NCBR to implement the Swiss-Polish cooperation programme

The two key fields to be supported under the second edition of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme (SPPW) are the development of urban areas and scientific cooperation. The Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy and the Association of Polish Cities have officially inaugurated the second edition of the contribution. NCBR is responsible for the implementation of the Programme for Research and Innovation component in applied research.

What are the Swiss Funds?

The Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme (informally called: Swiss Funds, Swiss Programme) is a Programme comprises funds allocated by Switzerland for the development of our country, based on the arrangements of Switzerland with the European Union and Poland. The international agreement was concluded on 5th December 2022 in Warsaw. The primary objective of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme is to reduce social and economic disparities in the European Union and Poland by further strengthening bilateral cooperation between Switzerland and Poland.

Switzerland allocated 320.1 million Swiss francs to Poland for the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme. The national contribution should also be added to this pool making a total of 375.458 million Swiss francs.

The SPPW consists of the Programme for Research and Innovation (with a budget of over 41 million Swiss francs) and the Polish-Swiss Urban Development Programme (budget of almost 328 million Swiss francs).

Inauguration of the 2nd edition of the Programme

The first edition of the SPPW ended in 2017. With a conference organised by the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy as the National Coordinating Unit and with the participation of entities and institutions involved in the various areas of the Programme, the second edition of the Polish-Swiss cooperation was officially inaugurated on 12th December 2023 in Warsaw.

"Today is a milestone after a very intensive period of preparations for the new edition of the Polish-Swiss Cooperation Programme," said Fabrice Filliez, the Swiss Ambassador to Poland. We would like you to contribute to our joint efforts towards a rich, stable and happy Europe. Poland is now not only the largest beneficiary of Swiss funds but also the first country to start implementing the second edition of the Programme. Congratulations to Poland. I would like to thank everyone involved for 1.5 years in these activities. We want to enable long-term partnerships between our countries and promote the development of innovative solutions."

The new edition of the SPPW is an excellent opportunity to intensify a research cooperation between scientific centres (but also enterprises) in Poland and Switzerland. It is also an opportunity to build sustainable synergies, achieved through a cooperation between research centres and enterprises in both countries.

Development of applied research on the part of the NCBR

The National Centre for Research and Development is one of the two operators in the Programme for Research and Innovation. The Centre, in partnership with the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse, is responsible for the area of applied research. The Swiss National Science Foundation, on the other hand, is responsible for the internationalisation part of basic research, which will operate in partnership with the National Science Centre.

The experts from the NCBR expect that the Programme will help develop relations between the Polish research and innovation communities and leading R&D entities in Switzerland (and, in the context of basic research, also in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Hungary).

Participants at the inaugural conference had the opportunity to listen to a panel discussion in the area of 'research and innovation', which was moderated by Agnieszka Ratajczak, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the NCBR. Panellists included: Debora Kern, Director of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Joanna Kuszlik-Cichosz, Deputy Director at the Information Processing Centre, Timothy Ryan, Scientific Specialist at the Swiss National Science Foundation, Barbara Świątkowska, Specialist for Norwegian Funds at the National Science Centre, and Maciej Jędrzejek, Deputy Director at the International Cooperation Department at the NCBR.

"The purpose of the Programme for Scientific Research and Innovation is to further strengthen the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the Polish research entities, higher education institutions and enterprises, with an emphasis on the SME sector," Ratajczak said. "This will be realised through a cooperation of the Polish entities with the Swiss institutions, but also with other international partner who will be willing participate in one of the parts of this Programme."

Representatives of various institutions presented the objectives of the Programme components for which they are responsible under the Programme.

"While developing the Programme assumptions, we drew on NCBR experience from the implementation of the Polish-Norwegian cooperation," said Jędrzejek about the experience of the NCBR. "Since 2012, we have conducted two editions, during which we have acquired a great deal and learned ‘through first-hand experience’ what works best. Thanks to this, we know how important it is to cooperate with an institution from a partner country. This allowed us to propose to the Swiss party to cooperate with our equivalent in their country. As a result, the Innosuisse agency joined the Programme. So, we have started a dialogue and we very much appreciate it. This cooperation is essential, in our view because, to prepare well for a bilateral Programme as we need know what is of key importance to both countries. The knowledge that Innosuisse provides us with is invaluable and necessary to prepare the Programme on a partnership basis, so that it is attractive to the institutions from Poland and Switzerland. Currently, there is a wide access to various sources of funding. To encourage good applicants and so that we have projects with interesting results, we need to be competitive and flexible. We need to create the best conditions for scientists and innovators to be willing to pursue their ideas with us. 

When is the first call for proposals and its requirements?

"We have assumed an ambitious objective of conducting two calls for proposals in one edition of the Programme. We plan to launch the first call in April 2024. Interestingly enough, we are not going to limit the scientific themes in the first one. All areas of interest for our applicants that fit into the sustainable development goals will be accessible. This is an approach adopted from the experience of our Swiss partner," Jędrzejek said.

In the component of applied research, industrial and development research, excluding the basic one, are allowed. Consortia consisting of at least one Polish and one Swiss entity will be established. The consortium must include at least one enterprise based in Poland or Switzerland.

Grants may cover up to 100% of eligible costs for research organisations. For enterprises, the amount of funding will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the size of the enterprise and the type of research/development. The maximum value of the grant is the equivalent of one million Swiss francs. Projects should be implemented within 24 and 36 months.

"I encourage scientific institutions and business companies to apply for funds under the Programme for Scientific Research and Innovation," Ratajczak said. We assume that those who decide to do so can expect the best quality cooperation with the partners from Switzerland and, as a result, the development of finest projects."

This article was first published on 19 December by the National Centre for Research and Development Poland.