Mini-projects, as one of the important outcomes of the Open Science II project, represent a set of activities that engage a broader target audience, particularly research communities, in activities necessary for the operation of the National Data Infrastructure (NDI). Key focus areas for mini-projects include the FAIRification of research data, metadata, and repositories, ensuring system standardization and compatibility, and integrating various data technologies.
The application for the mini-project includes a Statement from the relevant EOSC CZ Working Group (WG), which confirms, on the basis of its expertise, that the planned outputs of the mini-project significantly contribute to the Open Science II project activities or are essential for establishing a data-driven research environment for the applicant.
How to Request a Statement
The request for an EOSC CZ WG Statement must be submitted by the applicant via email to info@eosc.cz.
Requests for a statement will only be accepted on the following periods and only for the current call in which the project is being submitted:
Call No 1: Open Science II Mini-Projects
Timeframe for submitting a Request for an EOSC CZ Statement: 26/01/2026 – 22/02/2026
Timeframe for submitting a mini-project application to 'IS Věda': 2/2/2026 – 31/3/2026 (1pm)
If an applicant plans to generate multiple outputs within a single mini-project, they must submit a separate request for each planned output and compile these requests into a single document.
Mini-Project Review Timeline
EOSC CZ Working Groups meet during each mini-project call to discuss the submitted applications with applicants.
| Working Group |
Call No. 1: Open Science II Mini-Projects |
| Bio/Health/Food | TBA |
| Sensitive Data | TBA |
| Data Management for AI & Machine Learning | TBA |
| Environmental Sciences | TBA |
| Physical Sciences | February 24, 2026 (1pm) |
| Humanities & the Arts | February 24, 2026 (3.15pm) |
| Material Sciences & Engineering | March 3, 2026 (12pm) |
| Social Sciences | TBA |
Procedure for issuing an EOSC CZ WG Statement on Mini-Projects
The relevant EOSC CZ Working Group confirms that the proposed mini-project outputs:
- develop or respond to the requirements of the research and domain EOSC communities;
- build on the outputs of previous projects and activities of the EOSC CZ initiative and thus meet the requirements of the NDI;
- correspond to the assigned output type from the Catalogue.
The WG also assesses a brief description of the criteria for the functionality or scope of the planned output, which will be formulated in terms of specifying the general characteristics of type outputs in the Catalogue of Outputs (annex of the Call) in relation to the planned output.
Only EOSC WG members who fulfil these criteria are eligible to vote about the Statement:
- they are active working group members at the request submission deadline;
- they are not affiliated with the institution submitting the mini-project application (for CAS, this means they are not from the same institute as the applicant);
- they have no declared conflict of interest.
The start of the assessment is chosen as agreed by the specific working group. It must take place after all applications for a WG statement had been collected, i.e. from February 23, 2026, and must be closed no later than no later than March 24, 2026 in order to the WG statement to be attached to mini-project application. Eligible EOSC CZ WG members may vote about the statement for a period of 3 calendar days. They can support or reject the request or abstain from voting.
For the statement to be valid, at least 30% of eligible EOSC CZ WG members must participate in the assessment. If a mini-project contains multiple outputs, the WG has to vote about each output individually. The WG statement will be based on a majority vote among the eligible members excluding those who abstain.
If fewer than 30% of eligible members participate in the vote, a second-round vote will be held. If the mini-project fails to obtain a valid positive statement in the second round, the statement will be considered negative for the given mini-project call.
The EOSC CZ WG statement for a specific mini-project will be confirmed by the WG secretary, who will oversee the proper execution of the evaluation process.
The applicant will receive the Statement from the relevant EOSC CZ WG within 30 calendar days after the deadline for submitting requests.
When submitting a mini-project application to "IS Věda", the applicant attaches a Statement of the relevant WG and also the Request for an EOSC WG statement, on which the Statement is based.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@eosc.cz.