“Order teaches us to save time “, Johann W. Goethe
The first year of providing grant support to projects that won the competitions of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine in 2020 is coming to the end. During this time, much has happened in updating approaches to the management of grant projects, as well as the deployment of the Foundation’s functionality. A new competition “Science for Security and Sustainable Development of Ukraine” started a month ago, and two more will be announced in the nearest future. These competitions will contribute to the development of the research potential of our scientific schools and will provide an opportunity for wider involvement of higher education institutions and research institutions of Ukraine in grant support for projects.
Today we can easily say that the Foundation is gradually becoming firmly established institutionally in the scientific space of Ukraine, it lives a full life and performs its main function – financing the best research projects. Observing the development of the main spheres of the Foundation’s activity we can say that its main cycles and regularities are carved out, which are built in parallel with every subsequent step of reforming the science industry of Ukraine, its gradual inclusion into the world scientific space.
We have a lot to be proud of and a lot to work upon. However, now we want to share our “pains” (which, by the way, have been repeatedly highlighted in social networks and the media) and our vision of the tactics of their “treatment”.
Let’s start with the first part of the competition cycle – submission of applications using the automated system of the Foundation. The law stipulates that applicants have at least 30 calendar days to do it. It seems to be enough for careful preparation of project documentation. However, the application form contains a large number of items and it is needed to download several mandatory documents in pdf format. Hence, the careful preparation of project documentation is required, moreover, a very careful step-by-step passage of all stages of submission of documents is needed. For a second year in a row, we observe a number of typical problems that do not make the process more efficient and less nervous for both future grantees and the Foundation’s management.
First, in the absolute majority of cases, the option “Sign and send the application” is used by applicants, as a rule, during the last two days out of 30 possible days. As a result, the participants hastily forget to download relevant information, and the system is overloaded.
Secondly, participants sometimes do not download all the necessary documents (this applies, for example, to the applicant’s compliance with paragraph 5 of the criteria for assessing the eligibility of giving the state support to economic entities for research, technical development and innovation), or download documents that do not correspond to the form determined by the Foundation (for example, the timetable, which is one of the most important components of the application, because the project must be implemented in accordance with the tasks specified in it). As a result, such applications are rejected at the preliminary stage of the pendency of the application.
Thirdly, participants do not fill in all the items in the application form, although it is mandatory to do it. All such formal inaccuracies lead to the rejection of the application at the very first stage.
How is it “treated”? It is very simple: before submitting the application, it is necessary to CAREFULLY get acquainted with the conditions of the competition (taking into account that the conditions of different NRFU competitions are not identical). We advise you to make a checklist, which should include a complete list of information and documents required for the execution of application. We also recommend choosing a person from among the members of your team who would organize the process of such preparation.
It is also worth involving representatives of the financial service or accounting department in the formation of financial documents. We definitely do not recommend postponing the application for the last days.
The next important stage in the life cycle of the Foundation is the signing of contracts with the winners of the competition. We have repeatedly heard criticism of this process, which, by the way, is never easy in other areas of our and your lives. But if both parties treat contractual procedures systematically and carefully, the problem can be prevented. In our experience, a special difficulty lies in the formation of the financial part of the contracts, specifically, estimates and respective calculations. We would like to draw attention to the fact that funds (which are unprecedentedly large for Ukraine) are allocated exclusively for research/development. Therefore, it should be understood that the contract may include only those costs that were specified in the application as necessary for the implementation of the research/development.
All applications undergo a serious expert evaluation. Projects that win the competition become, in some way, a closed system, whose components are interconnected. Therefore, it is impossible to “separate” the scientific part from the financial component.
Sometimes we hear complaints: “How can we predict absolutely all the costs for 2-3 years in advance?”. It is not only possible, but necessary. The next question is: what shall we do if significant changes occur in the course of the study that necessitate, for example, the replacement of team members or equipment with similar one, etc.? The answer to this question is regulated at the legislative level: it is possible to make changes, but with the justification and the relevant decision of the Scientific Council of the Foundation.
Another sore point of the grant support process, unfortunately, is the unrealistic scientific tasks set in the application. Here is an example of one of the winning projects. The goal of the project was to develop a Ukrainian vaccine that protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The goal is certainly crucial for the country’s security. The project had a huge resonance in the media. But now the authors of the project (and the Foundation together with them) face a great problem because neither the principal executor (the Institute of Cell Biology of the NAS of Ukraine) nor the subcontractor (the “A.P.Romodanov Institute of Neurosurgery of the NAMS of Ukraine” State Institution) have physical possibility to fulfill the tasks of the project in 2021. There are no laboratories of the appropriate level of biosecurity in Ukraine, no transgenic mice (they were planned to be used as laboratory animals), no strain of laboratory virus SARS-CoV-2. All these items were stated in the application as a guarantee of the study conduction. Now it is clear that most of the work on this project cannot be done in Ukraine. We are all looking for ways to solve this situation which arouse exclusively because of the unrealistically inflated expectations and careless planning of the project by the executors.
Nextly. The grant cycle involves reporting after each intermediate stage and at the end of the project. There are also problems. The absolute “leader” is the process of purchasing valuable scientific equipment. Sometimes tender procedures are delayed due to objective reasons (for example, when tenders have been announced in time but do not take place several times or there are appeals from bidders). But we have cases (and not isolated cases) when funding begins in May and tenders are announced in early August. It is clear that there is not enough time to complete the procurement procedure. Doesn’t this remind you of the application deadline? Or at the end of August, we have a question from the grantees: “It is the time for vacations, and it is impossible to convoke the meeting of the Scientific Council of the University and approve the project report. Can we omit the resolution on the approval of the scientific report?” The answer is clear: such a resolution must be submitted at the end of each stage. This is clearly stated in the terms of the contract, which does not seem to be read carefully by everyone. And it’s annoying.
Summarizing the abovesaid, we want to emphasize:
– the nature of grant support differs significantly from other funding mechanisms for science (in particular, the so-called basic funding);
– the activities of different grant providers in different countries are regulated by different legislations. In Ukraine, this legislation is quite strict, and the use of funds is regulated step by step;
– the Foundation provides funds from the state budget (the source is our taxes), which automatically imposes a lot of restrictions and obligations. The Foundation is a state budgetary institution that is deprived of the ability to allow what is prohibited by law;
– by submitting an application and signing a contract, both parties undertake serious obligations, the possibility of their execution should be considered not in the process, but at the very beginning;
– grant management is an important component of project implementation, and it requires attention and responsibility.
We are happy to share our experience with you and hope that the participants of our competitions will gradually acquire the necessary skills to prepare and administer grant projects.
That is, scientific reports must be prepared in accordance with the effective standards of Ukraine.
We hope that our reservations will help applicants to prevent future mistakes.
On behalf of the NRFU Directorate, Executive Director Olga POLOTSKA
“Svit” newspaper, № 33 – 34, 2021