The Latvian Council of Science (LCS) announces the fifth call for research applications under Activity 1.1.1.9 “Postdoctoral Research” of the European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021–2027.
The aim of the call is to develop the skills of early-career researchers and strengthen scientific capacity by providing opportunities for them to start their careers in scientific institutions and enterprises, as well as to enhance research competences, renew human resources and increase the number of qualified specialists.
The fifth call is open to both research applications not related to economic activity and research applications related to economic activity, covering both industrial and fundamental research.
The target group of the activity is postdoctoral researchers – Latvian or foreign researchers – who have acquired a doctoral degree not more than 10 years before the deadline for submission of the research application (parental leave and temporary incapacity for work are taken into account). Research applications must be implemented in Latvia.
Funding
The public funding available under the fifth call for research applications amounts to EUR 4,850,590, including EUR 4,440,334 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and EUR 410,256 in State budget co-financing.
The total eligible funding planned for research applications related to economic activity amounts to EUR 782,514.
The public funding planned for fundamental research amounts to up to EUR 970,118, while not exceeding 20% of the total eligible funding available for research applications.
Who can apply?
A research application not related to economic activity may be submitted by a scientific institution registered in the Register of Scientific Institutions of the Republic of Latvia or by a higher education institution that meets the definition of a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation laid down in Article 2(83) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.
A research application related to economic activity may be submitted by a micro, small, medium-sized or large enterprise registered in the Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia, or by a scientific institution that does not meet the definition of a research and knowledge-dissemination organisation.
Key conditions
For a fundamental research application not related to economic activity, the creation of a new researcher position is mandatory.
For an industrial research application not related to economic activity, at least one of the following conditions is mandatory: the creation of a new researcher position or cooperation with an enterprise. If the research application provides for both the creation of a new researcher position and cooperation with an enterprise, the research application is awarded one additional point.
Eligible research applications must contribute to achieving the objectives of Latvia's Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) or to the development of its areas of specialisation.
Funding and implementation period
For one research application:
the maximum total eligible funding is EUR 130,419;
the maximum implementation period is 24 months;
implementation must be completed no later than 30 June 2029.
The applicant must ensure the sustainability of the results achieved for at least one year after the end of the research application implementation period, including the continued development of the research field and, where applicable, the sustainability of the position created within the research application.
For research applications not related to economic activity, the postdoctoral researcher's remuneration is EUR 3,860 per month (not exceeding EUR 46,320 per year), the unit cost for research, publication, training and networking activities is EUR 1,000 per month, and administrative and infrastructure resource costs amount to 6% of the postdoctoral researcher's remuneration costs. The call regulations also provide for mobility, family and relocation support where the applicable conditions are met.
Submission of research applications
Research applications must be submitted via the LCS PostDoc Information System:
https://postdoc.lzp.gov.lv
The preparation and submission of a research application takes place in two parts:
Part I – Initial Research Application – must be submitted from 14 September 2026 to 30 October 2026 at 17:00;
Part II – Full Research Application – must be submitted within two weeks after notification of the decision approving the research application subject to conditions, if the research application is invited to proceed to Part II following the evaluation of Part I.
The conditions of the call, regulations, documents required for preparing a research application and other information are available in the “Postdoctoral Research Programme” section of the LCS website: https://www.lzp.gov.lv/lv/pecdoktoranturas-programma and https://www.lzp.gov.lv/lv/5-atlases-karta
Questions regarding the preparation and submission of research applications may be sent to pasts@lzp.gov.lv. Questions must be submitted no later than two working days before the deadline for submission of research applications.
1.1.1.9 “Postdoctoral Research” is co-funded by the European Union.
