Results of the Most Recent Scientific Board meeting

The current funding decisions of the FWF Scientific Board have been announced: In 2026’s second round of awards, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is funding a total of 108 research projects with around €45.6 million. The ESPRIT and FWF ASTRA Awards for early-stage researchers were in particularly high demand again in this round. Details of the newly approved projects are now available online on the FWF Research Radar page.

May 6, 2026

Nahaufnahme eines Kugelstoßpendels (Newton) mit sechs silberfarbenen Metallkugeln vor blauem Hintergrund — In its latest round of approvals, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) set 108 new projects in motion. © Shutterstock

At the Scientific Board’s second meeting in 2026, the FWF’s Scientific Consultants decided on a total of 407 funding applications, based on international reviews. Of these, 108 research projects were approved for funding with a total of €45.6 million due to their scientific excellence. Principal Investigator Projects once again make up the largest share, at 57 projects with a total volume of €26 million. In addition to the funding decisions, the Scientific Board also nominated the candidates to be invited to the hearings for this year’s FWF ASTRA Awards.

ESPRIT career program in high demand

Once again, an above-average number of ESPRIT applications were reviewed and decided on in this round: Of 77 submissions – a significant increase compared to similar Scientific Board meetings from the past year – 22 applications were approved. Seven of these projects have women as principal investigators.

See the Research Radar page for the results of the 108th Scientific Board meeting.