OECD Co-operative Research Programme (CRP) Research Fellowship

Benefits & funding

• The award is a travel lump sum allowance made up of three components, paid to the fellow by bank transfer.
• Return economy-class air travel between the fellow’s home institution and the host institution.
• A weekly subsistence allowance, currently 600 EUR or 650 EUR per week depending on the cost of living in the host country. It is meant to cover all normal living expenses — accommodation, food — and incidentals such as daily travel to and from work.
• Terminal charges: a lump sum of 165 EUR for the transport costs of taking up and leaving duties at the host laboratory.
• Payment for fellowships of 12 weeks or less: 50 per cent once the Secretariat receives the signed acceptance form, the remaining 50 per cent once the host confirms the fellow has arrived. For fellowships longer than 12 weeks: 50 per cent up front, 25 per cent on confirmation of arrival, and the last 25 per cent at the midpoint of the fellowship.
• Not covered: insurance — an accepted fellow is not insured by the CRP or the OECD; travel and living costs for family members joining the fellow; visa and passport fees; laboratory bench fees, which are normally the host institution’s responsibility; and bank charges.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be residents of, and working in an institution located in, a country that participates in the CRP. The host institution must be in a different participating country.
• Thirty-three countries participate. For the 2027 call the eligible list is: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. Brazil and Ukraine joined in July 2026 and are eligible for this call. Türkiye is a member only until 24 December 2026 and does not take part in the call for fellowships funded in 2027.
• Applicants should have four years of postdoctoral training. The programme is not aimed at PhD students. In exceptional circumstances someone without a PhD may be considered if they have equivalent expertise and have been extensively published.
• A scientist already holding a position in a foreign laboratory cannot apply for a fellowship to remain in that laboratory.
• The employer must agree to the application and to the fellowship being taken up. Applicants should hold a contract that keeps them employed after the fellowship ends; where the contract runs for less than three years, the institution is asked to certify that the scientific affiliation will continue once the fellowship is over.
• A host institution has to accept the fellow: a letter of acceptance on official letterhead, dated and signed, is part of the application, and the original must reach the Secretariat.
• Someone who has already held a CRP fellowship may apply for a second one only five years after the year of the first award.
• No age limit and no nationality restriction is set. The application form asks for nationality, gender and age range as demographic data only.

Application process

1. 1
   Check that both the home institution and the intended host institution sit in participating countries, and that they are in two different countries.
2. 2
   Read the Guidelines and Conditions, the Selection Criteria and the Action Areas on the call page; sample applications, a sample CV and a sample invitation letter are published there as well.
3. 3
   Agree the project with a host institution and obtain a letter of acceptance on letterhead, dated and signed. The original goes to the CRP Secretariat.
4. 4
   Obtain the employer’s agreement to the application and to the absence, plus the certification of continuing affiliation if the current contract runs for less than three years.
5. 5
   Complete the online application form in English, filling every relevant field and giving detail where it is asked for. A PDF version of the form is published so the content can be prepared offline.
6. 6
   Attach a CV with a list of publications from the last five years.
7. 7
   Submit by Thursday 10 September 2026, midnight Paris time. Questions go to the CRP Secretariat at TAD.Prog@oecd.org, and each participating country also has a national correspondent.
8. 8
   Members of the Scientific Advisory Body assess the applications. Decisions are taken by mid-December 2026 and applicants are informed in January 2027 at the latest.
9. 9
   If awarded, return the signed acceptance form, then complete an evaluation questionnaire within two weeks of the end of the fellowship and a summary report within two months. Failing to submit the summary report means being asked to reimburse 10 per cent of the award.

Program timeline

1. 10 September 2026, midnight Paris time

   Application deadline for fellowships funded in 2027

2. Award decisions taken

   Mid-December 2026

3. Applicants informed of the outcome

   January 2027 at the latest

4. Earliest advised start date for research visits

   1 March 2027

5. All administrative arrangements must be completed by this date

   1 November 2027

6. 15 December 2027

   Latest departure for a fellowship funded in 2027