National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - state of the art and trends Albena Vutsova

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 2 Some details: Established in 1990 Functioning like second flow of government support- although operating with insufficient budget Way for restructuring the scheme of research funding-from institutional to project /program one on the competitive base Managing bodies – consisting of eminent scientists Member of ESF since 2001

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 3 Public research funding in Bulgaria Government Research Institutes National Science Fund Universities Universities Researchers Research Institutes Labs

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 4 National Science Fund Progressively increasing allocations by years

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 5 Ambitious and Goals: Quality in focus Aiming at high international level research Milieu for strong competition More intra and external integration Pathway to the applied issues Creating skilled new generation of researchers Strong accountability

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 6 Research areas of interest Natural Sciences Medical Sciences Bio and agricultural sciences Engineering and Informatics sciences Social Sciences and Humanity

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 7 Activity and Success Rate by Sciences

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 8 Routine activities: Supporting scientific research – special emphasis on scientific excellence Fostering young researchers Fostering international research cooperation Developing the evaluation practices

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 9 Routine calls: Annual competition sessions-covering all research fields Yong scientists competition Young talents competition National programs competition – targeted approach Bulgarian periodicals competition

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 10 Cost Objects – External Product Groups Research Projects Research Programmes Research Infrastructure Annual Scientific Prizes Encouraging Young Researchers and Young Talents grants Encouraging Research in Universities

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 11 New instruments: Competitions fostering universities research Competitions fostering research mobility Competitions fostering national research potential: Infrastructure Human potential Centers of competence Joint projects under bilateral schemes Good practices - bilateral schemes with: –Academic Exchange German Office (DAAD) –French Ministry of Youth, Education and Research – RILA program

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 12 Distinctiveness: Knowledge or strategic driven research Open to applications More basic research

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 13 Applicable approaches: Bottom up approach- curiosity and knowledge driven approach- regular competitions Top-down approach- strategic oriented- national programs

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 14 What we pay for: Research grants towards research entities Basic payments for: –Temporary permanent staff –Consumables –Equipment –Business trips –Overhead

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 15 Managerial and Complementary bodies: Executive council – 10 members Research expert panels- 7 Secretariat Add hoc panels and expert groups Independent evaluators NB! Principle of mandate for each structure is envisaged

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 16 Applied methods for evaluation Ex-ante – level of performance – good Interim- each year of the project progress- creeping to good Ex-post – insufficient performance and slim elements of track records yet

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 17 Criteria for evaluation general Addressing the quality and originality of the scientific contents The competence of researchers to perform the proposed work Significance of the research problem Utilization and impact of the results Possible synergy effect and added value

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 18 Evaluation Circle Expert panel raporteur evaluator Scores ranking project

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 19 An attempt for analysis Strong points: –Identifying major issues of economy and society importance –Facilitating inter and international linkages among researchers –Availability of independent evaluation –Strong ex-ante evaluation –Lack of heavy administrative burden Weak points: –Lack of mix funding sources and donators –Yet Insufficient budget –Insufficient number of international evaluators –Insufficient ex-post evaluation –Lack of sufficient track records about project result and follow up (s)

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria 20 Lessons learnt: Strong prioritization Striving to effective research Fostering research networking Clear accountability

National Science Fund - Bulgaria National Science Fund - Bulgaria Many thanks for your attention and patience !