“It is with alarm that we are witnessing the public statements made by the Minister of Education and Science about the Ministry’s plans to change the status of the NCN or shut it down. We fear that such steps would have disastrous implications for Polish science”, write 61 winners of the L’Oreal-UNESCO Scholarship for Women and Science in an open letter to the President and the Prime Minister of Poland.
This is already the fourth appeal signed in defence of the NCN by researchers working at Polish and foreign research institutions. Earlier this month, similar concerns were voiced by groups of ERC grant holders, FNP award winners, and FNP fellows.
“We wish to appeal to Mr President and Mr Prime Minister to show caution with regard to these changes and to preserve the structure and mechanism of the NCN, whose work was rated positively by the Ministry of Education and Science in 2023”, the letter reads. “Inspired by the European Research Council (ERC), the NCN has become the main source of funding for basic research in Poland. Its assessment criteria and transparency in the way grants are awarded have made the NCN a key instrument for supporting basic research in our country”, it adds.
The signatories of the open letter echo the previous appeals, reiterating that what Polish science requires is stability, independence and rigorous standards, and the NCN stands guard over these values.
“Our research success in Poland and beyond has been made possible in part by funding from the National Science Centre (NCN)”, emphasise the 61 life sciences researchers who signed the open letter to the President and the Prime Minister.
Previous appeals in defence of the NCN and its independence:
49 ERC grant holders speak out in defence of the NCN