Ścieżka SMART

Ścieżka SMART — SME R&D Projects (Q4

Supports another Polish intake for small and medium enterprises pursuing innovation research.

Ścieżka SMART – SME R&D Projects Q4 2026 is the second PARP-administered R&D call of the year under the FENG program (Priority 1, Measure 1.1). It targets Polish micro, small, and medium enterprises conducting industrial research and experimental development that must result in product innovations or business process innovations. The call opens 29 October 2026 and closes 29 December 2026, providing a second intake window after the Q1 2026 call (FENG.01.01-IP.02-002/25), which ran 26 February–31 March 2026 with a PLN 700,000,000 allocation. The Q4 call's pool had not been published as of the available source data.

Eligibility mirrors the Q1 round: only micro, small, and medium enterprises operating in Poland may apply; large enterprises are routed to an NCBR-managed call. Projects must include a mandatory industrial research or experimental development component. Co-financing intensity reaches up to 80% for industrial research and up to 60% for experimental development, with standard GBER SME bonuses applicable on top of those base rates. Applications are submitted via the LSI portal (lsi.parp.gov.pl). Award minimums and maximums for individual projects were not published in the source documentation.

Organisations planning to apply in Q4 should use the intervening months to complete R&D documentation and identify co-financing capacity. PARP administers the full SME track for Ścieżka SMART across FENG, while NCBR administers the parallel large-enterprise and mixed-consortium calls. PARP's contact line is 801 332 202 (Mon–Fri 8:30–16:30) for pre-application guidance. EU co-financing flows via ERDF under the 2021–2027 framework, with all disbursements made in PLN.