Whether as “solo” PI, in cooperation with other research groups and institutions, in research and/or in innovation, there are a number of national and international programs that can financially support your research.
The list below contains some of the main programs and hence is not extensive. Please contact us, visit the section other schemes – useful links to find other options, have questions or require further details.
Research Grants
National schemes
Program
Scope – Duration
Eligibility criteria
Calls & Key Dates
FWF Principal Investigator Projects (formerly known as Stand-Alone Projects)
all scientific disciplines
basic research
1-4Y project
0-450k€+ (see program for details)
- Current and incoming ISTA faculty
continuous submission
FWF ASTRA Awards
NEW SCHEME!
all scientific disciplines
5Y project
500k€ -1M€
women ASTRA awardees can apply for 200k€-tenure package*
Merit Awards**: ⩽450k€ for 3Y
- PIs with PhD deg within 2-9 Y from 30/09 of year’s call***
- with non-tenured positions
- applied no more than once for such award
1/year
likely call window: July-Oct
* within the first 3 years of the project, and those who 1) have been granted a position with a permanent employment commitment upon
fulfillment of a qualification agreement (e. g. tenure-track position) or already hold such a position at the time of the application or 2) have been granted or assumed a permanent academic leadership position (professorship or equivalent position) after applying for funding
** for those applicants who make it to the hearing but do not get the ASTRA Award
*** extensions (e.g., due to parental leave) may apply. Contact us to discuss your case.
all scientific disciplines
0.5-2Y project
⩽ 175k€
- PIs working or planning to work in AT
1/year
Jan
International schemes
Program
Scope – Duration
Eligibility criteria
Calls & Key Dates
all scientific disciplines
5Y project
⩽ 1.5M€ + up to 1M€ ‘extraordinary’ costs
- PIs with PhD deg within 2-7 Y*
- ⩾ 50% time commitment
1/year
Q4 (TBC)
all scientific disciplines
5Y project
⩽ 2.0M€ + up to 1M€ ‘extraordinary’ costs
- PIs with PhD deg within 7-12 Y*
- ⩾ 40% time commitment
1/year
Q4/Q1 (TBC)
* Extensions (e.g., due to parental leave) may apply. Contact us to to discuss your case.
all scientific disciplines
5Y project
⩽ 2.5M€ + up to 1M€ ‘extraordinary’ costs
- PIs with PhD deg >12Y
- ⩾ 30% time commitment
1/year
Q3 (TBC)
EMBO subject areas
4Y award
15k€ in second year
- junior PIs (1-4Y, +1Y/child for females; for males, +3M/child or longer if documented)
- ⩾1 publ as senior author
1/year
April
molecular life sciences
3Y project
100k€ ‘equipment & consumables’
- PIs with PhD deg < 6Y
- PI at ISTA between 1-4Y
1/year
July
Collaborative Grants
Program
Scope – Duration
Eligibility Criteria
Calls & Key dates
2024: Health & Nutrition
2-3Y project
⩽ 240k€ (2Y); ⩽360k€ (3Y) (90% funding)
- 1 PI in Lower Austria + 1 (or more) other independent research entities
1/year May/June
all scientific disciplines
high-risk, multidisciplinary projects
5Y project
3-7M€
- Teams of 3-7 PIs
- >1/3 non-male members
1 / 2 years
March 2025
all scientific disciplines bi-, trilateral (Weave) projects
2-4Y project
0-450k€+ (see program for details)
- participants based on the partner organisation’s country(ies)*
- 2 to 3 participants
joint submission, set by the respective funding agencies. Consult us, or the Weave guidelines where applicable.
* Belgium/Flanders (W), Czech Republic (W), France, Germany (W), Hungary, Italy/South Tyrol, Japan, Luxembourg (W), Poland (W), Slovenia (W), Switzerland (W), Taiwan. W: through Weave
Note: The FWF is currently developing a new funding program combining the two programs Special Research Areas and Research Groups. For this reason, no new calls for proposals are planned for Special Research Areas or Research Groups in the fall of 2025.
The new program will be aimed at teams of three to twelve outstanding researchers from all research disciplines, with a funding period of 60 months.
The first call for proposals is expected to open in May 2025. Further information on the new funding program is expected to be made available in March 2025 (and will be announced here).
yearly focus,
LS* or CS/DS*-related
2-4Y project
400-950k€ (see program for Lower Austria-specific budget rules)
- ⩽ 3 PIs (core team)
- coordinator at a Viennese institution
- ⩾ 1 core team member based at a Lower Austrian institution
1/year
two-stage process:
either
Jan (1st) – May (2nd)
or
Apr (1st) – Aug (2nd)
* LS: Life Science; CS: Computer Science; DS: Data Science
all scientific disciplines
6Y project
⩽ 10M€ + up to 4M€ ‘extraordinary’ costs
- 2-4 PIs, max 1 from a non-EU country
1/year
Q4 (TBC)
life sciences: mechanisms in living organisms and biological functions
cross-disciplinary, international projects
3Y project
300-500k$ (dependent on team composition)
- teams of 2-4 members
- Early Career Grants: with PhD deg ⩽ 10Y and ⩽ 5Y at an independent position
- from different institutions
- 3/4-member teams: with max 2 members from the same country
- no/very few previous collaborations
- principal applicant based in a HFSPO member country
- 1 application/applicant
1/year
two-stage process
Mar (LoI)
Sept (Full proposal upon invitation)
collaboration between science and industry
TRL* 1-3Y project
⩽ 360k€ (⩽ 80% funding)
- consortia of 2-4 AT partners
- ⩾1 academic, ⩾1 non-academic
2-3/year
*TRL: Technological Readiness Level, from 1-9
Innovation Grants
Program
Scope – Duration
Eligibility Criteria
Calls & Key Dates
all scientific disciplines
12M + 6M project
150k€
- ERC Grant holders
- with ongoing projects, or
- with projects that ended <12M before 1 Jan of the current year (e.g. if your ERC ended after 01/01/2023, you are eligible to apply for both PoC calls in 2024)
2/year (2024)
Mar-Sept
O: all scientific disciplines
C: challenge-driven
TRL* 1-4
1-5Y project
Generally: ⩽ 3M€ Open; ⩽ 4M€ (see specific calls for details)
- O: consortia* of ⩾ 3 beneficiaries in ⩾ 3 different MS/ACs**; ⩾1 in a MS
- C: single entities*** or consortia of ⩾ 2 beneficiaries in ⩾ 2 different MS/ACs
O: 1/year, May 2025
C: 1/year, Oct 2025
* research organisations, universities, SMEs, industry
** MS: Member State, AC: Associated Country
*** exceptions may apply, depending on the challenge
O: all scientific disciplines
C: challenge-driven
TRL 4-6
1-3Y project
Generally: 500k-2.5M€ (see specific calls for details)
- single entitities or small consortia* (⩽ 5 partners)
- based on results of eligible projects**
O: Sept 2025
C: None in 2025
* research organisations, SMEs, spin-offs,start-ups, universities
** EIC Pathfinder projects (including projects funded under EIC pilot Pathfinder, Horizon 2020 FET-Open, FET-Proactive, FET Flagships and FET ERAnet calls) , ERC Proof of Concept
in any of the selected technological areas
1Y project
150k$ (renewal possible)
- ⩾ 1 PI (Full, Associate or Assistant Professors)
- if > 1PI. Primary PI and co-PIs from the same institution
- submission of multiple proposals is possible
1/year
Mid Sept
IT, Devices and Materials, Biomedical and Life Science. See related categories here
100k$
- ⩾ 1 PI (Full, Associate or Assistant Professors)
- if > 1PI. Primary PI and co-PIs from the same institution
- submission of multiple proposals is possible
1/year
Mid Sept
Other schemes – Useful links
Most of the major funders provide an extensive portfolio of funding programmes and special calls worth browsing when looking for a suitable funding option. Check the sites below!
The European Commission is the major European funder, offering a vast collection of funding schemes in support of the European scientific and innovative capacity, including the human potential. The funding and tenders portal is a comprehensive multipurpose tool that provides a search engine for programmes and calls with extensive documentation, and an online platform for proposal submission and grant administration, among other services.
For research and innovation projects, spanning the academic and non-academic sectors – the Austrian Research Promotion Agency
For basic research projects, strengthening collaboration between researchers in Vienna and surroundings, especially Lower Austria – the Vienna Science and Technology Fund.
For individual and collaborative projects on frontier research in mathematics and basic sciences, including autism research through the SFARI program – the Simons Foundation.
For individual and collaborative projects in Science and Education, levering share of knowledge, and generated tools – the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative offers grants through the funding agencies: the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Donor-Advised Fund (DAF).
For collaborative projects between Austria and associated countries through education, research and training across institutions – the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research OeAD, also offers a data base of scholarship and grant calls at the national, European and international level.