EUR 129m for researchers in the “Research” Programme under the EEA and Norway Grants

On 7 June, in Warsaw at the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development, an agreement was signed covering the “Research” Programme under the third edition of the Norway and EEA Grants in which the NCN acts as the operator responsible for basic research, while the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR) is responsible for the implementation of applied research.

The agreement was signed by Minister Jerzy Kwieciński and Olav Myklebust, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Poland. The signing ceremony was also attended by Professor Zbigniew Błocki, NCN Director, Wojciech Kamieniecki, acting Director of NCBR and Eivind Hovden, Director of the International Department of the Research Council of Norway representing the donors. The agreement was signed in the presence of Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, Deputy Minister and Juliusz Szymczak-Gałkowski, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The aim of the “Research” Programme, which has an allocation of over EUR 129m, is to support Polish science, make it international and intensify cooperation between science, business, and the public. 40% of the funds is to support basic research within three calls: GRIEG for joint Polish-Norwegian research projects in all research domains; IDEALAB for innovative, ground-breaking research projects in the pre-defined subject “Managing Threats”; and the POLS mobility call to be distributed in the form of small grants aimed at researchers coming to Poland, who wish to carry out research in Polish research institutions and enterprises.

Director Zbigniew Błocki held that “The NCN as the operator of the Basic Research Programme aims at supporting outstanding research projects, making Polish science international and improving its transparency and openness. Acting in compliance with the best international practices, the National Science Centre contributes to improving the quality and effectiveness of basic research.”

The a result of the signed agreement covering the “Research” Programme, the GRIEG and IDEALAB calls will be announced in the near future. Please follow the NCN’s website where we will soon be publishing information on the calls funded from the EEA and Norway Grants.

Signing of the agreement (photos)