Deadline Date: March 13, 2026
The Order-Based Research and development Projects SME Support Call for Proposals 2026 has been opened to support needs-oriented research and development activities carried out by SMEs in cooperation with customer organizations.
The call focuses on order-based R&D projects, transforming solution proposals designed to meet customer organization requirements into commercially viable R&D activities, co-financing by TÜBİTAK and customer organizations, needs-oriented innovation, development of innovative products and processes by SMEs, risk-sharing in financing, intellectual property cooperation, priority R&D and innovation topics under Green Deal compliance, and commercialization performance of previously supported TÜBİTAK projects.
The 1707 Order R&D Program is designed to enable SMEs to conduct R&D activities with ready-made customers, creating a structured framework for collaboration between customer organizations and supplier SMEs. This approach supports the development of innovative solutions while strengthening cooperation in project management and commercialization. Within the scope of the 2026 program, three different call periods are planned during the year. Projects submitted under this call may have a maximum budget of 10,000,000 TL and a maximum duration of 24 months, including any extensions, which cannot exceed this time limit.
Eligible project expenses include costs related to project personnel from the customer organization who are involved in management, quality control, testing, validation, and field verification activities, up to a maximum of 18 man-months, as well as intercity travel expenses. These supports are provided within the framework of the R&D call.
Under the order-based R&D model, the customer organization is required to pay at least 40 percent of the project expenses incurred periodically to the supplier organization, while TÜBİTAK provides 40 percent of the accepted expenditure amount as grant support to the supplier organization following expense evaluation.
Projects that fall within the priority R&D and innovation topics aligned with Green Deal compliance will receive additional evaluation points, along with further points based on the commercialization performance of previously supported TÜBİTAK projects.
Applications must be submitted jointly by a customer organization and at least one supplier organization. Customer organizations are capital companies established in Türkiye that require an R&D-based solution, while supplier organizations are SME-sized capital companies established in Türkiye that participate in R&D activities. Organizations considered related parties under Corporate Tax Law No. 5520 are not eligible to participate in the same project together.
For more information, visit TÜBİTAK.
