National Research, Development and Innovation Office

Administers Hungary's national research portfolio through competitive grants that support universities, centres, and international collaboration.

The National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) is Hungary's national strategic and funding agency for scientific research, development, and innovation. It administers the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund and works under the John von Neumann Programme, whose target is to place Hungary among the top 25 most innovative countries by 2030 and the top 10 by 2040.

The 2026 portfolio makes about HUF 120 billion available, with HUF 40 billion reserved for the National Research Excellence Programme family. That family includes EXCELLENCE_26 up to HUF 160 million, STARTING_26 up to HUF 100 million, ADVANCED_26 up to HUF 120 million, HIGHLIGHT_26 up to HUF 320 million, and bilateral ANN_26 and SNN_26 calls for Hungarian-Austrian and Hungarian-Slovenian projects.

Beyond core research grants, NKFIH backs HU-RIZONT international consortia led by Hungarian higher education institutions, Horizon Europe partnership co-funding, IPARJOG intellectual-property support, and EUREKA industrial cooperation. The agency's strongest applicants are universities, research groups, and technology teams that can fit a national priority, show international collaboration, and work across biotechnology, climate, energy, hardware, materials, medtech, quantum, manufacturing, and robotics.