Polish science ministry encourages ‘Pact for H2020’ signing

The Polish science minister has urged scientists to sign the ‘Pact for Horizon 2020’. Universities signing the pact will commit to work towards broad participation in Horizon 2020. The Ministry will also reward researchers who apply for European grants.

Professor Lena Kolarska-Bobińska, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, presented the ‘Pact for Horizon 2020’ at a conference on ‘Horizon 2020: challenges and opportunities for Polish science’ in Warsaw. The minister also sent a letter to university rectors, directors of research institutes, and the Polish Academy of Sciences, in which she encouraged to sign the pact.

In the letter, Kolarska-Bobińska wrote: “Increasing the participation of Polish scientists and entrepreneurs in the new Framework Programme for Research funding in the European Union is one of the key objectives of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. It opens new opportunities for Polish science, for Poland.”

According to the letter, the pact urges the ministry to create an effective system of support for institutions and scientists who make an effort to compete for international research grants.

The Ministry of Science will commit to develop – together with the Committee for Evaluation of Scientific Units – new rules for evaluating scientific institutions that would take into account participation and success in Horizon 2020 competitions. The National Contact Point and 11 Regional Contact Points will be improved. The biggest change, however, will be a mandatory evaluation of the project by experts before its submission to European competition.

The pact implies the introduction of mechanisms to support the participation of Polish researchers in Horizon 2020, for example, through the Grants for Grants programme that will finance the preparation and initial evaluation of applications. A website will also be launched to provide information on the procedure and the rules of the Horizon 2020 competitions, and on good practices of universities and research institutes. In autumn, ten conferences will be organised in major academic centres in Poland, where participants will discuss the opportunities offered by Horizon 2020.