The National Centre for Research and Development

In 2024, NCBR conducted the first call for proposals under the Programme – Call 2024. As a result, 16 innovative projects received funding of almost PLN 67 million. The second call was held in 2025 – with another 16 projects receiving funding of PLN 66 million. Project contracts are currently being signed with the beneficiaries.   

The organisation of these two calls for proposals shows interesting trends. First and foremost, there is a growing interest in the Programme and an increasingly better understanding of its objectives by the scientific and business community. In Call 2025, 146 applications were submitted, compared to 99 applications in 2024, which represents an increase of 47%. In addition, the project proposals submitted in Call 2025 included as many as 32 applications previously submitted in Call 2024. This is a clear sign of the commitment and determination of the applicants, who returned with improved ideas. 21 of these projects were modified, most often by including companies, which allowed them to meet the new eligibility criteria (in Call 2025, consortia had to consist of at least one company based in Poland and one company based in Switzerland), while 11 projects retained their original consortium structure, which proves that they were already aligned with the Programme's objectives in this respect.

The consortia in Call 2025 were more numerous and diverse than in the previous year. Teams consisting of three and four consortium members predominated, with four-member consortia being the most common (45 cases). A total of 491 entities were involved in the submitted projects, compared to 285 in the previous call. The increase in the participation of companies was particularly noticeable, especially Swiss companies, whose number tripled (micro and small enterprises were particularly active). This change is in line with the Programme's strategic objective of strengthening cooperation between industry and the research and development sector. It is also a response to the new selection criteria. Mixed consortia combining enterprises and research organisations dominated among the submitted applications, with a total of 114 such collaborations. 

The largest number of projects were submitted in the field of engineering and technology – a total of 104 projects, including 38 in the field of electrical engineering. At the same time, there was a wider thematic distribution than in the previous year, covering, among others, IT and environmental technologies, corresponding to the Sustainable Development Goals and the growing importance of interdisciplinary research.

Projects recommended for funding in Call 2025

As in Call 2024, four-entity consortia are the most common among the projects recommended for funding in Call 2025. This suggests that applicants consider this size to be optimal for cooperation — large enough to ensure diversity of competences, yet small enough to maintain flexibility. However, what is new in this edition is the composition of the consortia, which are dominated by enterprises. They include 17 entities from Poland and 16 from Switzerland, while research organisations are represented by only 7 entities from each country. This is a reversal of the trend from Call 2024 and is a direct result of the new eligibility rules.
Of the 16 projects receiving funding, 15 are being carried out by mixed consortia, combining companies and research institutions. Only one project is being implemented exclusively by companies. A total of 57 entities are involved in the projects, 55 of which are unique entities — this means that two entities are participating in more than one project funded under Call 2025.

The largest share in terms of the subject matter of the winning projects is in the field of engineering and technology (11 projects). Within this field, electrical engineering plays a dominant role, represented by 4 projects. 
Most of the projects selected for funding in Call 2025 start at early levels of technological readiness (TRL 2–3), which confirms their high innovation potential and the Programme's focus on supporting applied research from the earliest stages. At the same time, applicants plan ambitious technology development — most often to TRL 6 and 7 — assuming an increase of three TRL levels during R&D work. This demonstrates a strong focus not only on research, but also on the implementation, validation and commercialisation of solutions.

The projects implemented under Call 2025 provide measurable social benefits by combining innovative technological and non-technological solutions with the real needs of citizens. By integrating knowledge from different sectors and transforming data, research results and know-how into sustainable products and services, these initiatives support socio-economic development. Actions to engage citizens, effectively manage knowledge and implement research results into practice so that they serve decision-makers, end users and society as a whole are also of key importance.

An analysis of the teams implementing the projects recommended for funding shows a perfect gender balance among project managers (Principal Investigators): 8 women and 8 men. 
Call 2025 in the Research and Innovation Programme, Applied Research confirms the growing importance of Polish-Swiss cooperation in the field of applied research and innovation. The Programme effectively combines the potential of science and business, with a particular focus on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The number of applications submitted shows the scale of commitment and readiness to develop long-term bilateral partnerships.