Several months of intensive work have been behind us, in which the professional activities of academics were combined with the supporting processes of the Project Support Office (OPP), the Personnel Office (PO), and the Finance Office (EO). We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone involved in preparing the project proposals. We greatly appreciate the open cooperation, patience, and willingness to seek common solutions even in the time-consuming periods before the final deadlines.
A special thank you goes to everyone who took the time to fill out the feedback form on the GACR preparation process, or participated in our information webinar and GACR Days event. Your reactions, comments, and suggestions are a key tool for us, helping us reflect on our own work and improve it in a targeted way. We are very pleased that you appreciate the manuals, instructions, budget table, and consultation support of individual departments that we have created and shared, and that for many of you these materials were practical support when submitting proposals and when finding answers to specific questions - whether about the rules, writing the professional part, personal expenses, eligibility of expenses, or the submission and evaluation process itself.
Figures for FoA: how many proposals were submitted this year
This year's GACR season was very active at the Faculty of Arts. A total of 55 project proposals were submitted for the faculty to competitions by March 31, 2026, through the GRIS application:
In the new GRITA application, which was used for the first time this year for selected types of GACR competitions, a total of 9 proposals were submitted for the Faculty of Arts by April 20, 2026:
The introduction of GRITA into practice was a new experience for all participants. However, we believe that, despite initial concerns, we adapted smoothly to the new environment. We especially appreciated the automatic saving of changes, warnings about serious errors in the proposal, and, most importantly, the possibility of submitting a project without a data box. Next year, all project proposals will be submitted in the GRITA application. More information can be found on the GRITA website.
After the submission of proposals, a joint meeting of representatives from the OPP, PO, and EO was held, at which we shared not only internal experiences from this year's run but, above all, feedback directly from the applicants. This became a starting point for us in identifying specific changes we plan to implement in future runs of the GACR preparation. The main planned steps include the following areas:
Budget table – it was very positively evaluated as a fundamental help, but at the same time, the need for further adjustments in clarity, unification of formats and better orientation, especially for travel and personal expenses (e.g. we are going to add automatic generation of leave for agreements, a notice of the need to announce a tender for given positions, add a voluntary calculator to Material Expenses for calculating Travel Expenses, i.e. simplify travel budgeting as such, etc.)
Proposal review process – there were comments about the delay in feedback. In this context, we would like to add that delays were often due to some applicants not adhering to the previously communicated deadlines or starting project preparation only at a late stage of the process. This reduced the space for deeper consultations – not only on the budget and personnel costs, but also on the professional (scientific) part of the project, where we can provide significant methodological and analytical support. For the next seasons, we would therefore greatly appreciate it if those interested in GACR projects contacted OPP in advance, preferably from April, i.e., from the end of the previous season. An early start to consultations will allow us to think through the project concept together, realistically set costs, spread the control process over time, and offer applicants full support throughout the proposal preparation. We believe that earlier involvement of all actors will not only lead to a smoother administrative process, but, above all, to higher-quality, more competitive project proposals.
Communication and working with information – feedback showed that most applicants drew information from the Internal Manual and direct mailing. More than half of those interviewed also used presentations from events (GACR Days, webinar) and information from OPP News. We can already say that the Internal Manual was a great benefit and facilitated the entire process for us, so we are definitely planning to update it and make further improvements next year.
However, according to the completed form, some applicants do not pay sufficient attention to the tender documentation (TD) and practical information of the GACR, even though these documents are the key source of information for the entire proposal submission process. We would therefore like to encourage applicants to read the TD and return to it on an ongoing basis – at least regarding the costs and structure of the scientific part of the project. OPP support materials, webinars, and consultations are intended to supplement and explain the TD, not replace it. We believe that more careful work with this information will facilitate not only proposal submission but also subsequent control, leading to higher-quality submitted projects.
Development of OPP educational activities – the vast majority of you are interested in OPP events, which we are very happy about. You can look forward to the autumn GACR Days, where we will present you with even more tips and practical advice and involve more experienced solvers and evaluators from the panel.
In conclusion, we would like to thank all participants once again for your cooperation, openness, and trust in approaching the OPP. We greatly appreciate that you share not only positive experiences but also critical suggestions - they help us move the support for project activities at the Faculty of Arts further. We look forward to further joint work in the upcoming GACR 2028 season and believe that the proposed changes will make the entire project preparation process even clearer and smoother for all participants.
We wish all applicants good luck in the evaluation of project proposals and much success in their further scientific work. We greatly appreciate your work, energy, and courage to apply for GACR competitions, and we will keep our fingers crossed that your projects are successful.
The results of competitions whose proposals were submitted through the GRIS application will be announced on November 26, 2026. The results of competitions whose proposals were submitted through the new GRITA application will be announced on October 29, 2026.
The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MSMT) has published calls for applications for international mobility to Germany and France, as well as a grant to support research, development and innovation projects (VaVaI) within the framework of international cooperation in the Danube region.
The Project Support Office cordially invites academic staff to a pair of follow-up workshops focused on orientation in research funding sources and preparation of quality grant proposals.