OPUS

OPUS 31

Funds fundamental research in Poland through competitive grants for broad research communities and university teams.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

OPUS 31 is the spring 2026 edition of the National Science Centre (NCN) flagship basic-research competition, open to researchers at every career stage across all three NCN discipline clusters — humanities and social sciences, sciences and technology, and life sciences. The competition carries a total budget of 550,000,000 PLN. Projects may run 12, 24, 36, or 48 months, and there is no per-project budget cap; the requested budget must be fully justified by the scientific scope. Post-doctoral salaries in the project budget are benchmarked at 140,000–210,000 PLN per year, and doctoral stipends are capped at 8,500 PLN per month. Results are expected by December 2026.

Applications must be submitted through the host institution via the OSF portal; researchers cannot apply as individuals. All applicants are required to disclose any retracted publications at submission — omission is grounds for rejection. The project leader must commit to spending at least 50% of working time in Poland for the full project duration. For-profit companies, non-profits without research capacity, and individuals applying outside a host institution are ineligible.

Reviewers scrutinise every line of budget justification, so proposals must demonstrate a clear link between the requested funds and the scientific objectives. OPUS 32 is expected to open approximately September 2026 with results due December 2026, meaning teams that miss OPUS 31 will have a second opportunity within the same calendar year. Competitive proposals typically articulate novel research questions with international significance and include a credible team composition and a realistic timeline.