Additional Funding to Promote Research Excellence and Strengthen Research Infrastructure at HUN-REN

Under the Governing Board’s decision, HUN-REN research institutions will receive a total of HUF 7.75 billion in additional funding for salaries, equivalent to two months of salary funding across the network, by the end of September. The funding is intended to recognise and encourage research performance and scientific excellence and, in line with the objectives set out in the Public Task Financing Agreement (KFSZ) concluded with the State, to support research and innovation. The additional resources will contribute to further salary increases for researchers and help bring salaries closer to competitive levels, while also supporting the retention of outstanding researchers and the recruitment of new ones.

State funding for HUN-REN increased significantly in 2025 and 2026, with higher levels of funding also secured for the coming years. As a result, salaries across the network increased by 31% in 2025, while the latest decision represents a further 16% increase in the salary budget of the research institutions. Taking into account the additional one month’s funding provided to institutions in February, which may also be freely used for salary-related expenditure, the average increase in the salary budget in 2026 could reach as much as 25%, depending on decisions taken by the Directors General of the research institutions and linked to research excellence.

This means that, for HUN-REN’s 3,800 employees – including approximately 2,000 researchers – salary increases since the beginning of 2025 have averaged 52%, and may reach as much as 64% in some cases. It is the Governing Board’s express intention that this year’s additional funding should once again result in a tangible increase in remuneration for the most outstanding researchers, and that Directors General should give particular consideration to this objective when making the decisions about the distributions of the additional resources in their research institutions.

Another important objective is to further strengthen the long-term stability of salaries. To this end, HUN-REN has approached the Ministry of Science and Technology with a proposal to transfer the funding used for permanent salary increases in 2026 from the performance-based component of the Public Task Financing Agreement to HUN-REN’s core funding. HUN-REN trusts that the Ministry recognises the importance of this objective and will support the initiative.

Alongside competitive salaries, a safe and modern research environment is also essential to scientific excellence, international competitiveness and ensuring that outstanding researchers can build their careers at HUN-REN. Such environment requires sustained investment. The development and operation of research infrastructure will continue to require increasing levels of public funding. Under the Governing Board’s decision, HUN-REN research institutions will receive an additional HUF 3.2 billion through the HUN-REN Infra 2026 programme to support the reliable and competitive operation of their research environment and infrastructure.

The funding may be used to help meet KFSZ commitments for 2026 and 2027 by maintaining a modern, safe and sustainable research environment and operating the research infrastructure required to preserve scientific excellence and international competitiveness.

Details of the additional funding for salaries at research institutions

The principles governing both the allocation of the HUF 7.75 billion in additional funding for salaries among the research institutions and its use within the institutions were jointly developed, on the proposal of HUN-REN’s leadership, by the HUN-REN Governing Board, the Supervisory Board and the Directors General of the research institutions over two rounds of consultations.

The allocation among institutions is based on a composite indicator. Seventy per cent of the weighting is based on the institutions’ average statistical headcount in 2025, 15% on their institutional KFSZ commitments for 2026, and a further 15% on their interim performance against the KFSZ indicators for the first quarter of 2026 and the scientific KFSZ commitments for the second quarter of 2026.

Research institutions will receive their allocated amounts by 25 September 2026 and may use the funding until the end of June 2027. The amounts allocated to individual institutions are set out in the Governing Board resolution. With the agreement of the delegates of the Directors General, the Governing Board decided that, due to the specific, project-based and time-limited nature of the supported research groups within HUN-REN TKI, it will return to decisions concerning the HUN-REN TKI towards the end of the year. 

Within each institution, the Director General will decide how the additional funding for salaries is used, taking into account employee performance, scientific excellence, and the fulfilment and promotion of KFSZ commitments. The funding may be used exclusively for personnel-related expenditure, with researchers’ salaries given priority in the allocation decisions.

The additional funding may be used, in particular, for salary increases, salary adjustments and pay equalisation, to provide salary coverage supporting staff retention, and to cover salary costs associated with recruiting new researchers. This does not mean an automatic salary increase for everyone; rather, it provides recognition for the strongest performers and creates opportunities to recruit and retain excellent staff.

As with last year’s salary increase, the funding is not intended solely as a one-off payment. At least 70% must be incorporated into base salaries, thereby strengthening salary stability over the longer term. Up to 30% may be used as a variable component of remuneration, for example in the form of bonuses or one-off payments.

The Governing Board’s objective is for the additional funding to result in tangible salary increases for researchers that are linked to performance and excellence and support the fulfilment of KFSZ commitments. Directors General will make decisions for their respective institutions with these principles in mind and will subsequently report on the use of the funding, with particular regard to its distribution between research and non-research staff, or between scientific and non-scientific employees.

Details of the HUN-REN Infra 2026 programme

Under the HUN-REN Infra 2026 research infrastructure programme, research institutions will receive HUF 3.2 billion by 26 September 2026, and may use the funding until the end of 2027.

The method for allocating the funding among institutions was jointly developed by the Governing Board, the Supervisory Board and the Directors General. The allocation is based on a composite indicator comprising five equally weighted components. These are the gross value of tangible assets, utility costs, planned operating expenditure on goods and services, the three-year average of depreciation, and the usable floor area of institutions’ buildings.

The purpose of the composite indicator is to reflect more evenly the differing operational and infrastructure characteristics of the research institutions and to reduce distortions that might arise from relying on any single indicator.

Decisions on the use of the funding will be made by the Director General of each research institution, taking into account the institution’s specific circumstances. As a general condition, the funding must support the fulfilment of KFSZ commitments for 2026 and 2027, in particular by ensuring a modern, safe and sustainable research environment and by operating the research infrastructure required to maintain scientific excellence and international competitiveness.

Funding provided under HUN-REN Infra 2026 may be used exclusively for non-personnel expenditure. Directors General will report retrospectively on the use of the funding in early 2028.

The programme also establishes two targeted funds, each with a budget of HUF 160 million. The first is a compensation fund designed to provide additional support, on the basis of individual requests, to research institutions whose share of funding under HUN-REN Infra 2026 is below 3%. Applications may be submitted by HUN-REN ÁTKI, HUN-REN BLKI, HUN-REN CsFK, HUN-REN FI and HUN-REN RAMKI. The second fund, also amounting to HUF 160 million, will provide additional support to priority HUN-REN research infrastructures, as classified by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH), on the basis of operational risk considerations.

The Governing Board’s latest decisions support the continued development of HUN-REN’s research institutions

Acting on proposals from HUN-REN’s leadership and in line with the organisation’s development objectives, the Governing Board’s decisions provide a total of HUF 11 billion in funding for HUN-REN research institutions. They represent another important step towards building a strong, performance-oriented and internationally competitive Hungarian research network. The measures create both opportunities and responsibilities: they are intended to deliver tangible improvements in the operating conditions of researchers and research institutions, strengthen incentives for outstanding performance, and further enhance HUN-REN’s scientific excellence and international competitiveness.

Through these latest decisions, the HUN-REN Governing Board aims to further develop a modern Hungarian research network capable of delivering at the highest level and creating value for both society and the economy, continuing along the path embarked upon at the establishment of the current HUN-REN in October 2025.

Related documents

Governing Board Resolution 30/2026 (18 September) on the additional funding for salaries provided to the research institutions of the HUN-REN Hungarian Research Network and the rules governing its allocation and use

Governing Board Resolution 31/2026 (18 September) on the HUN-REN Infra 2026 research infrastructure operations programme and the rules governing its allocation and use