Proof of Concept (PoC FENG)

The applicants are research organisations that appoint the main contractor of the project (Principal Investigator) – the author of the application and the creator or co-creator of the research results that form the basis for the implementation of the PoC project. During the implementation of the project, this person will be an employee of the Applicant for a period of not less than 0.5 FTE.

Researchers at every stage of their academic career, including those who have not yet obtained a degree, can apply for a grant under the Proof of Concept programme.

Objectives of the Proof of Concept programme::

• Enabling R&D work to verify the research hypothesis and the implementation potential of the research results
• Improving the skills of young researchers in conducting economically significant research and developing their research careers
• Developing cooperation between science and business

Under the Proof of Concept programme, you can receive funding for research and development work aimed at verifying the research hypothesis set out in the application. The research should result in progress on the path towards commercialising the project. This programme allows for projects to be carried out in the form of cooperation with an enterprise, with financial support only being provided to the research organisation.

The scope of the projects that can receive funding is not limited to specific fields of science, but refers to the priorities on the list of National Smart Specialisations.

One project can receive funding of up to PLN 700,000. Funds are awarded through a competition for a maximum of 12 months.

Funding does not cover basic research.

The application evaluation procedure consists of three stages: formal evaluation and two-stage merit-based evaluation. The formal evaluation is carried out by FNP employees. The merit-based evaluation stages are carried out by the Project Evaluation Committee, which consists of FNP employees and external experts.

The evaluation is carried out on the basis of the Criteria for the selection of projects for the PoC programme, which is an appendix to the Regulations for the selection of projects.

After the last stage of evaluation, a project may receive funding (positive evaluation) if:

1. it has met all mandatory criteria and has achieved at least the minimum score thresholds specified in each of the ranking criteria (if a minimum has been indicated) and has achieved the minimum total score threshold required for a positive evaluation;
2. the amount allocated to co-fund projects in a given call for proposals allows for co-funding of all projects (if the amount is insufficient, the ranking position of the project in the evaluation determines whether it receives funding).

After the completion of each stage of project evaluation, the FNP publishes information on its results and publishes a list of applications selected for funding (after the second stage of evaluation).

The project evaluation process, counted from the day following the closing date of the call for applications for funding until the announcement of the list of projects selected for funding, lasts up to 150 calendar days 

The grant application must be submitted in accordance with the Application Filling Instructions, exclusively in electronic form, via the FNP IT system.

https://wnioski2023.fnp.org.pl.

The applicable documents are available on the PoC call page.