National Research Excellence Programme (NKKP)

The National Research Excellence Programme, or NKKP, is Hungary's flagship research grant system under the National Research, Development and Innovation Office. It is the renewed successor to OTKA and sits inside the country's broader John von Neumann Programme framework. The programme supports fundamental and applied research led from Hungarian institutions, with a 2026-2030 envelope of HUF 40 billion after launching with an initial HUF 19 billion budget. NKKP runs as an annual grant programme with six sub-tracks. STARTING supports early-career researchers with awards up to HUF 100 million, ADVANCED reaches up to HUF 120 million, EXCELLENCE reaches up to HUF 160 million, and HIGHLIGHT reaches up to HUF 320 million. The bilateral ANN track for Hungarian-Austrian projects goes up to HUF 68 million, while the SNN track for Hungarian-Slovenian projects goes up to HUF 51 million. Hungarian universities are required, research organisations are allowed, and the calls are issued in Hungarian. The programme is strongest for teams that can match the right track to the researcher's stage and the scientific ambition of the project. Proposals tend to fit best when they are grounded in a Hungarian institution, clearly aligned with the John von Neumann priorities, and able to justify either excellent single-team research or a cross-border partnership at the scale requested by the relevant sub-track.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.