Poland has opened the 2026 application round of its National Programme for the Development of Humanities, inviting eligible research and publishing organisations to seek support for work in four areas. Applications opened at 08:00 on 2 November and must be submitted by 16:00 on 31 December 2026.
The programme is designed to support humanities research and the circulation of humanities scholarship. It also allows interdisciplinary projects where humanities form a closely connected part of the work. The current call is organised into four modules, each with a different purpose, maximum budget and delivery period. The published figures are ceilings rather than standard awards, and they do not guarantee that an applicant will receive the maximum amount.
Four routes for research and publication
The Heritage module is intended for research with particular significance for national, European or world cultural heritage, as well as contemporary culture. The New Challenges of the Humanities module addresses the human dimensions of current societal questions. Its stated scope includes changes in work and social life, geopolitical change, migration and war, and the climate and ecological crisis.
The other two modules focus on publishing and public access. Universalia supports the publication, in English, French, German, Spanish or Italian, of leading scholarly monographs or article series in Polish humanities. It also aims to make those works openly available and bring them into international scholarly circulation. Socrates, described as a popular-science publication module, is intended to communicate findings from humanities research and interdisciplinary research with a strong humanities component.
The distinctions matter for applicants choosing where a proposal belongs. A project studying cultural heritage or contemporary culture fits a different purpose from one examining the human consequences of social or environmental change. A proposal centred on translating and openly publishing existing Polish scholarship is also different from a public-facing publication that explains research findings. The programme’s descriptions set out these broad aims; applicants still need to check the formal rules and eligibility conditions before preparing a submission.
Different limits for each module
Heritage and New Challenges projects may run for up to 36 months, with maximum project costs of 1.5 million złoty. Universalia projects have a limit of 24 months and 350,000 złoty. Socrates projects may last up to 18 months and have a maximum cost of 40,000 złoty.
These differences reflect the distinct work each module is expected to support. The two research-oriented modules have the longest potential timetable and the highest financial ceiling. Universalia’s limit applies to scholarly publishing and international access, while Socrates has a shorter period and a substantially smaller maximum for popular-science work. The amounts describe allowable maximum costs, not the value of every grant or the total budget allocated to the round.
Who may apply and what happens next
The programme is open to specified institutions in Poland’s research and higher-education system, including universities, research institutes and certain other organisations carrying out scientific activity or promoting science. It is not presented as an individual grant scheme for any member of the public to apply for directly. The programme rules also set requirements around project teams, research leadership, outputs and eligible costs. The precise conditions vary by module, so prospective applicants should consult the formal call documents rather than infer eligibility from the short module descriptions.
Applications are submitted electronically through the national system for science services. The window remains open until the end of December, giving eligible organisations time to develop proposals, confirm internal approvals and ensure that budgets and project plans meet the applicable requirements. Institutions may also set their own internal review deadlines ahead of the national closing date.
The call places cultural heritage, contemporary social questions and the international reach of Polish scholarship within one funding programme, while maintaining separate routes for those aims. Its design recognises that humanities work can involve original research, translation, open-access publication and communication beyond specialist audiences. The immediate development is the opening of applications; decisions on which projects will be supported will come only after the submission and assessment process. The programme’s stated aims should therefore be understood as the scope of the competition, not as a list of already funded projects or completed results.
