FWF Principal Investigator Projects

FWF Principal Investigator Projects

Funds Austrian principal investigator research programs across broad scientific disciplines.

The FWF Principal Investigator Projects programme — formerly titled Stand-Alone Projects (Einzelprojekte) until a March 2023 rename — is the Austrian Science Fund's flagship bottom-up instrument for curiosity-driven basic research. It is the single largest FWF programme by volume and applicant numbers, covering all scientific disciplines and arts-based research with no thematic restrictions. Funding covers personnel and non-personnel project costs; typical awards run approximately €300,000–€500,000, though no published ceiling exists for individual projects. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis via the elane online portal, and the FWF Scientific Board holds five approval meetings per year, providing regular decision windows throughout the calendar year.

Eligibility is limited to principal investigators with the academic qualifications to lead a project and affiliation with an Austrian research institution. Since the 2023 transition to PROFI institutional funding mode, grant funds flow through the host university or research institute rather than directly to the individual PI — a structural shift that changes how institutions account for awards. Projects run for a maximum of 48 months. Non-profit and for-profit entities are not eligible; only universities and qualifying research organisations may serve as the institutional host.

PIs outside Austria cannot apply directly but may participate as collaborating researchers. Proposal quality is assessed by international reviewers against scientific excellence criteria; the bottom-up, discipline-agnostic design means that a strong research question and a credible team are the primary competitive factors. Teams preparing applications should verify current PROFI-mode guidelines via elane before submission, as cost-category rules were updated when the programme was renamed in 2023.