 18 applicants.
  Winners of the Call for research projects based on international cooperation (NN_18)
  

Based on the number of grants received in the call for researcher-initiated research projects, the call for young researchers and the postdoctoral programme, the top performer is the Eötvös Loránd University with 49 funded projects benefitting from a total of HUF 1.38 billion. The ranking of the institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is topped by the Research Centre for Natural Sciences with 21 funded projects and a total funding of HUF 0.72 billion.

The international visibility of scientific results is gaining importance worldwide. It is measured by innovation scoreboards, university rankings and the citation index of scientific publications. With the excellence programme titled “Funding for research teams with significant achievements of internationally outstanding impact” KH_18), having a total budget of HUF 1.2 billion, the NRDI Office encourages domestic research groups to achieve new results which greatly advance their, field of science and lay the foundations of further research, and to present them in the most visible and top-cited international scientific journals. The call for proposals is open again until 13 September 2018.

More than 1100 proposals with a total funding request of over HUF 30 billion were submitted to the calls by the February 2018 deadline.

For further information on discovery research calls please go to the NRDI Office’s website:

• Total submitted funding request is EUR 98 million, three times the available budget
  
• Renewed system of calls for discovery research proposals in Hungary
  
• 2018 calls for discovery research proposals amounting to EUR 39.3 million published
  
• Expanding resources for researchers at all career stages – Funding decisions in 2017 discovery research calls
  

Successful and promising discovery research projects on the NRDI Office’s website:

• Plasma TV sets, egg-boxes, objects made of foam-structured plastic - from plastic bottles?
  
• Focusing on the kidney
  
• Molecular switches
  

Budapest, 09 August 2018