Pursuant to Article 19(1) of the Act of 7 July 2017 on the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange and the agreement on the “International Multilateral Partnerships for Resilient Education and Science System in Ukraine IMPRESS-U” initiative, concluded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), the National Science Centre (NCN), the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU), the Council of Science (LCS), the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL), the Estonian Research Council (ETAG), and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the Director of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange hereby announces a call for applications to participate in the IMPRESS-U NAWA Programme (hereinafter referred to as the “Programme”).

The Programme’s objective is to support the participation of Polish higher education and scientific institutions in the “International supplements” projects under the “International Multilateral Partnerships for Resilient Education and Science System in Ukraine IMPRESS-U” initiative.

The “International Multilateral Partnerships for Resilient Education and Science System in Ukraine IMPRESS-U” initiative (hereinafter: the “Initiative”) is implemented by the US National Science Foundation (hereinafter: the NSF) in partnership with:

1)      Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), Poland

2)      National Science Centre (NCN), Poland

3)      National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU), Ukraine

4)      Latvian Council of Science (LCS), Latvia

5)      Research Council of Lithuania (RCL), Lithuania

6)      Estonian Research Council (ETAG), Estonia

7)      National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), USA, with the support of private donors and foundations.

The objective of the Initiative is to build excellence in scientific and applied research, education, and innovation through scientific collaboration and the integration of Ukrainian scientists into the global research community. Under the initiative, the NSF organizes and resolves a call for projects that address scientific challenges in any field of science, carried out by US researchers in collaboration with researchers from Ukraine and researchers from at least one country among the remaining partner countries.

The application procedure under the Initiative consists of the following stages:

1)      submission of the main application by the US project coordinator to the NSF in accordance with the documentation available on the NSF website https://www.nsf.gov/od/oise/IntlCollaborations/Ukraine.jsp, https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23135/nsf23135.jsp

specifying the consortium members

2)      submission of a complementary application to NAWA by the Polish consortium member.

Under the Programme, NAWA provides funding for the participation of Polish higher education and scientific institutions as defined in section 2.4 of the Announcement in “International supplements” projects that were granted funding under the Initiative following merit-based assessment carried out by the NSF.

Polish partners of EAGER projects are entitled to apply to the National Science Centre (NCN) for the funding of costs related to their participation in the project and may not apply to NAWA.

Deadline for submitting applications

The call for applications is carried out on a continuous basis until the funds referred to in section 2.8 (Amount of funding allocated for the Call) are exhausted. The application should be submitted to NAWA within 7 days of submitting the application to the NSF, but not later than 30 June 2024.

Form of submitting the application

Exclusively in electronic form via the Agency’s ICT system.

Language of the application

The application has to be made in English. Excepted from the above rule are the power of attorney and the Applicant’s declaration, which may be made in Polish.

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

Without restriction

The thematic area of the Application must be in accord with the scope of the Applicant’s activity specified in the application submitted to the NSF under the Initiative.

Applications for funding may be submitted by an institution that meets all of the following conditions:

1)      it is a partner in the project subject to the application submitted to the NSF under the Initiative

2)      it is an institution that carries out research and development referred to in Article 7(1) of the Act on higher education and science; other institutions 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 or are a Centre of Excellence established under the Teaming for Excellence action of Horizon Europe.

Project start date and duration

A Project may last maximally 24 months. The Project implementation time frame have to be in accord with the Project implementation period under the Initiative as specified in the application submitted to the NSF.

In justified cases, it is possible to extend the implementation of the Project with the prior approval of NAWA, without additional funding, provided that such extension has been accepted by the NSF.

General principles

The applications are subject to formal assessment and are verified regarding the validity of costs vis-à-vis planned activities.

Funds may be granted only when the project submitted to the NSF is recommended by the NSF for main project funding, i.e. it receives a positive merit-based assessment from the NSF.

Formal assessment

The purpose of formal assessment is to verify the applications to ensure that they meet the formal criteria specified in this Announcement.

Verification of costs

The purpose of the verification of costs is to examine whether the planned costs are eligible and justified vis-à-vis planned activities under the Project (i.e. whether they are directly related to Project implementation) and whether there is no double financing. The verification of costs will be carried out by NAWA in consultation with the NSF.

A PDF of the application submitted to the NSF should be attached to the application.

The amount of funding allocated for a single Project by the Agency is a maximum of PLN 1,000,000.

The total costs of the Project are only direct eligible costs specified by the Applicant in the detailed budget proposal in the Application. Eligible costs relate to the activities under the Project and the persons involved in the implementation of the Project (members of the project group): researchers employed by the Applicant and doctoral candidates pursuing their education or doing research fellowships at the Applicant. Costs directly related to the implementation of the Project are those that relate to specific tasks, are necessary to achieve the objectives of the Project, and are incurred in connection with the implementation of the Project. No so-called indirect costs may be financed under the Project.

Eligible costs (cost categories):

1)             Costs of remuneration of persons directly involved in the implementation of the Project (project group members):

-        the costs of employment contracts, salary supplements, performance bonuses, or other remuneration components;

-        costs of civil law contracts.

The maximum amount of remuneration per employee is PLN 10,000 gross (including employer’s costs) per month for full-time engagement. In the case of engagement of less than full time, the remuneration is reduced proportionally to the degree of engagement.

Expenses under civil law contracts, in accordance with generally applicable regulations of law, must be incurred in a competitive manner. It is the Beneficiary’s responsibility to ensure the competitiveness of the Project expenses.

2)             Costs of scholarships for doctoral candidates

Scholarships for doctoral candidates will be disbursed on the basis of regulations developed by the Applicant specifying the amount of the scholarship, the period and conditions of its disbursement, as well as the mode and criteria of the assessment of research progress. Scholarships paid under the Project may in whole or in part supplement or substitute scholarships for doctoral candidates referred to in Article 209 of the Act on higher education and science. The amount of a monthly scholarship for one scholarship holder will be specified in the application and must be reflected in the regulations mentioned above. The amount of the monthly scholarship may not exceed the gross amount of PLN 5,000, taking into account derivative costs related to the payment of the scholarship by the Applicant, e.g. social security contributions, etc.

3)             Travel and subsistence expenses related to trips abroad in connection with the Project:

-        the costs of trips abroad (outbound and incoming), health insurance, third-party liability insurance, accident insurance, visa fees, or fees related to legalization of stay, at a lump sum depending on the distance, in accordance with Attachment 5 “Lump sums under the Programme”

-        lump-sum subsistence costs when travelling abroad up to the maximum amount provided for in Attachment 5 “Lump sums under the Programme”.

Travel and subsistence costs during a trip abroad are eligible provided that the trip is necessary for the implementation of the Project and lasts at least 5 and no longer than 30 days. For trips longer than 30 days, lump-sum costs calculated as for a 30-day trip are eligible.

In justified cases, when the settlement of travel costs reveals that actual travel and subsistence costs are lower than the amount resulting from the lump sum rates, it is possible to settle the costs by reporting the actual costs instead of the lump sum.

4)             Costs of purchase of other goods and services necessary to implement the Project at a maximum amount of PLN 100,000, such as:

-        costs of purchase or depreciation of: computer, printer and other IT equipment, pursuant to rules defined in the Regulations (Chapter VI)

-        costs of purchase or use of software and databases – in the part that corresponds to the period of implementation and the actual degree of use for the Project, pursuant to rules defined in the Regulations (Chapter VI)

-        purchase of minor laboratory and research equipment and instruments

-        purchase of workplace equipment

-        purchase of research materials, raw materials, intermediate products, and reagents

-        purchase of office supplies and a qualified electronic signature

-        costs of organizing networking and dissemination meetings (only the costs of room rental and catering)

-        other costs of purchase of goods and services related to Project implementation, justified by activities in the application and accepted by the Agency during application assessment.

Guidelines for reporting and settling the Project, including the list of ineligible costs, are provided in Chapter VI of the Regulations of NAWA Institutional Programmes.

If the project budget contains invalid costs, such budget items will constitute ineligible costs and will not be recognized at the stage of settling the Project.

In the case of settlement of travel and subsistence costs, the Beneficiary will additionally be required to have:

1)             a document confirming participation in the trip, including: full name of the participant, dates of the trip, place of residence of the researcher, and the place of stay,

2)             a summary report of the trip, including a description of the activities carried out and the results achieved.

Publications produced under the Programme should include information on funding under the Initiative and the Programme, indicating at least the project number and the fact that it was funded by NAWA. In the case of scientists from Ukraine who carry out a project at Polish institutions, it is recommended to provide double affiliation, including the affiliation of the Ukrainian scientific institution which is the scientist’s home institution.

Eligible costs are costs incurred during the period in which the Beneficiary implements the project under the Initiative, subject to the second sentence of point 2.5.

The total amount of funds allocated for the call is PLN 7 million. The Agency reserves the right to change the amount of funds allocated for the Call.

Payment Scheme – A, pursuant to the Regulations of NAWA Programmes for Institutions.

Reporting Scheme – D, pursuant to the Regulations of NAWA Programmes for Institutions.

In the event of any discrepancy between the Announcement and the Regulations of NAWA Programmes for Institutions, the provisions of the Announcement will prevail.

Applications under the Programme are assessed on a continuous basis. Applicants will be informed of the results of the selection procedure via the Agency’s ICT system as soon as the assessment process has been completed. Applicants will receive a decision to award or refuse funding via the ICT system. A list of institutions to whom funding has been awarded including their names will be published on the Agency’s website in the Public Information Bulletin section.