Description

The Clinical Research programme of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) supports non-commercial clinical studies aimed at generating new scientific knowledge to improve clinical practice, therapies, and diagnostic methods.

It enables researchers and clinicians to conduct independent clinical research without reliance on commercial interests.

Funding Amount

• Per project:
  • No fixed funding cap
  • Project-specific funding covering:
    • Personnel costs
    • Non-personnel costs
• Duration:
  • Up to 48 months
• Additional note:
  • Number of required peer reviews depends on the requested budget size

Submission Deadlines

• No fixed deadline
• Rolling submissions throughout the year
• Decisions taken in five approval meetings per year

Submission Conditions

• Applications must be submitted via the FWF elane portal

Key requirements:

• Applicant must:
  • Have appropriate academic qualifications
  • Demonstrate relevant prior research experience
• Project must:
  • Be carried out at an Austrian research institution
  • Have access to necessary infrastructure
• Ethical requirements:
  • Positive opinion or confirmation from an ethics committee required at submission (with specific exception for certain clinical trials under Austrian law)
• Additional requirements:
  • Standard application components (project description, CV, publication record, budget)
  • Environmental sustainability statement (mandatory across FWF programmes)
  • Compliance with FWF regulations on:
    • Research collaborations
    • Data management
    • Open access policy
• Evaluation:
  • Based on international peer review
  • Final decision by the FWF Scientific Board

Eligible Types of Organisations

• Austrian universities
• Clinics / hospitals
• Research institutions
• Researchers working at or in cooperation with a clinic