“We wish for a new opening in our relationship and hope that the new authorities will soon take quick and effective measures to support the National Science Centre in its mission to boost the quality and effectiveness of Polish research and improve the standing of Polish science in the world”, Professors Robert Hasterok and Krzysztof Jóźwiak write in a letter to Dariusz Wieczorek, Minister of Science.
The NCN Director and the President of the NCN Council hope they will soon be able to meet the new minister to discuss their “comprehensive, constructive and creative cooperation for the sake of science”.
“The National Science Centre is one of very few central public institutions that have managed to resist political pressure in recent years, despite repeated attacks against its independence”, they point out.
The Polish and international research community has spoken out in defence of the NCN. Its defenders included winners of grants, scholarships, and awards from institutions such as the European Research Council (ERC), the Foundation for Polish Science, and L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science. “Thanks to the resolve and staunch support of the scientific community, as well as the will of Polish voters, as expressed in the parliamentary elections of 15 October, the independence of the National Science Centre has been preserved. However, due to the policies of the previous government, its financial situation is now critical ”, the letter reads. The authors point out that this makes the NCN unable to “fund even some of the best research projects submitted by the most active and ambitious of Polish researchers”.
The subsidy that the NCN currently receives from the state budget completely fails to address the needs of the Polish research community. Due to its frozen budget, the NCN was only able to award funding to 8% of the projects submitted under the recently concluded OPUS 25 call . This is the lowest success rate in the entire history of the NCN. For many months, its appeals to the previous authorities to increase funding had fallen on deaf ears.
The letter to the minister was sent on 14 December.
More information about the NCN budget
10th episode of the NCN podcast
We also talk about the need for a new opening in our relationship with the ministry of science, the benefits of basic research funding and the top challenges faced by the NCN in the latest episode of our podcast.
Our guest is Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, who is interviewed by Anna Korzekwa-Józefowicz. The episode is available through the most important streaming services, such as Spotify, Google and Apple Podcasts.