29 June 2026 – 31 March 2027
Application period: Applications for funding will open on 20 July 2026. The call will remain open until the total funding requested by submitted applications reaches 120% of the call's allocated budget.
The Open Science III call aims to support the implementation of open science principles, with a particular focus on integrating FAIR principles into research data management, embedding these practices within institutional processes, and connecting organisations to the National Data Infrastructure.
Each eligible institution will be able to submit a single project consisting of predefined outputs delivered through expert positions. At the institutional level (one institution = one legal entity), coordination across faculties, institutes, or other organisational units will be required. Detailed conditions, the catalogue of outputs, and the catalogue of expert positions will be published together with the full call text on the P JAC website.
Funding will cover the personnel capacities required to deliver the planned activities. Similarly to the Open Science II mini-projects, specific outputs will be combined with expert positions through a calculator used to determine the overall project budget. Funding will be provided through simplified cost options, and institutional co-financing will also be required.
A mandatory component of every project will be the creation of a FAIR dataset registered in the National Metadata Directory. This activity will require the involvement of a data steward, either as an author or contributor. The activity cannot be used for data acquisition, research activities conducted on the data itself, or data processing beyond the actions necessary for data management and long-term preservation in a repository.
Optional activities will include the development or update of strategic documents related to research data management, software development, and training activities delivered through education vouchers.
A formal research data management strategy will be a mandatory requirement for project acceptance. This strategy may or may not be funded through the call itself, which is why its preparation falls under the optional activities. Nevertheless, it is considered an essential element of establishing FAIR research data practices within institutions. The strategy must comply with the minimum requirements defined by the call.
Upcoming Webinars
Webinar on the upcoming Open Science III call
In connection with the preparation of the call, a webinar was held presenting the survey questionnaire on the absorption capacity of eligible institutions, including information on how to make the most of the potential of this call for researchers at your institutions. In addition to the planned catalogue of outputs under the Open Science III project and the related job positions, the webinar also introduced options for using EOSC CZ tools and services that are already freely available today. If needed, we offer individual consultations with EOSC CZ during the period in which the Ministry is collecting responses to the survey.