Call for Applications for the Position of Chair of the Research Council of Lithuania
The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania (MoESS) invites applications for the position of Chair of the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL). Applications may be submitted until 20 May 2026 (inclusive).
As public investment in science continues to grow, the role of the RCL is becoming increasingly significant—state budget appropriations allocated to the RCL amounted to EUR 67.564 million in 2025. In light of the expanding scope of activities and responsibility for achieved results, a leader is sought who can ensure a clear strategic direction, results-based planning and accountability, strengthen institutional governance maturity, and enhance transparency in decision-making.
Key RCL performance results in 2025:
- Research funding: EUR 61.2 million allocated to competitive funding (approximately 18% more than in 2024); 2,224 projects funded.
- International integration: Strengthening Lithuania’s participation in the Horizon Europe programme, the total value of grant agreements signed during the first five years reached EUR 190.9 million. In 2025, the National Contact Point (NCP) network provided 1,542 individual consultations.
- Internationalisation and quality: The share of joint publications with international partners reached 58.82%.
- Strengthening the research system: The RCL carried out research activity assessments, analysing 13,493 research and artistic outputs used for funding allocation and science policy development.
The new Chair is expected to mobilise the institution’s and the expert community’s potential to ensure that the RCL is well prepared to implement increasingly complex national and international initiatives.
Why apply?
This is an opportunity to make a tangible impact on Lithuania’s research ecosystem—contributing to the development of strategic directions, providing recommendations to policymakers, strengthening a favourable R&D environment, and ensuring effective dissemination and societal uptake of research results.
The role offers the chance to lead in ensuring the quality and results-orientation of funding. By heading an organisation responsible for programme-based competitive funding, evaluation processes, and monitoring, the Chair can significantly contribute to increasing the impact of investments in research.
It also opens up broad opportunities to strengthen internationalisation—developing international R&D initiatives, promoting integration into the global research area, and building sustainable partnerships with foreign institutions.
The Chair of the RCL is appointed by the Seimas, upon nomination by the Government, for a five-year term.
RCL mission: to promote Lithuania’s competitive participation in the creation of global knowledge.
More information on the requirements and how to apply is available here.
The qualification requirements can be found here.