The National Science Centre will fund 159 doctoral scholarships, 50 projects conducted by researchers up to three years after being awarded a PhD degree, and 5 fellowships in foreign research teams for those applying for ERC grants.

The ETIUDA call is targeted at researchers at the outset of their academic career, who are in the process of preparing their PhD dissertation. The seventh edition of the call attracted 381 proposals, 159 of which were selected for funding, giving a success rate of more than 41%. In total, young researchers will receive almost 18.4 million PLN worth of grant money. The winners will be paid academic scholarships of 4.5 thousand PLN per month and get a chance to complete a fellowship at a foreign research centre of their choice. To cover their expenses abroad, they will be awarded a scholarship of c. 6 to 18 thousand PLN per month, depending on the host country. The fellowship may be completed during the scholarship period or up to a year after its end. The winners are also obliged to earn their PhD degree no earlier than 6 months from the beginning of the scholarship and no later than one year after its end.

Open to researchers who earned their PhD degree up to three years ago, this year saw the third SONATINA call. Applicants had to present up to 10 published research works, the most important of which had to be attached to their proposal. In total, the National Science Centre received 190 proposals; out of these, expert teams recommended 50 for a total funding of more than 35.6 million PLN, giving a success rate of 26%. The grant covers the full-time employment of the winner at a Polish research entity, the costs of the research project and a 3- to 6-month fellowship at a foreign research institution. Projects may last either 24 or 36 months. The call does not cover the purchase of research equipment, devices or software.

“These researchers, young both in terms of age and career level, are the most active group when it comes to the number of submitted and qualified proposals. This is why it is important to make sure that the grant offer takes their needs and expectations into account”, says Professor Zbigniew Błocki, Director of the National Science Centre, “An important component of calls targeted at the group is the chance to complete a fellowship at a foreign research centre, which gives young researchers an opportunity to work in an international research team and gain experience that can then be transplanted to the home country”.

Under the UWERTURA call, slightly more experienced researchers may apply for fellowships in foreign research teams that carry out grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). The call aims to support Polish researchers in a successful application for European funds. Thanks to their cooperation with eminent scientists, Polish researchers boost their chances of making the cut in ERC calls. The call was open to PhD degree holders (minimum) who acted or act as principal investigators in a research project funded from NCN resources. In the third edition of UWERTURA, the NCN received 21 proposals, five of which were awarded funding to a total amount of 402,315 PLN. Once they have returned from their fellowships, the researchers will have 18 months to prepare and submit their own grant proposal to the ERC.

See the ranking lists

QuantERA Consortium is pleased to announce the results of the QuantERA Call 2019. Thanks to the funding provided by the QuantERA member organisations, the list of projects recommended for funding includes 12 excellent international proposals in the field of quantum technology research for over EUR 13M.

The QuantERA Call 2019, launched by 29 funding organisations from 25 countries, attracted 85 international research teams applying for over EUR 85 M.  Polish researchers will be involved in 5 of 12 awarded projects (incl. one financed by NCBR). One of the selected projects will be coordinated by a research team from the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies from University of Gdańsk.

List of the projects with participation of Polish research teams:

• ApresSF. Application-ready superresolution in space and frequency with participation of dr hab. Łukasz Rudnicki from the International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies from University of Gdańsk;
• C'MON-QSENS!: Continuously Monitored Quantum Sensors: Smart Tools and Applications with participation of dr Jan Kołodyński from the Centre of New Technologies of the University of Warsaw;
• eDICT: Experimentally-oriented Device Independent CrypTography with participation of dr hab. Marcin Pawłowski from International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies from University of Gdańsk;
• MAQS: Magnetic-Atom Quantum Simulator with participation of prof. dr hab. Mariusz Gajda from the Institute of Physics of Polish Academy of Sciences;
• QuICHE: Quantum information and communication with high-dimensional encoding with participation of dr Michała Karpińskiego from the Faculty of Physics of the the University of Warsaw.

Full list of the projects recommended for funding

More information is available at www.quantera.eu.

Contact:

• Sylwia Kostka, e-mail: sylwia.kostka@ncn.gov.pl, tel: +48 12 341 9018
• Marlena Wosiak, e-mail: marlena.wosiak@ncn.gov.pl, tel: +48 12 341 9018
• Dr inż. Ewelina Szymańska-Skolimowska, e-mail: ewelina.szymanska-skolimowska@ncn.gov.pl, tel: +48 12 341 9155

The National Science Centre invites for the third time Polish research institutions to declare commitment as potential Host Institutions to Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence. Applications for establishing Dioscuri Centres may come from higher education institutions, federations of higher education institutions,  research units of the Polish Academy of Sciences, research institutes, international research institutes established on the territory of Poland, Lukasiewicz Centre, Institutes of Lukasiewicz Centre, Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, other units which carry out independently and continuously mainly research activity. The deadline for submissions is on 30th of November 2019.

Submissions meeting the formal requirements will be published alongside the Dioscuri call announcement, thus helping researchers find the right research institution in Poland.

Researchers will be able to choose an institution from beyond the published list, provided that the institution meets the formal requirements and will commit to satisfy the basic conditions specified in the announcement.

Dioscuri is an initiative by the Max Planck Society (MPG), intended to establish Centres of Scientific Excellence in Central and Eastern Europe. The Centres will enable outstanding researchers to carry out top level research at research institutions in this part of Europe.

For details of the Dioscuri programme and all formal requirements, see the Dioscuri web-page.

Kontakt:

Małgorzata Jacobs, tel. 12 341 9173

We inform that the results of the second Dioscuri call will be announced in October 2019.

Because of the complexity of the parallel process of drafting the proposal forms for all NCN calls announced on 17 June, the estimated launch of the GRIEG proposal form in the ZSUN/OSF system will take place in the second half of August.

At the same time, because of the delay, the final deadline for the submission of project proposals in the GRIEG call will be extended. The new deadline will be published along with the launch of the GRIEG proposal form.

The TANGO 4 call will be announced in the 3^rd quarter of 2019, within the framework of a joint programme operated by the National Science Centre (NCN) and the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).

Its main objective is to boost the commercialization of technologies based on basic research results obtained in initial projects, and in particular:

• to draw up a plan for the development of technologies based on basic research results,
• to increase the involvement of enterprises in developing technologies based on basic research results.

Submitted proposals will be accepted and reviewed on an ongoing basis in several rounds until 30 June 2020. There are no restrictions as to the subject matter.

The total budget of the call equals 30 million PLN.

Who can serve as the principal investigator?

The role of principal investigator may be taken on by a person who has coordinated the initial project or obtained a written consent from the principal investigator of the initial project to serve as the principal investigator under the TANGO 4 call.

Only one proposal can be submitted under the TANGO call for each initial project.

What is the initial project?

The initial project is a basic research project funded under one of the national or international calls organized by the National Science Centre (except: ETIUDA, FUGA, UWERTURA and MINIATURA), the results of which provide the basis for the project submitted within the framework of TANGO 4 (Track A and Track C). The end date of the initial project must not be earlier than 15 March 2016.

Funding can be applied for provided that, on the day the proposal under the TANGO 4 call is submitted:

• the final report from the initial project has received a positive formal review from the NCN (for projects concluded after 15 March 2016, where the formal review of the final report has been completed as of the day on which the proposal is submitted), or
• at least one annual project report has received a positive formal review from the NCN (for projects concluded after 15 March 2016, where the formal review of the final report has not been completed, and for projects still in progress on the day on which the proposal is submitted).

What kind of projects will be funded under TANGO 4?

• Concept work, including:
  • determining the opportunities for the economic application of research results,
  • carrying out market analyses to diagnose the demand for solutions investigated by the project,
  • attracting partners interested in R&D cooperation and the implementation of research results,
  • drawing up a strategy and taking measures to safeguard the copyright protection of research results.
• Research and development projects, including:
  • industrial research,
  • development work.

How to apply for funding under TANGO 4?

Funding may be requested under one of three tracks, depending on the research stage of the initial project:

Track A

• Track A is open to projects aimed at exploring the practical application of research results obtained in the initial project and to find an industrial partner for its further implementation.
• Funding will cover concept work and R&D work.
• Project proposals can only be submitted by academic or research organisations.
• The maximum possible grant is 250K PLN, including max. 150K PLN for research and development activities.
• Maximum project duration – 15 months.

Track B

• Track B is open to applicants who have terminated TANGO 1 or TANGO 2 projects at the concept phase (Phase K) due to the lack of an industrial partner. Funding will also be available to those who have previously won grants within the framework of TANGO 3 or TANGO 4 (Track A).
• Funding will cover industrial research and development work designed to continue the project previously implemented within the framework of TANGO.
• Proposals can only be submitted by consortia made up of academic or research organisations and enterprises. The projects must be headed by an academic or research organisation.
• Maximum grant – 3 million PLN.
• Maximum project duration – 36 months.

Track C

• Track C is targeted at academic or research organisations that have not carried out any projects in previous editions of the TANGO call but have already established cooperation with enterprises.
• Funding will cover industrial research, development and concept work.
• Proposals can only be submitted by consortia made up of academic or research organisations and enterprises. The project must be headed by an academic or research organisation.
• Maximum grant – 3 million PLN, including max. 100K PLN for concept work.
• Maximum project duration – 36 months.

Additional information

For more information about the programme, please contact:

NCBR: Martyna Jachimek

e-mail: martyna.jachimek@ncbr.gov.pl

Tel: +48 22 45 67 581

Cell.: +48 519 683 851

NCN: Marta Buchalska

e-mail: marta.buchalska@ncn.gov.pl    

Tel: +48 12 34 19 158

On 8 July, Kraków hosted an information meeting devoted to the GRIEG and IdeaLab calls announced by the National Science Centre within the framework of the 3^rd edition of the EEA and Norway Grants. The first part of the session covered the process of submitting proposals in the GRIEG call and cost eligibility rules in all calls launched by the NCN within the framework of the EEA and Norway Grants.

The second part was devoted to the innovative IdeaLab “Managing Threats” call, which is currently recruiting participants for the IdeaLab workshop. A major part of the meeting was dedicated to the agenda of the workshop itself, which constitutes the most important element of the call procedure. Its objective is to come up with research ideas that would be eligible for funding under the IdeaLab call. The topics of the call concerned the challenges arising from the complex processes of our times, such as globalisation, technological change, issues of the environment and climate change, demographic change, waves of migration and geopolitical instability. The meeting was held at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences in Kraków and attracted over 100 attendees from all over Poland.

We announce the  ALPHORN call for Polish-Swiss research projects to be carried out in cooperation with the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). PLN 7,000,000 has been allocated to finance research.

ALPHORN is a bilateral international call addressed at Polish research teams that apply jointly with Swiss research teams for funding of research projects. The principal investigator at the Polish research team must be at least a PhD holder; the funds acquired under the call may be designated for remuneration for the research team and scholarships for students and PhD students. The call may also provide funding for purchase or manufacturing of research equipment and for other costs relevant to the research projects. Research projects may last for a period of either 24 or 36 months. Proposals may be submitted to the call covering basic research in any of 25 NCN panels within the three core areas: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Physical Sciences and Engineering; and Life Sciences.

“Each year we expand our range of international calls, including those organised in bilateral cooperation. This year, besides calls for Polish-German, Polish-Lithuanian or Polish-Chinese projects, we now offer the opportunity to carry out research jointly with Swiss partners, says Prof. Zbigniew Błocki, NCN Director. “We want Polish researchers to be able to share their scientific ideas with researchers from other countries and thus to expand their scientific horizons”.

The ALPHORN call is held in compliance with the Lead Agency Procedure (LAP). The LAP is aimed at improving and accelerating the review of proposals in calls organised jointly with foreign partners. It provides that in each edition of the call, proposals are subject to merit-based evaluation carried out by one partner agency according to the rules thereof. In the ALPHORN call, the SNSF acts as the Lead Agency.

Proposals are submitted to two electronic submission systems: mySNSF for joint proposals submitted to the SNSF by Swiss research teams and ZSUN/OSF for NCN proposals (to which joint proposals are attached) submitted to the NCN by Polish research teams. Joint proposals must be submitted by 1 October 2019 while NCN proposals must be submitted by 8 October 2019. The results will be announced at the end of June 2020.

In September 2019 the BiodivERsA Network will announce a BiodivClim Call for proposals entitled „Biodiversity and climate change”, covering the following topics:

• Consequences of climate change on biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people
• Climate-biodiversity feedback processes
• Potential of nature-based solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate change
• Synergies and trade-offs between policies on biodiversity, climate and other relevant sectors, and the role of agents of change

Researchers are encouraged to start discussing possible projects with prospective partners. The call will require that projects are submitted by international consortia with partners in at least 3 countries (the list of countries which have shown preliminary interest in participating in the Call is provided in the pre-announcement). The national/regional eligibility criteria will be defined by each participating funding agency.

The anticipated deadline for pre-proposals is 5^th of November 2019 and 10^th of April 2020 for full proposals. The projects will be selected in the late 2020.

For details please see the website, where a Partner Search Tool is available.

Please note that this pre-announcement is for information purposes only. It does not create any obligation for the BiodivERsA consortium nor for any of the participating funding organisations. The official call announcement, to be published later, shall prevail.

Contact:

• Dr Anna Wiktor, tel. 12 341 9166
• Joanna Komperda, tel. 698 780 352

We have the pleasure of inviting you to an information meeting devoted to the GRIEG and IdeaLab calls announced by the National Science Centre on 17 June 2019. The meeting will be held at 11am on Monday, 8 July, at the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences at ul. Sławkowska 17 in Kraków. It will take around 4 hours, including two 1.5h sessions devoted to both calls, a coffee break in-between and a lunch at the end of the meeting.

Moderated by the staff of the EEA and Norway Grants Team, the meeting will impart general information on the premises and objectives of the Research Programme, as well as more detailed guidelines for potential applicants and partners in the Polish-Norwegian GRIEG call. A part devoted to the IdeaLab call will present an innovative formula for the workshop, designed to help drawing up joint research projects that address the topic of “Managing Threats”, and to provide information on the stages of the call procedure (selection of workshop participants, 5-day workshop and submission of the full proposal via OSF).

Due to organisational reasons, the number of places is limited. We reserve the right to select participants in a way that ensures the representation of institutions from various academic centres. Participation in the information meeting is free of charge. The National Science Centre shall not reimburse the costs of accommodation and travel to and from the meeting.

The deadline for application is 3 July 2019. To sign up, please fill in the application form. Please keep in mind that submitting an application does not mean that your participation is confirmed. Selected applicants will be notified of their acceptance and receive all practical information by e-mail. Should you have any queries, please contact us at norway.grants@ncn.gov.pl.

The NCN is the operator of the Basic Research Programme for which 40% of the funds is allocated out of more than EUR 129 million slated for the support of Polish science. The Research Programme’s budget is funded in 85% from donors (EUR 100 million from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 and EUR 10 million from the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021), while the remaining 15% is funded from the Polish state budget. The GRIEG and IdeaLab calls have a total budget of EUR 41,774,118.

We are proud to announce five new calls, including two (GRIEG and IdeaLab) funded from the EEA and Norway Grants. In addition, we have launched: MAESTRO 11, SONATA BIS 9 and UWERTURA 4. In total, 161 million PLN and nearly 42 million euro are up for grabs for researchers involved in basic research projects.

GRIEG and IdeaLab calls are funded under the third edition of EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021 within the framework of the "Research" programme, in which the NCN serves as the coordinator in charge of basic research. With an allocated budget of more than 129 million euro, the programme is designed to support Polish science and intensify cooperation between research, business and society. 40% of available resources are slated for basic research projects within the framework of calls such as GRIEG and IdeaLab.

"Ever since its inception, the National Science Centre has striven to boost the quality and competitive edge of Polish research. As the operator of the programme in charge of basic research, we can do even more to internationalize it further and make research projects more effective", says Professor Zbigniew Błocki, NCN Director. "The new calls in our portfolio open up new opportunities for Polish researchers, e.g. to work within Polish-Norwegian research teams and take part in innovative workshops designed to support the elaboration of ground-breaking research ideas" Professor Błocki adds.

GRIEG call is open to joint Polish-Norwegian research projects in any discipline (as specified by NCN panels), with a special emphasis on polar research and social science. Projects must be conducted by Polish-Norwegian research teams including at least one Polish partner, who serves as the leader of the consortium, and one Norwegian partner. The role of principal investigator may be taken on by researchers employed by a Polish research institution, who hold at least a PhD degree. The Norwegian part of the research team must be headed by a research institution. The consortium may comprise research institutions, enterprises and NGOs and proposed projects may last 24 or 36 months.

The GRIEG call is financed under the Norway Grants, i.e. the resources of the Norwegian Funding Mechanism 2014-2021, and has an allocated budget of more than 37 million euro. The funding requested for the entire implementation period of the Polish-Norwegian project must fall within the 0.5-1.5 million euro bracket. The grant may go toward funding research team salaries and scholarships, purchasing equipment, materials and services, covering travel costs and conferences, as well as other project-related expenses.

"The original idea behind the GRIEG programme was to promote research-based knowledge, strengthen Polish-Norwegian research cooperation, boost the quality of publications, especially in the humanities, support the growth of young researchers, and shape a positive perception of research in society", says Professor Małgorzata Kossowska, Chairwoman of the NCN Council.

IdeaLab is a call for joint research projects carried out by research teams comprising at least one Polish partner, who serves as the leader of the consortium, and at least one partner from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. The role of principal investigator may be taken on by researchers who hold at least a PhD degree and are employed by a Polish research organization. The consortium may comprise research institutions, public institutions, entrepreneurs and NGOs. The call will be held in accordance with the "sandpit" process conceived by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and employed by the Research Council of Norway under the name of Idélab. The core component of the call is a workshop during which participants from various research institutes, NGOs and other public or private institutions are asked to tackle the challenges facing contemporary societies. The innovative workshop formula promotes the creation of ground-breaking, interdisciplinary and innovative research project ideas.

"The theme of the IdeaLab call has been laid out by the "Research" Programme Committee in cooperation with experts from the NCN Council. Entitled "Managing Threats", it is designed to address the current and future social challenges posed by complex social, economic and environmental processes, such as globalization, demographic change and migration, the lack of geopolitical stability, technological progress, climate change and the environment", explains Professor Kossowska.

The IdeaLab call is funded under the EEA scheme, i.e. from the resources of the EEA Mechanism 2014-2021, and has an allocated budget of nearly 4.5 million euro. The funding requested for the entire project implementation period must fall within the 0.5-1.5 million euro bracket. The grant may go toward funding research team salaries and scholarships, purchasing equipment, materials and services, covering travel costs and conferences, as well as other project-related expenses. The project may last 24 or 36 months.

As usual in June, we are also announcing the MAESTRO and SONATA BIS calls. The former is targeted at experienced researchers involved in pioneering, often interdisciplinary, research projects important for the development of science, which go well beyond the current state of knowledge. The role of principal investigator may be taken on by a person who holds at least a PhD degree, can demonstrate a minimum of 5 publications in renowned Polish or international academic press/ journals over the past 10 years, and has coordinated at least two research projects within the framework of national or international calls. The 11^th edition of the MAESTRO call boasts a budget of 40 million PLN. The SONATA BIS call, on the other hand, is targeted at researchers who have earned their PhD degrees 5 to 12 years before the proposal submission year and aims to create a new research team. The researcher who submits the proposal is required to demonstrate 1-10 research publications over the last 10 years; the 1-3 most important need to be attached to the proposal. Importantly, apart from the principal investigator, the research team may not include any members with an academic title, title of professor, habilitation degree or equivalent degree or title, or researchers who have already collaborated with one another on a research project funded under a previous call. The ninth edition of SONATA BIS has a budget of 120 million PLN.

UWERTURA 4 aims to support researchers in their successful application for prestigious grants awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). Working in an international research team is an excellent opportunity to acquire valuable experience. Under the UWERTURA call, researchers who apply for fellowships in foreign research teams carrying out ERC grants must hold at least a PhD degree and demonstrate experience in managing their own research projects within the framework of a call or winning prestigious scholarships. Fellowships may last from 1 to 6 months. Within 24 months from the signing of the funding agreement, the researcher must apply as the principal investigator for an ERC grant to be carried out at a Polish host institution. This year's edition of the UWERTURA call has a budget of 1 million PLN.

Proposals are accepted via the ZSUN/OSF electronic submission system. The deadline for submission under the MAESTRO, SONATA BIS and UWERTURA calls is 17 September 2019, under the GRIEG call - 28 October, the results will be announced by March 2020. Proposals for the IDEALAB call may be submitted until 19 August, and the results will be announced in January 2020.