NCBR International Programmes (ERA-NET / JTCs)

NCBR International JTC

Connects Polish organizations to international joint technology collaborations through NCBR International JTC, enabling shared global project teams.

The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR), functioning as an executive agency under Poland's Ministry of Science and Higher Education, participates as a national funder in approximately 25 Joint Transnational Calls (JTCs) and European partnership programs throughout 2026 and into early 2027. NCBR's international portfolio spans European Partnerships under Horizon Europe — including EP BH (Brain Health, 1.5M EUR per call), CETP Clean Energy Transition (3M EUR), Chips Joint Undertaking (4.5M EUR), M-ERA.NET 4 materials research (2.5M EUR), and TRANSCAN-4 cancer research (1.2M EUR) — as well as ERA-NET schemes such as Eurostars-3 (two calls at 1.95M EUR each targeting innovative SMEs), EUREKA 2/2026 (10M EUR), and EIG CONCERT-Japan (800K EUR). Bilateral and multilateral calls include POLNORIS under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism (70M EUR), INNOGLOBO (25M PLN open-country call), and a Polish-Taiwan XIV Call at 5.98M PLN. In all cases, NCBR funds only the Polish partner share; applicants must be part of an international consortium and apply directly through their Polish host institution or company.

Call windows are spread across the full calendar year: the earliest opened in January 2026 (Eurostars-3 10th call, EP BH call 1 and 2, Chips call) and the latest close in early 2027 (ERDERA, EP PerMed, THCS, ERA4Health, INNOGLOBO 6th Call). Each JTC operates under its own international call page with separate deadlines, thematic scope, and eligibility conditions; NCBR publishes its national-share budget and selection criteria on the Polish harmonogram. Eligible entities span for-profit SMEs and large companies, universities, research institutes, and nonprofits — but not individuals — provided they have at least one qualifying international consortium partner. The Eurostars-3 calls specifically target innovative SMEs with annual turnover below EUR 500 million.

Organizations seeking to apply should treat this rolling entry as a discovery index rather than a single grant: each of the approximately 25 active partnership calls represents a distinct funding opportunity with its own sectoral focus, budget envelope, deadline, and evaluation criteria. The most competitive sectors across the 2026 portfolio include advanced materials, semiconductor chips, brain health and rare disease research, clean energy transition, sustainable blue economy, urban transitions, and cancer research. Polish applicants should monitor NCBR's national harmonogram and the relevant international partnership office for each call's precise opening and closing dates, as many windows are short (6–10 weeks) and require international partner agreements to be in place before submission.