Center of the EU Research Programmes

Until October 2020, IPPT PAN carried out the tasks of the National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes (NCP), supporting the participation of Polish institutions in EU Framework Programmes.

The National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes (NCP) was established at the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research (IPPT) of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 1998 to support the involvement of Polish scientific institutions, enterprises, and other entities in the 5th EU Framework Programme. This marked the beginning of Poland’s formal participation in the Framework Programmes, even preceding Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004. The NCP remained organizationally linked to IPPT PAN throughout subsequent Framework Programmes: FP6, FP7, and Horizon 2020.

The 1998 decision to locate the NCP within IPPT PAN was modeled after the German solution, where the National Contact Point is based in a strong research institute. From today’s perspective, this proved to be a sound choice, ensuring expert independence of NCP staff while enabling close operational cooperation with the governmental body responsible for science and funding the NCP under an agreement between the ministry and IPPT PAN. As the largest technical sciences institute within the Polish Academy of Sciences, holding the highest A+ scientific category, IPPT PAN provided organizational support and was also a direct source of information on issues related to participation in Framework Programmes, legal procedures, and piloted certain solutions before their broader implementation in the scientific community.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, the Polish Academy of Sciences published a monograph entitled “Supporting the European Aspirations of Polish Scientific Institutions: 22 Years of the National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes at IPPT PAN.” We invite you to explore the summary of the NCP’s activities from 1998 to 2020, along with insightful recollections from many distinguished members of the research and innovation community who cooperated with NCP experts.

Between 2014 and 2020, the NCP carried out tasks related to the Horizon 2020 programme.

The NCP’s duties included providing information about calls for proposals, organizing information days, brokerage events, trainings, and conferences, maintaining a website and consultations, as well as preparing publications and newsletters. For more advanced beneficiaries, the NCP offered in-depth consulting services regarding proposal preparation and mentoring.

The NCP coordinated activities of the EURAXESS network and Regional Contact Points located in major academic centers, as well as Sectoral Contact Points situated at Polish Technology Platforms and key clusters. Within these activities, dozens of high-level experts with knowledge in sectoral programmes, consortium building, negotiations, project proposal preparation, lobbying, coordination, and formal-financial project settlements provided support to entities interested in participating in the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

NCP experts made a significant contribution to building the European Research Area (ERA), preparing successive Framework Programmes – FP6, FP7, Horizon 2020, and Horizon Europe – as well as the preparation and implementation of structural funds. During the NCP’s operation, over 1,500 meetings, information days, and workshops were organized; more than 70,000 consultations were provided; and over 250 publications were released.