The Sejm is working on the draft 2024 budget bill. During a debate on 21 December, Andrzej Domański, Minister of Finance, declared that the new state budget will include resources for the “important purpose” of increasing the budget of the National Science Centre.
The declaration was made during a debate held at the first reading of the 2024 budget bill. In accordance with the legislative procedure, two more readings, where motions and amendments may be filed, are to be held in the Sejm, after which the draft bill will be passed on to the Senate, and then, depending on the Senate’s decision, submitted for signing to the President or returned to the Sejm once again with suggested amendments.
The research-funding budget of the NCN has remained unchanged for the past two years and falls significantly short of the needs and expectations of the research community. In recently concluded calls, the success rate hit an all-time low, falling to 8% in the flagship OPUS call, which means that many outstanding Polish researchers did not receive funding for their very good research projects only because of the lack of funds.
The research community has long supported the NCN in its campaign to get its budget increased. Winners of scholarships awarded by the Ministry of Education and Science issued an appeal to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Science and Higher Education to review the resources slated for the mission of the NCN as the flagship institution that ensures politically independent and merit-based research funding. You can also still sign the appeal of scientists for the betterment of science in Poland, which emphasises that, in light of the budget of Poland, it is not only necessary but also quite realistic to restore the status quo ante, where the National Science Centre was able to fund 25-30% of projects submitted under its calls. In recent months, support for the NCN was also voiced by the winners of ERC grants, awards and fellowships of the Foundation for Polish Science, and the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme.
Thank you for all your support thus far.