The Federal Government has approved N10 billion for the 2026 National Research Fund (NRF) grant programme of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
TETFund announced the grant in a call for concept notes signed by its Executive Secretary, Sonny Echono, on Saturday.
The fund said the grant would support research projects across 30 priority areas.
The 2026 grant programme follows the successful completion of the 2025 cycle, during which more than N6.09 billion was awarded to support 174 research projects.
According to TETFund, the application process will begin with the submission of concept notes by principal investigators who are proposing research projects.
Only principal investigators whose concept notes are reviewed and considered suitable for funding will be invited to submit full research proposals.
TETFund said lecturers in public tertiary institutions across Nigeria are eligible to apply for the grant.
The application process will be conducted entirely online.
Eligible applicants are required to visit the TETFund National Research Fund portal to prepare and submit their concept notes.
TETFund also advised applicants to carefully study the research brief and application guidelines before submitting their applications.
The submitted concept notes will be assessed by the National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee.
The portal will open for submission of concept notes on August 31, 2026, while the deadline for submission is October 15, 2026.
The 30 priority research areas are divided into three broad categories: humanities and social sciences; science, engineering, technology and innovation; and cross-cutting areas.
Some of the cross-cutting areas include the blue economy, clean and affordable energy, entrepreneurship and wealth creation.
TETFund said the research grant is aimed at supporting quality research and strengthening research capacity in Nigeria’s public tertiary institutions.
