RCL Announces the 2026 R&D&I Calls Plan: A Clear Timeline for Researchers and Institutions
The Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) has published its 2026 Research and Experimental Development and Innovation calls plan. The publicly available plan provides early visibility of upcoming funding calls, their timing and thematic directions, enhances transparency within the funding system, and supports the research community in strategically planning its activities for 2026.
In the first half of 2026, the largest-scale calls forming the backbone of annual Experimental Development and Innovation funding are planned to be launched. During this period, calls for research teams and international projects are foreseen, targeting activities across different career stages of researchers. The first half of the year will also include the second call for breakthrough projects in educational research, aimed at advancing research in the fields of education and learning.
In the second half of 2026, calls are planned under the Lithuanian Studies (Lituanistics) Priority Programme, as well as calls for Experimental Development and Innovation projects of academic spin-offs, focused on the technological development of science-based solutions. This period will also feature calls for thematic research and partnership projects, promoting collaboration between academia, the public sector and industry, alongside initiatives supporting knowledge dissemination and public engagement.
Also, as every year, the RCL carries out the evaluation of research and experimental development as well as artistic activities of the country’s formal higher education and research institutions. The schedules of these activities are also published on the RCL website: the evaluation of the activities of universities and research institutes (schedule) and the evaluation of the activities of colleges (schedule).