Announcement of 17th JPIAMR transnational call for research projects within the ERA-NET JPIAMR-ACTION: “Interventions Moving forward to Promote ACTion to counteract the emergence and spread of bacterial and fungal resistance and to improve treatments"
10 January 2024
The National Science Centre, together with the JPIAMR , is launching a call for international research projects on antimicrobial resistance. Proposals may be submitted by international research consortia composed of at least 3 research teams from at least 3 different countries participating in the call, with at least 2 from the EU member states or associated countries. The principal investigator of the Polish research team must hold at least a PhD degree.
The primary aim of the call is to take action against the growing global threat of increased spread of antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal) resistance by funding international collaborative research projects aiming to improve, compare and evaluate the effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and uptake of existing interventions against bacterial or fungal infections and/or to design new interventions against fungal infections.
Organisations from 19 countries will participate in the call: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the NCN Council has decided that proposals submitted to NCN calls must not provide for any collaboration between Polish and Russian entities. Where such collaboration is planned, the proposal will be rejected.
The estimated call budget is around 20 million EUR. The Polish research teams participating in the call will be funded by the National Science Centre (NCN), which has allocated 500,000 EUR for that purpose.
Call timeline:
- International level (two stages)
A joint proposal is drafted by the Polish research teams in cooperation with foreign partners (in English) at the first and second stage of the international call and submitted electronically to the international submission system by the leader of the international consortium.
- Stage 1: 14 March 2024, 2 p.m. CET – submission deadline for pre-proposals. Polish applicants must consult the project budget with the NCN (by e-mail) but must not submit any official documents to the NCN at pre-proposal submission stage;
- Stage 2: 9 July 2024 – submission deadline for full proposals.
- National level (single stage)
An NCN proposal concerning the Polish part of the project is drafted by the Polish research team at the national level and submitted to the NCN electronically via the OSF electronic submission system. The budget of the Polish part of the project in the joint proposal must be calculated at the following exchange rate: 1 EUR = 4,5329 PLN.
NCN proposals (NCN UNISONO) must be submitted by the Polish research teams within 7 days of submitting full proposals at the international level by 16 July 2024.
- Call results:
November 2024: publication of the list of projects recommended for funding
by the end of June 2025: project start date
We invite researchers interested in the call to:
- view the recording of the webinar held on 24 January 2024 General Presentation
- use the Partner Search Tool to find project partners. View the recorded instructions Partner Search Tool.
Please read:
- the call documents available on the JPIAMR network’s website (applicable to all applicants);
- information for applicants applying for NCN funding specified below and annexes hereto.
Who may apply for NCN funding?
The call documents available on the JPIAMR webpage contain information on the composition and number of international consortia.
NCN proposals may be submitted to the NCN by the following entities specified in Article 27 (1) of the NCN Act, hereinafter: the “applicants”, for which project funding will not constitute state aid, i.e.:
- universities,
- federations of science and HE entities,
- research institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences operating pursuant to the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws 2020, item 1796, as amended),
- research institutes operating pursuant to the Act on Research Institutes of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws 2022, item 498, as amended);
- international research institutes established pursuant to other acts and acting in the Republic of Poland,
5a. Łukasiewicz Centre operating pursuant to the Act on the Łukasiewicz Research Network of 21 February 2019 (Journal of Laws 2020, item 2098, as amended);
5b. institutes operating within the Łukasiewicz Research Network,
- Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences,
- other entities involved in research independently on a continuous basis,
- groups of entities (at least two entities mentioned in sections 1-7 or at least one institution as such together with at least one company),
- scientific and industrial centres laid down in the Act on Research Centres of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 498, as amended),
- research centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences laid down in the Act on the Polish Academy of Sciences of 30 April 2010 (Journal of Laws 2020, item 1796);
- scientific libraries,
- companies operating as R&D centres laid down in the Act on certain forms of support for innovation activities of 30 May 2008 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 706 and of 2022 item 1079),
- legal entities with registered office in Poland;
13a. President of the Central Office of Measures;
- natural persons;
- companies conducting research in other organisational form than set forth in sections 1-13a.
If research projects are to be carried out by two or more Polish entities applying for NCN funding, they must set up a group of entities and as such submit NCN proposals. NCN proposals are submitted by a leader specified in the research project cooperation agreement concluded by the group of entities. An entity employing the principal investigator acts as the leader of the group of entities. If, pursuant to Article 27 (1) (2) of the NCN Act, Polish entities cannot set up groups of entities, they are not eligible to apply for NCN funding of a joint research project.
According to the call text, the international consortium can include a maximum of two (2) partners from the same country per proposal.
If the applicant is a natural person, the host institution must not be a group of entities or entity for which project funding constitutes state aid.
Who may act as principal investigator?
The principal investigator of the Polish research team must hold at least a PhD degree. Additional restrictions are described in detail in Chapter IV (§13-18) of the Terms and regulations on awarding funding for research tasks funded or co-funded under international calls launched by the National Science Centre and carried out as multilateral collaboration UNISONO, annexed to NCN Council Resolution No 32/2023 of 16 March 2023.
The principal investigator must reside in Poland for at least 50% of the project duration period and be available to the host institution for the project. The foregoing obligation does not apply to evidenced project-related business trips and holiday, time off work and other excused absence from work governed by the applicable laws.
What are the topics covered by the call?
Detailed information on the subject of the call can be found in the JPI AMR Call Text.
NCN funding proposals must concern basic research for the purposes of Article 2 (1) of the NCN Act.
NCN proposals covering research tasks overlapping tasks specified in another proposal submitted earlier under an NCN call or with respect to which an appeal has been initiated, may only be submitted after the funding decision has become final.
What is the project duration period?
Research projects may be planned in the call for a period of either 24 or 36 months.
How should the Polish budget be planned?
Polish applicants must consult the budget table of the Polish part of the project with the NCN. The budget table in .xlsx format should be sent to jolanta.palowska@ncn.gov.plby 23 February 2024.
Creating a project budget is one of the most important aspects in the project planning which aims at identifying the required resources and estimating the costs required to perform the research tasks. The project budget must be based on realistic calculations and must comply with the guidelines laid down in the Types of costs in research projects funded by the National Science Centre under within the multilateral collaboration UNISONO. The maximum budget of the Polish research team is not pre-determined; however, the justification of the expenses versus the scope of tasks is assessed by an international expert team.
Polish research teams may be awarded funds to cover salaries for members of the Polish research team, salaries and scholarships for students and/or PhD students, purchase or construction of research equipment, devices and software and other costs crucial to the research project.
The proposal may be rejected if unreasonable budget is planned and/or discrepancies occur between the costs of projects to be carried out by Polish research teams in the NCN proposal and the joint proposal.
When developing the budget, the following must be taken into account:
- the budget of the Polish research team in the joint proposal should be consistent with the budget in the NCN proposal in the OSF;
- the budget in the joint proposal must be quoted in EUR, while the budget in the NCN proposal in the OSF, in PLN, rounded down to total values;
- the EUR budget of the Polish part of the project in the joint proposal must be calculated according to the following exchange rate: 1 EUR = 4,5329 PLN.
Indirect costs may not exceed 20% of direct costs. Additionally, indirect costs of up to 2% of direct costs may be spent on open access to publications and research data. The host institution must arrange with the principal investigator in the project for the distribution of at least 25% of the indirect costs’ value.
NCN funding will be awarded for research projects carried out by the Polish research provided that the foreign partners receive parallel funding.
Are there any restrictions on the size of the Polish research team?
The terms of the call do not specify the maximum number of the research team members. To find out more about the costs of salaries and scholarships, please read the Annex (Costs in research projects funded by the National Science Centre under international calls carried out as multilateral collaboration UNISONO). Please note that persons employed as post-docs in the project must be recruited in an open call procedure. Persons to be selected in an open call procedure, including post-docs, must not be named in joint proposals or NCN proposals. To find out more about the post-doc employment criteria, please read the Annex (Costs in research projects funded by the National Science Centre under international calls carried out as multilateral collaboration UNISONO).
Can proposals in this call include application for state aid?
No, state aid is excluded under the JPIAMR-ACTION Call 2024 (IMPACT).
You can find out more about state aid here.
What is the proposal evaluation procedure?
Joint proposals are subject to an eligibility check performed by the NCN, other members of the JPIAMR network and the Secretariat of the JPIAMR-ACTION call.
NCN proposals are subject solely to an NCN eligibility check performed by the scientific coordinators, which involves verification of NCN proposals for completeness, compliance with all terms set forth in the call documents and Resolution No 32/2023 of the NCN Council, including compliance of the budget with the Annex (“Costs in research projects funded by the National Science Centre under international calls carried out as multilateral collaboration UNISONO ”). Information in the NCN proposals must comply with information in the joint proposals and the joint proposals annexed to the NCN proposals must comply with the full proposals.
Joint proposals approved as eligible are subject to merit-based evaluation of the international expert team pursuant to the General Call Procedures.
Who performs the merit-based evaluation of proposals?
Only joint proposals approved as eligible are subject to merit-based evaluation performed by the international expert team appointed by the Secretariat of the JPIAMR-ACTION call pursuant to the General Call Procedures. Proposals recommended for funding will be verified for compliance with the ethics standards pursuant to the guidelines included in the call documents.
When and how will the results be announced?
The JPIAMR-ACTION call will be concluded on the date specified in the call documents (November 2024). The information about the outcomes will be sent to consortium coordinators first. Polish research teams will be receive formal decisions of the NCN Director.The JPIAMR-ACTION call will be concluded on the date specified in the call documents (November 2024). The information about the outcomes will be sent to consortium coordinators first. Polish research teams will be receive formal decisions of the NCN Director.
What is the appeal procedure?
In the event of a breach of the call procedure or other formal infringements related to actions performed by the NCN, the applicant may appeal against the decision of the NCN Director with the Committee of Appeals of the NCN Council within 14 days of the date the decision has been served.
Open Access Policy
Together with other European cOAlition S agencies, the National Science Centre has drafted its open access policy. In accordance with its vision of open access to research results and publications, the NCN requires that all research results should be made available in full and immediate open access.
Please read the “Communiqué on the relaxation of NCN’s Open Access Policy" of October 11, 2023.
Personal data protection
When submitting a proposal to the JPIAMR call, all partners of the consortium specified in the proposal must grant their consent for personal data processing by the JPIAMR pursuant to the EU Directive on the General Data Protection (UE 2016/679), including transfer of persona data to third countries (outside the EU/EEA).
Where can additional information be found?
To find out more about the call, please go to the JPIAMR network’s website. To find out more about the terms and regulations on awarding NCN funding in the call, please read Resolution No 32/2023 of the NCN Council.
Should you have any questions or queries, please contact us by e-mail or by phone:
- Dr Monika Pobiega (before calling, please make an e-mail appointment)
- Jolanta Palowska,
Joint Call Secretariat (JCS)
The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) of Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH)
Call documents
The JPIAMR network:
The call documents are available here.
The National Science Centre:
- Terms and regulations on awarding funding for research tasks funded or co-funded under international calls launched by the National Science Centre and carried out as multilateral collaboration UNISONO
- Budget table of the Polish research team
- Proposal form template
- Agreement on the formation of a group of entities for the purposes of completion of the research project
- State aid rules
- Proposal submission procedure in the calls launched by the National Science Centre
- Guidelines for applicants to complete the data management plan form in the proposal
- Guidelines for applicants to complete the ethics issues form in the proposal
- Code of the National Science Centre on research integrity and applying for research funding
- Regulations for awarding scholarships in NCN-funded research projects with changes
- Open access policy at the NCN with changes
- Guidelines: Open Access
- Communiqué on the relaxation of NCN’s Open Access Policy
- Service of decisions of the NCN Director under international calls launched by the National Science Centre and carried out in multilateral cooperation
- Guidelines for appealing against the NCN Director’s decisions
- Personal data processing at NCN since 25 May 2018 (GDPR)
- Order establishing a procedure for conducting audits on Host Institution’s premises
- Agreement template (Agreement template for winners of the previous Era-Net call launched by the NCN – draft version for reference only. The draft may be amended when the agreement is signed with the NCN)
- Guidelines for entities auditing the implementation of research projects funded by the National Science Centre
- Evaluation of monographs in research projects funded by the National Science Centre
- General Call Procedures