Pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Act of 7 July 2017 on the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, the Director of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange hereby announces a call for applications to participate in the Polish Returns NAWA 2023 Programme (hereinafter referred to as the “Programme”).

The objective of the Polish Returns NAWA 2023 programme is to enable Polish scientists to return to their home country and take up employment at Polish universities, scientific institutes, or research institutes.

The Programme offers the Returning Scientists optimal conditions to carry out world-class research or development work in Poland. The participating scientists will be able to use the knowledge and experience gained at a foreign institution as they establish their own Project Group or join an existing research team in Poland. The Programme funding covers the remuneration of the Returning Scientist, the members of the Project Group, and the Inviting Person as well as the resettlement costs of the Returning Scientist. Another element of the Programme is the Research Component financed by the National Science Centre (NCN) or the Applied Research Component financed by the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR).

Deadline for submitting applications

The call for applications will be open from 22 May 2023 until 31 August, 3:00 pm (Warsaw local time), via the Agency’s ICT System.

The original closing date of 31 July 2023 has been changed to 31 August 2023 by amendment notice no. 20/2023.

Form of submitting the Application

Exclusively in electronic form via the Agency’s ICT System

Submission of the application is tantamount to accepting the Regulations and the Announcement.

Language of the Application

The application has to be made in English.

The maximum number of applications which may be submitted by the Applicant

Maximum one application may be submitted jointly by the Returning Scientist and the Employing Institution. A specific Returning Scientist may be listed in only one Application submitted under a given Call. There are no limitations as to the number of Applications submitted by an Employing Institution, provided that each Application is submitted with a different Returning Scientist. If more than one Application is submitted with the same Returning Scientist, the Agency will send for assessment the Application that was submitted last, and the remaining Applications will not be considered.

Additional information

The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange emphasises that prior to preparing the Application and the required attachments, the Applicant should read the Documents relevant for the Call, including in particular the criteria of the merit-based assessment. Furthermore, it is the task of the Applicant to present the Project (the scientific achievements and the description of the planned research) in such a manner as to enable both the Evaluation Team and the Reviewers to assess the Application adequately.

The Programme makes it possible to hire the Returning Scientist at a Polish higher education and scientific institution and covers two tracks depending on the stage of the Returning Scientist’s career:

1)       the Junior Scientist track,

2)      the Experienced Scientist track.

The choice of the track determines the requirements with regard to the Returning Scientist, the composition of the Project Group, the duration of the Project, and the amount of funding, all of which are described in detail in the relevant sections of the Announcement.

The idea of the Programme is that during Project implementation, the Returning Scientist carries out research activities planned in the Application and at the same time applies for Polish and foreign research grants, which will allow the Returning Scientist and the Project Group (if applicable) to continue the scientific activity in Poland after the Project is completed.

The Programme encompasses a Research Component or an Applied Research Component – a starting grant funded by the National Science Centre or the National Centre for Research and Development in the case of fundamental research or applied research and development, respectively. Its purpose is to fund scientific or applied research and development, as the case may be, during the first 18 months of the Project implementation.

The Programme is open to all scientific domains. Representatives of the arts are eligible provided that the planned activities have a scientific character.

In the case of Applications with an equal score, preference will be given to Applications where the Employing Institution:

- differs from the one at which the Returning Scientist obtained their doctoral degree or was employed,

- has obtained fewer grants in the previous editions of the Programme.

Requirements with regard to the Returning Scientist:

1.                   Junior Scientist track

 A Returning Scientist may be a person who:

1)      has Polish citizenship;

2)      has a doctoral degree obtained not earlier than seven years prior to submitting the Application;

3)      has carried out research for the last year (counting from the day on which the Call is opened) at: a foreign university, research institute, scientific institute, or research department of a foreign business with its registered office outside of Poland (the period of work in research abroad does not include a visit funded or co-funded from the Polish state budget);

4)      neither lived nor worked in Poland for the last year (counting from the day on which the Call is opened; work in Poland is understood as being hired under an employment contract at an entity with its registered office on the territory of the Republic of Poland or leading a research grant affiliated with a Polish institution, provided that this activity was subject to remuneration);

5)        can demonstrate internationally recognised scientific, implementation, or artistic and scientific achievements that are above-average in the context of the discipline and their career stage.

2.                   Experienced Scientist track

A Returning Scientist may be a person who:

1)      has Polish citizenship;

2)      has at least a doctoral degree;

3)      has carried out research for the past four years (counting from the day on which the Call is opened) at: a foreign university, research institute, scientific institute, or research department of a foreign business with its registered office outside of Poland (the period of work in research abroad does not include a visit funded or co-funded from the Polish state budget);

4)      neither lived nor worked in Poland for the last four years (counting from the day on which the Call is opened; work in Poland is understood as being hired under an employment contract at an entity with its registered office on the territory of the Republic of Poland or leading a research grant affiliated with a Polish institution, provided that this activity was subject to remuneration);

5)      can demonstrate internationally recognised scientific, implementation, or artistic and scientific achievements that are above-average in the context of the discipline and their career stage;

6)      has gained documented experience in managing a research team or leading at least one research project selected in a competition as part of their work in research abroad (excluding individual fellowships and projects selected in a competition held by the Returning Scientist’s foreign employer).

It is a condition of signing the Project funding agreement with the Agency that the Returning Scientist is not employed in Poland from the time of submitting the Application until the Director’s decision is received.

The period of maternity leave, leave under conditions of a maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, or extended parental leave, granted under the rules set out in the Act of 26 June 1974 – Labour Code, or periods in which the Returning Scientist received maternity benefit or parental benefit, or sick pay or rehabilitation benefit in connection with inability to work, including due to illness requiring medical rehabilitation, are not included when determining the period since the Returning Scientist obtained the doctoral degree. For women, the postdoctoral period may be extended by 18 months for each child born or adopted. A woman may choose a more favourable way to indicate breaks in her academic career. In that case, the Applicant should state this in the Application, in the field concerning the academic career.

Requirements for the Employing Institution:

Employing Institutions may be entities referred to in Article 7(1)(1, 2, 4–8) of the Act on higher education and science; other entities whose core activity consists in independent and permanent research referred to in Article 7(1)(8) of the Act on higher education and science are eligible provided that they hold a scientific category.

In the event that the funding agreement between the Employing Institution, the Agency, and the Returning Scientist is not concluded or is terminated after funding for the Project has been awarded, the Director may issue a supplementary call.

The Employing Institution that receives funding is obliged to:

1)             hire the Returning Scientist under a full-time employment contract for the entire duration of Project implementation. A copy of the employment contract concluded with the Returning Scientist should be sent to the Agency no later than 30 days after its execution;

2)             establish a Project Group (if applicable) following the rules listed in section 2.6 of the Announcement;

3)             provide conditions for the Returning Scientist and the Project Group to carry out the activities planned under the Project, including provide office and laboratory space and scientific and research equipment, as well as access to infrastructure for research and teaching;

4)             provide administrative and financial handling of activities carried out under the Project, including matters related to the arrival of the Returning Scientist and the establishment of the Project Group;

5)             support the Returning Scientist and the Project Group in applying for funds for scientific research or development work, and in obtaining required approvals, opinions, and permits, including applying to appropriate ethics committees, and support their participation in conferences and networking events;

6)             participate in the Programme evaluation;

7)             if the Project has a Research Component or an Applied Research Component, submit an application to the National Science Centre or the National Centre for Research and Development, respectively, in order to obtain funding, and in the case this funding is granted, support the implementation and provide administrative and financial handling of the Component.

Under the Project, the Returning Scientist and the Employing Institution plan to establish a Project Group.

Members of the Project Group may include main research, support, technical, and administrative staff of the Project; they may be newly hired for the purposes of the Project, hired to carry out specific tasks in the Project, or be existing employees of the Employing Institution.

It is allowed not to establish a Project Group, if the type or scope of research does not require it.

The supporting function in the Project is performed by an Inviting Person. It is a scientific employee of the organisational unit at which the Returning Scientist is employed, whose task is to support the Returning Scientist in carrying out substantive tasks and navigating the structures of the Employing Institution throughout the duration of the Project.

The Returning Scientist and the Employing Institution may plan a Research Component as part of the Project in the maximum amount of PLN 200,000 to be used within the first 18 months of concluding the agreement with the NCN. The Research Component is financed from National Science Centre funds and is intended solely for the financing of fundamental research. 

It is subject to merit-based evaluation whether the research planned under the Research Component is fundamental research. If the Evaluation Team finds that the research planned under the Research Component is not fundamental research, it will not be possible to submit an application to the NCN. Instead, it will be possible for NAWA to fund the Project, excluding the costs of the Research Component.  The Evaluation Team may recommend a modification of the Research Component budget, which must be taken into account when submitting the application to the NCN.

Beneficiaries (Employing Institutions) selected under the Programme will be obliged to submit a separate application via the NCN’s ICT system in response to the call addressed exclusively to them. The applications will be subject only to formal evaluation by the NCN. In the case of formally correct applications, the NCN Director issues a decision on the Research Component funding and a relevant agreement is concluded.

The Research Component in the Application submitted to the Agency is optional, and if it is planned in the Application, the Applicant may not simultaneously apply for funding of the NCBR Applied Research Component.

The Returning Scientist and the Employing Institution may plan an Applied Research Component as part of the Project in the maximum amount of PLN 400,000 to be used within the first 18 months of concluding the agreement with the NCBR. The Applied Research Component is financed from National Centre for Research and Development funds and is intended solely for the financing of applied research and development. 

It is subject to merit-based evaluation whether the research planned under the Applied Research Component is applied research or development. If the Evaluation Team finds that the research planned under the Applied Research Component is not applied research or development, it will not be possible to submit an application to the NCBR. Instead, it will be possible for NAWA to fund the Project, excluding the costs of the Applied Research Component.  The Evaluation Team may recommend a modification of the Applied Research Component budget, which must be taken into account when submitting the application to the NCBR.

Beneficiaries (Employing Institutions) selected under the Programme will be obliged to submit a separate application via the NCBR’s ICT system in response to the call addressed exclusively to them. The applications will be subject to formal assessment and assessment as to the eligibility of costs. In the case of formally correct applications, the NCBR Director issues a decision on the Applied Research Component funding and a relevant agreement is concluded.

The Applied Research Component in the Application submitted to the Agency is optional, and if it is planned in the Application, the Applicant may not simultaneously apply for funding of the NCN Research Component.

The Application is submitted by the Returning Scientist on their own behalf and on behalf of the Employing Institution.

The following documents should be attached to the Application:

1)         Links to the Returning Scientist’s most important publications (from three to five) if free access to the full content of the publication is available to the public via the link, or, where this is not possible, copies of these publications. For monographs, a file containing the title page, the editorial page, the table of contents, and a selection of extracts containing the author’s main theses should be attached via the Agency’s ICT System – not more than 20 pages in total. In the case of patents and implementations, their numbers should be indicated and relevant links or scans of supporting documents should be attached. In the case of representatives of the field of art, copies of catalogues with the ISBN number or other formal confirmation that the conditions set out in section 2.4 of the Announcement have been met should be attached.

2)        A scan of the document confirming that the Returning Scientist holds a scientific degree/title.

3)        Commitment of the Employing Institution signed by a person authorised to represent the Employing Institution (a model document constitutes Attachment 5 to this Announcement).

4)      A letter of invitation to the Returning Scientist addressed to the Agency, signed by the Inviting Person (a model document constitutes Attachment 6 to this Announcement).

5)   Declaration of the Returning Scientist (a model document constitutes Attachment 7 to this Announcement).

6)      A copy of documents confirming unequivocally that the Returning Scientist has carried out research abroad under the conditions specified in section 2.4 of the Announcement (a certificate from the HR department or a certificate issued by a person representing the employer’s unit, including the name of the position and the period of employment).

7)   A power of attorney for the Returning Scientist to submit the Application and further operate the account in the Agency’s ICT System under the Programme on behalf of the Employing Institution. If the power of attorney is drawn up in electronic form using a qualified electronic signature, it should be attached to the Application, and if it is drawn up in writing, its scan should be attached to the Application, and the original should be delivered to the address of the Agency (a sample model document constitutes Attachment 8 to this Announcement).

8)      Declaration on no public aid (a model document constitutes Attachment 9 to this Announcement).

PLEASE NOTE:

The attached documents must be signed either manually or with a qualified electronic signature. Attachment 8 is subject to specific requirements set out in this section. The attachments should be uploaded to the system as PDF files of no more than 10 MB in size. The photos in the attached documents should be obscured, otherwise attaching a document with a photo is tantamount to giving consent to the processing of personal data in that regard.

Project start date

A Project should start between 1 April 2024 and 30 October 2024.

Project duration

Junior Scientist track

A Project may last between 24 and 36 months.

Experienced Scientist track

A Project may last between 36 and 48 months.

Changes to the Project implementation dates

In justified cases, the start date of the Project indicated in the Application may be postponed by up to six months.

In justified cases, the duration of the Project may be extended by up to 12 months. Requests for extension are decided on a case-by-case basis by the Director. The Agency may request an opinion on the matter from the Evaluation Team.

In the case of breaks in the work of the Returning Scientist due to maternity leave, leave under conditions of a maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave, or extended parental leave, granted under the rules set out in the Labour Code, or periods in which the Applicant received sick pay or rehabilitation benefit in connection with inability to work, including due to illness requiring medical rehabilitation, the Project implementation period may be additionally extended, after the application is accepted by the Director, by a period corresponding to the duration of the aforementioned breaks.

In the case of the above described situations, the total amount of funding awarded by the Agency is not increased. This stipulation does not apply to possible funding from the Employing Institution, which is entitled to financially support the Project at all stages of its implementation.

General principles

Applications are subject to formal and merit-based assessment.

Formal assessment

The purpose of formal assessment is to verify the Applications to ensure that they fulfil the formal criteria specified in this Announcement and the Regulations.

Merit-based assessment

The purpose of merit-based assessment is to verify the Applications to ensure that they fulfil the merit-related criteria.

Merit-based assessment consists of three stages:

1)      The preliminary assessment of Applications carried out by the Evaluation Team. The Applications that are not recommended by the Evaluation Team at this stage are not sent for further assessment.

2)      Assessment of the Applications by two Reviewers;

3)      Final assessment by the Evaluation Team.

The final stage of the assessment may include meetings with the Applicants (interviews) to discuss the Projects and clarify the experts’ doubts. In this case, after reading the reviews, the Team will determine the number and list of persons to be invited to an on-line interview.

At each stage, the assessment is carried out based on three criteria:

1) The scientific or technological quality of the Project, including the scope and implementation of the planned activities;

2) Scientific achievements including previous scientific or academic career;

3) Potential significance of the Project for the development of science.

The model assessment sheet constitutes Attachment 13 to the Announcement.

The Project may receive a maximum of five points for each criterion at a given stage.  Points from consecutive assessment stages do not add up.

In the case of finding any unreliability in the preparation of the Application, the Evaluation Team will give the Application a score of 0 (zero).

In justified cases, the Evaluation Team may recommend that the amount of funding requested in the Application be reduced.

The Evaluation Team compiles a ranking of the Applications, indicating the Applications recommenced for funding and the applications not recommended for funding. The Team may compile a reserve list of Applications, which will receive funding if funds are available. The place on the ranking list is determined by the number of points awarded by the Evaluation Team at the stage of the final assessment of Applications.

1. The following costs are eligible under the Project within the funding allocated to the Employing Institution:

1)      Remuneration for the Returning Scientist:

a)      PLN 220,000–240,000 per year for the Junior Scientist track;

b)      PLN 300,000–330,000 per year for the Experienced Scientist track;

2)      Remuneration for the Inviting Person of PLN 14,400 per year;

3)      Remuneration for the members of the Project Group:

a)      maximally PLN 120,000 per year for the Junior Scientist track;

b)      maximally 250,000 per year for the Experienced Scientist track.

The amounts of remuneration for Project Group members are decided by the Returning Scientist. The amounts of remuneration include the employer’s costs.

2.    The Returning Scientist will receive a Scholarship under the Project.  The Scholarship, awarded and paid by the Agency directly to the Returning Scientist, is intended to cover the costs of resettlement (travel) in the form of a one-off mobility allowance (lump sum) of PLN 20,000. The Scholarship is paid to the Returning Scientist within 30 days of the execution of the Agreement. The use of a lump sum in the Project means that the part of the Project covered by it will not be settled on the basis of actually incurred expenses. The Returning Scientist is not obliged to collect and present accounting evidence to confirm expenditures. Pursuant to Article 21(1)(39a) of the Act on personal income tax of 26 July 1991 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 1426, as amended), scholarships and other funds referred to in Article 18(2)(1) of the NAWA Act of 7 July 2017 are exempt from income tax.

3.    Where the Project does not include a Research Component or an Applied Research Component, the maximum amount of funding may not exceed:

1)             PLN 1,143,200 for the Junior Scientist track;

2)             PLN 2,397,600 for the Experienced Scientist track.

4.    If the Project includes a Research Component, the maximum amount of funding may not exceed:

1)             PLN 1,143,200 from the Agency’s budget and additionally PLN 200,000 from the NCN’s budget for the Junior Scientist track;

2)             PLN 2,397,600 from the Agency’s budget and additionally PLN 200,000 from the NCN’s budget for the Experienced Scientist track.

5.    Where the Project includes an Applied Research Component, the maximum amount of funding may not exceed:

1)      PLN 1,143,200 from the Agency’s budget and additionally PLN 400,000 from the NCBR’s budget for the Junior Scientist track;

2)      PLN 2,397,600 from the Agency’s budget and additionally PLN 400,000 from the NCBR’s budget for the Experienced Scientist track.

6.       The Scholarship for the Returning Scientist may be increased by 20% if the Returning Scientist has a certificate of moderate or significant disability. In that event, the maximum amount of Project funding is increased accordingly.

7.      The Project budget may be increased by the Employing Institution’s own resources.

The total amount of funds allocated for the Call is PLN 16,000,000. The Agency reserves the right to increase the amount of funds allocated for the Call and to not use the entire funds.

The results of the Call are planned to be announced by 28 March 2024.

The original planned date of announcing the results of 28 February 2024 was changed to 28 March 2024 by amendment notice 20/2023

National funds