We now have the results of the IdeaLab call

The National Science Centre (NCN) has published the results of the call for interdisciplinary ground-breaking research projects to be carried out by Polish researchers in collaboration with researchers from countries of the European Economic Area. Research teams will be provided with almost PLN 17.5 M for their research.

Under the financed projects, Polish researchers in collaboration with their partners from Norway will carry out research on threats facing European societies. The team of researchers from the Jagiellonian University, the Jerzy Maj Institute of Pharmacology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), the University of Oslo and the Poznań University of Technology will conduct research on mechanisms and resilience to fake news in cyber space. Researchers from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań in collaboration with researchers from the University of Warsaw, the Center for International Climate Research, Oslo and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, will work on developing a transdisciplinary methodology in research on climate change. A research team from the PAN Institute of Psychology, jointly with the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, Kjeller, the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology and the University of Warsaw, will carry out research on how multisensory virtual experience affects actual pro-environmental behaviour.

The IdeaLab call was carried out in compliance with the “sandpit” formula developed by UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and used by the Research Council of Norway under the name of Idélab. The subject of the IdeaLab call organised by NCN is “Managing Threats”, which covers challenges arising from the complex processes of our times, such as globalisation, technological change, issues of environment and climate change, demographic change, major waves of migration, geopolitical instability and many others, which bring with them uncertainties (implying threats and, in some cases, opportunities) that European societies have to face.

“IdeaLab is the first call carried out by NCN using the “sandpit” formula, which as an important element includes workshops during which researchers from various countries will develop ideas that will then be subject to merit-based evaluation. The methodology proposed during the workshops indeed supports the development of interesting concepts of research projects concerning the challenges facing the world today”, says Prof. Małgorzata Kossowska, President of the NCN Council

The IdeaLab call consisted of three stages: At the first stage, researchers from Poland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway applied to NCN to be involved in IdeaLab workshops. Overall, NCN received 205 proposals, of which 201 were forwarded for scientific review. The proposals were reviewed by an international team composed of experts representing various research domains and having experience in the evaluation and implementation of projects under the “sandpit” type calls. Thirty-four candidates were invited to participate in workshops. At the second stage, a workshop was held during which the participants set up research teams that worked on project ideas corresponding to the subject of the call. At the closing of the workshop, eight teams submitted their research ideas. On the last day, the teams presented their research project ideas to the expert team. The developed ideas were subject to individual and team reviews by experts. The review resulted in a ranking list of the submitted projects. At the third stage, four research teams submitted their full proposals in the ZSUN/OSF system, which basically covered descriptions of their research ideas developed during the workshop. The expert team reviewed the consistency of those proposals with the ideas submitted during the workshop and the recommendations of the expert team made at the second stage. Afterwards, a list of projects recommended for funding was approved by the “Basic Research” Programme Committee.

The research teams will be awarded a total of PLN 17,498,734 for their research work. The principal investigators may be researchers affiliated with Polish research institutions, who are at least PhD holders.

NCN is the operator of the IdeaLab programme, carried out jointly with the Research Council of Norway (RCN). The objective of the programme is strengthening research cooperation between Poland and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and enhanced research based knowledge development. More information on the programmes launched by NCN, financed with EEA and Norway Grants 2014-2021 is available here.

The ranking list in the IdeaLab call can be found here.

Contact Person:

• Dr. Aneta Pazik, Coordinator, e-mail: aneta.pazik@ncn.gov.pl