Description

The Generet Award for Rare Diseases is a prestigious research prize funded by the Generet Fund (managed by the King Baudouin Foundation) and administered by the Fund for Scientific Research – FNRS. The award supports a single high-level research project in the field of rare diseases conducted in Belgium.

The programme aims to enable a leading researcher to carry out pioneering research on rare diseases, contributing to a better understanding of disease mechanisms and ultimately improving prevention, diagnosis, or treatment for patients.

Rare diseases are defined as life-threatening or chronic conditions affecting no more than 1 in 2,000 people. Research on rare cancers and rare adverse drug events is excluded from this call.

Funding Amount

• Total funding: €1,250,000 per project.
• Project duration: 4 years.
• Payment structure:
  • €750,000 for the first two years.
  • €500,000 for the final two years, subject to a positive mid-term evaluation.

Eligible costs include:

• Personnel costs
• Running/operational costs
• Equipment

Additional conditions:

• Up to 30% of the grant may be outsourced for national or international expenses (including private-sector partners at cost price).
• Up to 10% overheads may be applied, included within the grant amount.

Submission Deadlines

• Call opening: 16 February 2026
• Pre-proposal deadline: 20 April 2026
• First panel meeting: 27 May 2026
• Invitation for full proposals: after the first panel meeting
• Full proposal deadline: 6 July 2026
• Second panel meeting: 17 November 2026
• Project start: 1 January 2027.

Eligible Types of Applicants

Applicants must be internationally established investigators with outstanding scientific achievements.

Eligible profiles include:

• Researchers with major contributions in rare disease research, or
• Researchers working on common diseases whose work can significantly advance rare disease research.

Additional requirements:

• Minimum 10 years of scientific seniority after the PhD.
• Applicants must be affiliated with a Belgian university, university hospital, or eligible research institute for the duration of the project.
• Applicants must not reach the retirement age during the project period.
• Former Generet Award laureates cannot reapply as principal investigator, but may participate as partners after four years.

Eligible Countries

• The research project must be conducted in Belgium.
• Applicants must be affiliated with a Belgian research institution.

Submission Conditions

• The call uses a two-stage application process:
  1. Pre-proposal stage (open to all applicants).
  2. Full proposal stage (only shortlisted applicants invited).

Pre-proposal requirements include:

• Administrative application form
• Letter of intent (max. 3 pages) outlining the research concept
• Core bibliography
• Short CV.

Applications must be written in English and submitted through the online application system on the Generet Award website before the deadline.