The Austrian National Bank has approved funding for 14 research projects, selected from 56 applications, in the first 2026 allocation round of its anniversary fund for the promotion of scientific research and teaching. The approved funding totals about EUR 3.2 million. The projects span economics, finance and wider public policy topics, including responsible capital allocation, decentralized finance market frictions, systemic risk in stablecoin ecosystems, electricity markets, trade policy, education, labor market regulation and food-price analytics. The fund is presented as part of the central bank’s support for early-career researchers and for carrying out scientific projects in Austria. The next application window for the first 2027 allocation round opens on July 27, 2026 and closes on September 23, 2026 at noon.