Grantová agentura České republiky

What Grantová agentura České republiky does

Grantová agentura České republiky (GACR, the Czech Science Foundation) is a state organizational unit of the Czech Republic established in 1993 and operating under Law No. 130/2002 Sb. It is the only Czech institution that provides public funding exclusively for basic (fundamental) research, administering competitive grant programs including Standard Projects, EXPRO (excellence), JUNIOR STAR (early-career researchers), POSTDOC Individual Fellowship, Restart Grants, and international projects under the Lead Agency and WEAVE frameworks. Funding flows from Czech state budget appropriations (budget chapter 321), with no commercial revenue model.

GACR's operations are supported by specialized IT systems including GRIS (Grant Information System) for online submission, evaluation, and project management; GRITA for internal grant administration; and integration with the national IS VaVaI/RIV system for research results reporting. Evaluation relies on international peer review through Discipline Committees and panels, with EXPRO and JUNIOR STAR projects evaluated exclusively by foreign experts to ensure independence. The organization is currently implementing a cybersecurity enhancement project (September 2025 to May 2026) funded by the EU National Recovery Plan. GACR's primary customers are Czech and international academic researchers and research institutions (universities, Czech Academy of Sciences institutes) conducting fundamental research across all scientific disciplines.

As a non-commercial state entity, GACR does not charge applicants for grant funding. Governance rests with the GACR Presidium, with oversight provided by a 10-member Control Board (Kontrolní rada) appointed by the Chamber of Deputies. The agency operates WEAVE partnerships with peer European agencies (FWF, DFG, NCN, SNSF, FNR, HRZZ, ARIS), Science Europe, and the Global Research Council, and is expanding into new bilateral partnerships such as the May 2026 MoU with the Israeli Science Foundation.

Name

Grantová agentura České republiky

Legal name

Grantová agentura České republiky

Website

https://gacr.cz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research Funding Administration

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAKAI

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYEDADAHAD

Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Education Funding, Grants & Financial Aid Administration

Keywords

• Research funding
• Basic research grants
• Science grants administration
• Peer review evaluation
• International research cooperation

Headquarters

HQ city

Prague

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. State Budget Funding: GACR is a state organizational unit (organizační složka státu) and budget chapter administrator. Funding comes from Czech state budget appropriations designated for basic research. The agency provides purpose-oriented support (účelová podpora) to grant projects based on contracts or decisions. No commercial revenue model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grantová agentura České republiky (GACR) is the only institution in the Czech Republic that provides public funding exclusively for basic research projects. It distributes purpose-oriented financial support from the Czech state budget to researchers, research teams, universities, and Czech Academy of Sciences institutes through a competitive peer-review process, including Standard Projects, EXPRO, JUNIOR STAR, POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP, Restart Grants, and international bilateral/multilateral projects under the Lead Agency principle.

Product overview

Grantová agentura České republiky (GACR) is the sole Czech institution providing public funding exclusively for basic research. The organization operates a portfolio of grant programs including Standard Projects (core funding), EXPRO (excellence grants), JUNIOR STAR (early-career researchers), POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP (incoming/outgoing), Restart Grants (career resumption), and International Projects via Lead Agency/Weave mechanisms. These are supported by internal platforms GRIS (grant management system), GRITA (financial administration), and a Helpdesk service. GACR also administers the President's Awards recognizing outstanding research achievements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GRIS: Grantový informační systém (GRIS) - Grant Information System, the application for submitting and managing grant projects
• GRITA
• POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP
• JUNIOR STAR
• EXPRO
• Standardní projekty
• Návratové granty
• GACR President's Awards

Products and services

• Standard Projects Standard grant projects for basic research across all scientific disciplines, evaluated through a two-phase peer-review process. Available to researchers at Czech research institutions.
• EXPRO Projects Excellence projects for researchers with exceptional track records, featuring evaluation by foreign-only Discipline Committees to ensure independence.
• JUNIOR STAR Projects Prestigious grants for outstanding early-career researchers, evaluated by foreign Discipline Committees (no ties to Czech Republic) for full independence.
• POSTDOC INDIVIDUAL FELLOWSHIP Fellowship programs supporting incoming and outgoing postdoctoral researchers to conduct basic research in the Czech Republic or abroad.
• Restart Grants (Návratové granty) Grants for researchers returning to the Czech Republic after a career break to resume their scientific careers.
• International Projects (Lead Agency/WEAVE) International bilateral and multilateral projects with partner countries evaluated under the Lead Agency principle, coordinated under the WEAVE multi-agency initiative with DFG, NCN, FWF, SNSF, FNR, HRZZ, ARIS, and ISF.
• GACR President's Awards Annual awards recognizing outstanding achievements by researchers funded through GACR-supported projects.
• GRIS (Grant Information System) Online application system for submitting and managing grant project proposals, evaluations, and reports, with conflict-of-interest controls, random evaluator assignment, and automated categorization.
• GRITA Internal information system for grant administration and financial management.
• HELPDESK Helpdesk system providing support for applicants and grantees with questions about grant processes, with FAQ resources at info.gacr.cz.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22 new international projects supported in 2026 through WEAVE partnerships

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Israeli Science Foundation (ISF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 May 2026First joint call to be announced in September 2026. Memorandum of cooperation signed for bilateral basic research projects evaluated under Lead Agency principle. Open to all fields of basic research.
• Ministry of the Interior of the Czech RepubliccoreOthers · 1 September 2025EU National Recovery Plan (NPO) funding source for cybersecurity enhancement project CZ.31.2.0/0.0/0.0/23_094/0010354. Total project budget 20,086,000 CZK with EU co-financing of 16,600,000 CZK. Project runs September 2025 to May 2026.
• Austrian Science Fund (FWF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner for bilateral and trilateral research projects. Cooperates under Lead Agency evaluation principle. Czech call deadline March 31, 2026.
• German Research Foundation (DFG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner for bilateral and trilateral research projects. Lead Agency evaluation. Supported 2 German-Czech projects beginning October 2026.
• National Science Centre Poland (NCN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner. Lead Agency evaluations for Polish-Czech projects. 19 Polish-Czech projects and 1 trilateral project supported. Projects begin 2027.
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner for bilateral Swiss-Czech research projects under Lead Agency evaluation.
• Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner for bilateral Luxembourg-Czech research projects under Lead Agency evaluation.
• Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner. Lead Agency evaluation by HRZZ with GACR as partner. Call announced March 26, 2026.
• Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWEAVE initiative partner for bilateral Slovenian-Czech research projects under Lead Agency evaluation.
• Science EuropeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization membership. GACR participates in Science Europe activities for European research policy coordination.
• Global Research Council (GRC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization membership. GACR participates in Global Research Council for global science funding coordination.
• WEAVE InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-agency initiative connecting European science funding agencies. Enables joint bilateral and trilateral project calls with unified Lead Agency evaluation. GACR coordinates with FWF, DFG, NCN, SNSF, FNR, HRZZ, ARIS under this framework.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG): Germany's central public funding organization for basic research. Direct peer operating under virtually identical mandate, evaluation methodology, and Lead Agency principle — and a WEAVE partner of GACR.
• Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF): Switzerland's federal basic research funding body. Direct peer operating under similar statutory mandate and WEAVE participation with GACR.
• Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR): Luxembourg's central public research funding agency. Smaller-scale direct peer and active WEAVE/Lead Agency partner of GACR.
• Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS): Slovenia's national research and innovation funding agency. Direct peer with overlapping disciplines and WEAVE Lead Agency cooperation with GACR.
• French National Research Agency (ANR): France's primary public funding agency for basic and applied research projects. Direct peer with comparable portfolio, peer review model, and EU-wide research funding role.
• National Science Centre Poland (NCN): Poland's basic research funding agency. Direct peer covering all scientific disciplines, with active bilateral Lead Agency relationship with GACR (19 Polish-Czech projects announced).
• Austrian Science Fund (FWF): Austria's primary basic research funding agency. Direct peer with overlapping grant programs and Lead Agency coordination; core WEAVE partner of GACR.
• Israel Science Foundation (ISF): Israel's primary public funder of basic research. Direct peer operating with similar mandate; new bilateral partner of GACR with first joint call announced for September 2026.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF): U.S. federal agency supporting basic research across non-medical fields. Broader incumbent with similar core mandate but vastly larger scale; useful as a comparator for evaluation methodology.
• UK Research and Innovation (UKRI): UK's main public body funding research and innovation. Broader incumbent covering basic and applied research; comparable role in national research ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GrantovaAgenturaCR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grantov%C3%A1-agentura-%C4%8Desk%C3%A9-republiky

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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