We are launching the thirtieth edition of the OPUS call for national and international research projects, as well as the twenty-first edition of the SONATA call for researchers holding a PhD degree. The total funding available amounts to 720 million PLN.
The National Science Centre funds research projects through open calls, carried out in the field of basic research, understood as experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge about the foundations of phenomena and observable facts. Basic research does not need to be aimed at immediate commercial application, yet it forms the foundation for further applied research and serves as the driving force for innovation.
In NCN calls, researchers may receive grants to conduct research at Polish institutions. Project budgets may include funding for the remuneration of the principal investigator and salaries for research team members, scholarships, post-doctoral fellowships, research equipment, devices and software, travel, visits, consultations, outsourcing and other costs crucial to the research.
OPUS with the International LAP Track
The largest NCN grant programme, OPUS, offers researchers at all stages of their careers the opportunity to secure funding for full-scale research projects.
The call allows for planning both national projects and those carried out in international collaboration. In the autumn edition of OPUS, we are additionally launching the LAP (Lead Agency Procedure) track, which enables collaboration with partners from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg or Belgium–Flanders. Partners apply for funding in their own countries for carry out research within programmes organised in cooperation with the NCN. Proposals submitted to OPUS LAP will be evaluated by NCN experts alongside other OPUS proposals, and the results of their evaluation will be approved by the partner agencies.
The principal investigator’s track record must include at least one paper published or accepted for publication. The call does not impose minimum or maximum requirements regarding the principal investigator’s academic degree or research experience, the budget of an individual project or the composition of the project team.
OPUS projects may be planned for 12, 24, 36 or 48 months, while OPUS LAP projects may run for 24, 36 or 48 months, depending on the country where the partner team is based.
The total budget OPUS 30+LAP/Weave for OPUS 30 amounts to 550 million PLN.
SONATA for Researchers with a PhD Degree
The SONATA call is intended for researchers who obtained their PhD degree 2 to 7 years ago. It provides an opportunity for early-career researchers to gain experience as leaders of a research team. The principal investigator’s track record must include at least one paper published or accepted for publication.
SONATA projects can be planned for 12, 24 or 36 months. In addition to the principal investigator, any number of team members may be involved in the project, including students, PhD students and post-docs. The budget of an individual grant is not capped; however, as in other NCN calls, its relevance is assessed by experts.
A researcher may serve as the principal investigator on a SONATA-funded project only once.
The total budget for SONATA 21 amounts to 170 million PLN.
Changes to Team Members’ Remuneration
With the autumn call announcement, we are updating the salary limits for team members involved in project implementation. For postdoctoral positions, the maximum annual salary may now reach 210,000 PLN (previously 140,000 PLN). The total amount of salaries and scholarships received by a student or PhD student from grants may not exceed 8,500 PLN per month (previously 5,000–6,500 PLN). We have also increased the doctoral scholarship rate to 6,500 PLN per month for the entire duration of the project.
Evaluation Process and Criteria
Applications submitted to the NCN will first undergo an eligibility check, followed by a two-stage merit-based evaluation.
In the first stage, applications will be reviewed by members of Expert Team appointed by the NCN Council. Decisions on whether to recommend an application for the second stage or to reject it will be made collectively by the Team during the first Team meeting. In the second stage, applications will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. The final recommendation will be prepared by the Team, based on the external reviews and discussions during the second Team meeting.
Experts will assess, among other factors, the scientific quality and innovative nature of the research, the potential impact of the project on the development of the discipline, the feasibility of its implementation and its prospective significance. Scientific performance of the Principal Investigator will be evaluated solely by members of the Expert Team. For OPUS LAP applications, additional evaluation will focus on the balanced and complementary contribution of all teams to the project, scientific achievements of the Principal Investigators of foreign teams and their execution of other research projects.
Deadlines
The submission of applications in the OSF system will open on 17 September and remain available until 15 December at 2:00 p.m. Decisions for OPUS and SONATA applications will be announced within six months of the close of the submission period, i.e., no later than June 2026. Results for LAP applications will be announced later, as they are approved by the partner agencies within the Weave programme.