Research Credit (Crédit de recherche - CDR) 2026

Opening

19 May 2026 14:00

Closing

07 July 2026 14:00

The Credits and Projects call offers various funding intended to support research, from basic needs to the development of research projects.

The Research Credit (Crédit de recherche - CDR) instrument is a funding scheme under the Credits and Projects call intended to cover basic needs related to research activities (consumables, small equipment, travel, publications, etc.).

Category: Projects, credits, ...

Profile: Permanent research status (R3) and Senior research position (R4)

Periodicity: Annual

Financing description

Objective

The objective of the CDR instrument is to support the basic activities of a researcher (or their team) required to set up or continue a research project.

Scope

The instrument supports scientific research across all fields, organized into the following three major domains: Exact and Natural Sciences (Sciences Exactes et Naturelles – SEN), Life and Health Sciences (Sciences de la Vie et de la Santé – SVS), and Human and Social Sciences (Sciences Humaines et Sociales – SHS).

Access Conditions

Eligibility criteria

A research project is conducted by a promoter within a university of the French Community of Belgium (Communauté française de Belgique - CFB).

To be a promoter, one must:

either carry out an open-ended fellowship of the F.R.S.-FNRS:
- Research Associate (Chercheuse qualifiée ou Chercheur qualifié - CQ);
- Senior Research Associate (Maître de recherches - MR);
- or Research Director (Directrice ou Directeur de recherches - DR);
either carry out a Ulysse Incentive Grant for Mobility in Scientific Research (Mandat d’impulsion scientifique – MISU);
either carry out a FED-tWIN mandate;
either hold an academic or scientific appointment on a permanent or probationary basis within the institution.

For further details, including any additional conditions that apply, please refer to the instrument's regulation.

Accumulation rules

Applicants must comply with the accumulation rules set out in the accumulation rules document for the Credits and Projects call.

Important: only the conditions detailed in the documentation will be taken into consideration for administrative control. The information on this page is for informational purposes only.

Funding characteristics

Duration

The funding is for a period of 2 years.

Amount

The instrument allows to request a total budget of between 10.000 € and 63.000 €.

Eligible costs

The following cost categories are eligible:

Operating costs
Equipment

For more information on the different categories and eligible costs, please consult the financial guide.

Submission of an application

Procedure

Submitting an application is done online on the e-space platform.

The application must be drafted in French or English.

Timeline

Opening of the call : 19-05-2026
Closing of the call:
- Promoter validation: 07-07-2026
- Co-promoters validation: 10-07-2026
- Validation of the rectoral authorities: 17-07-2026
Evaluation: October-November
Funding decision: December
Start date of projects: 01-01-2027

Evaluation

Evaluation modalities

Applications are evaluated in 2 stages:

An individual evaluation carried out remotely by experts
An evaluation carried out by a Scientific Commission

Applications are evaluated by 14 international Scientific Commissions whose respective competences are identified by the descriptor fields published on the F.R.S.-FNRS website.

These international Scientific Commissions are divided into 13 thematic Scientific Commissions: 4 in Exact and Natural Sciences (SEN-1 to SEN-4), 4 in Life and Health Sciences (SVS-1 to SVS-4) and 5 in Human and Social Sciences (SHS-1 to SHS-5).

A 14^th Scientific Commission exercises its competence in the strategic field of sustainability through interdisciplinarity (SUSTAINABILITY).

The applicant chooses the Scientific Commission before which they wish their application to be evaluated. They select 2 to 6 descriptor fields in order of relative importance (at least 2 descriptor fields must belong to the chosen Scientific Commission) and may complement this choice with free keywords.

If an applicant selects less than 2 descriptor fields belonging to the chosen Scientific Commission, they must justify the choice of the Scientific Commission in the form.

An applicant selecting the SUSTAINABILITY Scientific Commission, whose evaluation scope focuses on research projects related to sustainability through interdisciplinarity, must justify the “sustainability” nature of their research project as well as the interdisciplinary aspects.

Evaluation criteria

The criteria taken into account in the evaluation of applications are as follows:

Criteria
Qualities of the promoter: CV and publications International visibility Main research achievements
Qualities of the research plan: Feasibility Methodology and relevance Originality Collaborations

Criteria

Qualities of the promoter:

CV and publications
International visibility
Main research achievements

Qualities of the research plan:

Feasibility
Methodology and relevance
Originality
Collaborations

Open science practices may constitute a valorising element of the application file (and more particularly of the CV), without being a mandatory evaluation criterion.