Key Organisational Issues Discussed at the Heads of Research Institutions' Meeting on 17 February 2025

In February 2025, the Hungarian National Asset Management Inc. submitted a draft free-use agreement between the Hungarian State and HUN-REN HQ for technical consultation. This agreement covers the transitional period until the Hungarian State finalises the purchase of properties from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and HUN-REN is formally established as a new legal entity.

Although ownership of the properties cannot yet be transferred, research institutions must continue using them to fulfil their public tasks. According to the current, still non-final draft of agreement, HUN-REN HQ will enter into separate contracts with research institutions, governed by a framework agreement. Coordination of the list of individual assets prior to the transfer taking place with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, and the Hungarian National Asset Management Inc.

The preservation of the renewed HUN-REN’s eligibility for international grant applications and the EU grant validation procedures were discussed in details. According to the HUN-REN Act:​

"Section 1 (3): In order to ensure that the public service functions of HUN-REN as set out in Paragraph (2) are fulfilled, the State shall protect the legal institution and private autonomy of HUN-REN as a specific private legal entity, including its organisational, financial and operational independence, and shall ensure the necessary legal environment for its operation."

The Transformation Programme’s Task Force for Proposals provides professional support to ensure the smooth running of ongoing national and international projects and to maintain application opportunities with consistent support levels. A comparative analysis conducted by the Task Force confirmed that the key to preserving eligibility for international grant applications is maintaining "non-profit" status rather than holding public body or public institution status.

In line with European best practices, major European research networks operate under a private legal structure while holding "non-profit" and "research organisation" status. To qualify for this status, organisations must provide formal documentation confirming their non-profit nature, either by legal form or by explicit statutory provisions preventing profit distribution to members.

The new Articles of Association for HUN-REN reinforce this principle, stating:

"HUN-REN may use its assets exclusively for the performance of activities related to its public tasks, as defined in Section 1(2) of the HUN-REN Act. In doing so, HUN-REN may carry out management activities that do not jeopardise the performance of its public tasks. It may not distribute profits from its management activities; such profits may only be used in connection with its public tasks. It must maintain separate accounts for the costs and revenues of these economic activities."

Research institute heads were updated on network-level performance indicators, which, once finalised, will serve as the basis for the Public Task Financing Agreement.

At the institutional level, specific performance indicators will be used to assess performance and allocate funding within the research network, ensuring that disciplinary differences are taken into account.

Finally, research site leaders attended a presentation on the latest international trends opportunities in the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the efficiency of research work. Next Steps

The next professional consultation related to the renewal of HUN-REN will take place in two weeks. HUN-REN HQ’s leadership remains committed to providing regular updates on progress.