We are happy to announce three new calls: MAESTRO 15, for experienced researchers; SONATA BIS 13, for those planning to start a new research team; and PRELUDIUM BIS 5, designed to support PhD students in doctoral schools. Proposals will be accepted until the middle of September.
The three calls have a total budget of 145 million zlotys, available for researchers planning to conduct basic research projects in host institutions throughout Poland.
Masterclass projects
MAESTRO 15 is targeted at the most experienced researchers with a significant record of achievement in science. MAESTRO projects involve pioneering research of great interest to science, often interdisciplinary in nature, which goes beyond our current state of knowledge and is likely to bring important scientific discoveries. The applicant must be able to demonstrate at least five publications released by renowned Polish or international academic publishers/journals in the last 10 years and are expected to have served as a principal investigator in at least two research projects selected in international or domestic calls.
The project may be planned over 36, 48 or 60 months. The grant can go toward funding salaries for post-docs, scholarships for students and PhD students, research equipment and other necessary project expenses.
The budget of MAESTRO 15 is 20 million zlotys.
To date, we have awarded 278 grants to the total amount of 761.5 million zlotys under successive MAESTRO calls.
A chance for new research teams
SONATA BIS 13 is a call targeted at outstanding researchers within 5 to 12 years of earning their PhD degree. The objective is to enable them to set up new teams in order to conduct innovative basic research projects. The principal investigator is expected to have at least one research paper (published or pending publication) or one achievement in art or art and research. The grant can go toward funding salaries for post-docs, scholarships for students and PhD students, research equipment and other necessary project expenses.
The budget of the call is 100 million zlotys.
Over the past 11 years, SONATA BIS grants have funded 881 projects with a total budget of 1.57 billion zlotys.
Support for PhD students
PRELUDIUM BIS 5 is open to institutions that run PhD programmes. The objective of PRELUDIUM BIS is to support the education of PhD students and fund research projects they carry out as part of their dissertation.
The budget of each project may include max. 300 thousand zlotys in research costs, PhD scholarships and indirect costs. The research can be planned over 36 or 48 months. PhD students are also required to complete a foreign fellowship of 3 to 6 months, which is funded by the National Agency for Academic Exchange. In this round of the call, they no longer need to earn their degree as the final outcome of their project.
This is the first time that PRELUDIUM BIS has been announced before the summer season. In response to voices coming from the academic community, the NCN Council decided to modify the schedule and move the launch of the call from September to June. The results will be announced earlier than usual, before 15 February 2024, which should facilitate the intake of PhD students into projects and doctoral programmes.
The budget of PRELUDIUM BIS 5 is 25 million zlotys.
To date, we have organised four rounds of the call; Polish institutions have received funds to support as many as 369 projects conducted by PhD students in doctoral schools, worth more than 195 million zlotys in total.
Proposals, review, and results
Proposals can be submitted via the OSF system until 4 pm on 15 September 2023.
MAESTRO and SONATA BIS proposals are evaluated in two stages. The first involves an assessment agreed on by a team of experts, based on their individual reviews; the proposals are then peer-reviewed by external experts and the principal investigator is invited to an interview. The final ranking list of qualified projects is drawn up by the team during a panel session, based on individual external reviews and interview scores.
PRELUDIUM BIS proposals are reviewed in one stage. Each proposal is first assessed independently by at least three different members of the Expert Team. Subsequently, the team discusses these individual reviews to draw up a ranking list of qualified projects.
The review process at the NCN is based on the following criteria: research excellence and innovation, the impact of the project on the advancement of the discipline, project feasibility and the research record of the principal investigator.
MAESTRO and SONATA BIS interviews will be held in January/February 2024. Results can be expected by 15 February for PRELUDIUM BIS 5 and by 15 March 2024 for the other two calls.