ROMA (ITALPRESS) – The three-year research plan in implementation of the Law of Budget 2026 arrives. The decree signed by the Minister of the University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, introduces a new model of programming and funding of research, founded on a calendar of certain bands, a single fund and on defined resources that for the three-year period 2026-2028 amount to more than 1,2 billion.
An approach that introduces stability and predictability for universities, research institutions and AFAM, ensuring continuity and clarity in financing programming. “Research and training are pillars of government action. The three-year research plan marks a turning point over the past, when the system was too often found to deal with uncertainty in the times of the bands and in the provision of resources. Today – says Minister Bernini – we ensure financial stability, clear programming, continuity in financing instruments, acting decisively to cut bureaucracy. Research is one of the main engines of Italian development, competitiveness and growth. A strategic investment that strengthens the human capital of the country, supports the production system and accompanies enterprises in the processes of innovation and transformation, generating value, qualified employment and new opportunities”, the minister concludes.
The Triennial Research Plan provides a three-year programme that allows you to know in advance, for each year, the funding tools provided by MUR, the times – the notices will be published by 30 April each year with results made public by 30 September – and the modalities of the bands, including the dates of publication of alerts and rankings, as well as the economic allocation.
In support of the Plan, the new Fund for Research Programming (FPR) is set up at MUR, in which the main ministerial instruments for basic and applied research are merged: the Fund for Investments in Scientific and Technological Research (FIRST), the Special Fund for Research (FISR), the Italian Science Fund (FIS), the Italian Fund for Applied Sciences (FISA) and the Economic and Social Fund for Research (FISA). The funding lines also include National Interest Research Projects (PRIN) and support for participation in European research partnerships and the implementation of bilateral agreements, also strengthening the role of MUR in the Mattei Plan.
The budget of the Fund for Research Programming, in the three years 2026-2028, is 259.029.354 euros in 2026, 257.633.003 euros in 2027 and 285.7066 euros in 2028; for the following years it is fixed in 665.901.239 euros in 2029 and in 2030 and in 687.830.876 euros in 2031. For 2026, however, the appropriation exceeds 270 million euros, almost doubled compared to the expected minimum threshold. Overall, research resources amounted to more than 409 million euros in 2026, exceeding 407 million in 2027 and reaching approximately 435 million in 2028. The funds will be allocated through competitive procedures and evaluation processes based on scientific merit and international peer review standards. The reform introduces new measures dedicated to innovative and border research, each with a specific financial allocation. It’s PRIN Hybrid and Synergy Grant.
The PRIN Hybrid – funded in 2026 with 59 million – is a new financing line oriented to the valorisation of multidisciplinaryity, promoting the integration between humanities and application of new technologies – from quantum technologies to high performance computing, to artificial intelligence – in a logic of hybridization of skills. The Synergy Grant, with a budget of 50 million euros for 2026, is designed to strengthen cooperation between scientific communities and the production system.
The tool supports applied and innovative research projects that require integration of multidisciplinary skills and ability to translate into concrete solutions for the welfare of citizens and for the competitiveness of the country. Another novelty is represented by FIS: for 2027 a Starting Grant edition is already established – the call dedicated to younger researchers – while for 2028 a call for Consolidator-Advanced Grant for researchers in the consolidation phase of their background and renowned scientists.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
