The academic community speaks up: “I am assuming that the new government will radically rewrite the budget for next year. I can’t even imagine it won’t start by increasing the NCN subsidy”, says Prof. Zbigniew Błocki in an interview for “Gazeta Wyborcza”.
“Gazeta Wyborcza”’s Alicja Gardulska asked academics about their post-electoral expectations for change in research and higher education.
“For the past six years, we have been kept on the breadline. The NCN call budget has stood still; the subsidies have failed to cover even the rise of inflation. And after all, the NCN funds research by the most internationally recognised and active researchers working in Poland”, Prof. Zbigniew Błocki, NCN’s acting Director, confesses in the interview.
“There is a lot of room for change in the higher education and research budget. The government needs to take a close look at what the current minister had in store. There are many expenses that can be cut down”, he adds.
Prof. Błocki hopes that the new government will increase spending on innovation and the institutions of the research environment that have been established in recent years. Hopefully, he says, we will finally see an end to political interference in science: “We can’t have a minister personally decide which projects are funded and which are not”.
In the same article, the following people also weigh in on the NCN:
Prof. Marcin Pałys, President of the Main Council of Science and Higher Education
“We need to increase funding for the National Science Centre since, because of insufficient budget resources, it is now unable to deliver on its important mission. On the other hand, we need to take a look at the National Centre for Research and Development and clear up all the doubts around it. This is an institution with a really huge budget and its credibility needs to be restored.”
Prof. Marek Konarzewski, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences
“ … we need to avert any attempts to close down the NCN; it should be untouchable. And we need to address the issues that plague the NCBiR.”
The article was published on 20 October.
Director’s speech
Professor Zbigniew Błocki, NCN Director, also called for changes in research policy on 11 October during the 2023 NCN Award ceremony.
Science Business
After the elections, Science|Business also asked the NCN for comments: “The result is good news for the NCN and for thousands of young researchers in Poland that the NCN supports. Our agency is one of very few public (central) institutions that have resisted being brought under the heel of the government in recent years. And now we’re sure we’ll remain independent”, said Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz, Representative of the NCN Director for Communication. “As soon as we know the name of the new Minister of Science and Education, the NCN will try to secure an appointment. At the moment, our key priority is to increase NCN funding, because our budget has been frozen for a few years”, she added.