The Federal Government has approved N10 billion for the 2026 National Research Fund (NRF) grant cycle of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
TETFund announced the funding in a call for concept notes signed by its Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, on Saturday.
The fund will support research projects across 30 priority thematic areas, covering humanities and social sciences, science, engineering, technology and innovation, as well as cross-cutting areas.
The 2026 grant cycle follows the completion of the 2025 programme, under which TETFund awarded more than N6.09 billion to 174 research projects.
According to TETFund, the application process will begin with the submission of concept notes by principal investigators seeking funding for proposed research projects.
Only principal investigators whose concept notes are assessed and considered fundable will be invited to submit full research proposals.
Lecturers in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria are eligible to apply, while the entire application process will be conducted online.
Eligible applicants are required to access the TETFund National Research Fund portal at nrf.tetfund.gov.ng and follow the instructions for preparing and submitting their concept notes.
TETFund advised applicants to study the research brief and application guidelines carefully before submission.
All concept notes will be assessed by the National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee.
The portal will open for submissions on August 31, 2026, with the deadline set for October 15, 2026.
The 30 priority research areas include issues such as the blue economy, clean and affordable energy, entrepreneurship and wealth creation, alongside other areas within the three broad thematic categories.
