SONATA BIS

SONATA BIS 16

Funds established Polish researchers for team-based basic science projects connecting lab discovery to excellence.

SONATA BIS 16 is the 2026 edition of the National Science Centre (NCN) team-building basic-research competition, aimed at experienced researchers who obtained their doctoral degree between 5 and 12 years before the submission deadline. The programme covers all NCN discipline clusters — humanities and social sciences, sciences and technology, and life sciences — and supports projects running 36, 48, or 60 months. A mandatory condition of the award is the recruitment and continuous employment of at least one doctoral student on the project for a minimum of 36 months. The preceding round, SONATA BIS 14, had a budget of 150,000,000 PLN, indicating the scale of funding available in this competition line.

The principal investigator must fall within the 5–12 year post-PhD window at the submission deadline, with no flexibility. Applications are submitted through the host institution via the NCN OSF portal; individual applications are not accepted. Eligible host institutions are universities and accredited research organisations registered and operating in Poland. For-profit entities and organisations without recognised research status are excluded.

SONATA BIS is the principal NCN route for mid-career researchers who want to build their own research group — the mandatory doctoral student requirement is a structural feature of the programme, not optional. Proposals must therefore include a credible recruitment plan and a supervision arrangement that satisfies NCN's doctoral training standards. Applicants should note that the competition page for SONATA BIS 16 was not yet live at the time of data collection, and should consult the NCN competition schedule for exact opening and closing dates when the call is formally announced.