Manana MikaberidzeDeputy Director General

Mariam Keburia, Head of IR and Fundraising Unit

Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation

Support Programmes for International Cooperation

Georgian – German Science Day

September 19, 2016

Tbilisi Innovation and Science Festival

Outline of Presentation

1. State of Art - Georgia’s international cooperation in STI system

2. SRNSF Programmes, Reforms and Latest Developments

3. SRNSF Bilateral Cooperation

4. SRNSF Multilateral Projects & International Cooperation in Science

Management

5. SRNSF Cooperation with German Partners

6. New Opportunities and Challenges

7. SRNSF updated agenda: vision and work plan

Well developed (87 countries; 80% co-publication rate); Support by several Donors

(but ‘donor driven’)

Recommendations:

Improve coherence (in line with Vision, Strategy, national priorities);

Promote internationalization of Research entities (Int. cooperation offices);

Strengthen cooperation with Diaspora3

International Cooperation in STI (PMPRD recommendations)

Statement in Policy Mix Peer Review Document (2015)

SRNSF – One of the Major STI Funding Agency:Programmes, Reforms and Latest Developments

27 Programmes!

• Research projects (basic and applied research, collaborative research)

• International joint research projects (CNRS, CNR, TUBITAC, STCU)

• Long-term targeted projects in STEM (from 2017)

• Mobility of scientists and international collaboration (TG, CG, SS)

• Young scientists’ development (YS, IG, MR, PhDF)

• Research and technology infrastructure development

• Science popularization (Research and innovative projects with

participation of secondary school students, targeted small scale

projects for science popularization)

• Promotion of Georgian Studies within international academic area (HE, OU)

• 2015 Structural Changes

• 2015-2016 New Programmes

developed

• More Transparency &

communication with Scientists

• Changes in Evaluation

procedures and criteria

• Efficacy Evaluations

• New international partners

SRNSF 2016 Calls CalendarProgrammes /Calls

Preliminary announcement

Call announcement

Electronic submission

Submission ofStatement

Result announcement

1 FR - Fundamental/Basic research (Institutional) grants January February April April August

2 AR - Applied research (Institutional) grants January February April April August

3 DI - Research with participation of compatriots residing abroad (Institutional) grants January February April April September

4 DO - PhD students' research (individual) grants January February May May August

5 YS - Young scientists' (Postdocs) research (individual) grants 30.12.2015 20.01.2016 21.03.2016 23.03.2016 23.05.2016

6 MR - Master students' research (individual) grants 30.12.2015 9.02.2016 6.10.2016 7.10.2016 24.11.2016

7 IG - Internship grants for young researchers (individual) 30.12.2015 20.01.2016 17.05.2016 19.05.2016 12.07.2016

8 TG - Travel grants (I announcement 15.03-30.06.2016) 30.12.2015 18.01.2016 15.02.2016 17.02.2016 7.03.2016

9 TG - Travel grants (II announcement 1.07-31.10.2016) 30.12.2015 06.04.2016 1.06.2016 3.06.2016 23.06.2016

10 TG - Travel grants (III announcement 1.11.2016-15.03.2017) 30.12.2015 1.08.2016 12.09.2016 14.09.2016 13.10.2013

11 UO GSP - SRNSF/Oxford University joint programme for Georgian Studies 5.01.216 11.01.2016 30.05.216 31.05.2016 17.09.2016

12 GEO CONF - Georgian Studies target conference 29.01.2016 22.02.2016 8.04.2016 11.04.2016 30.05.2016

13 CONF - International conference 30.12.2015 15.01.2016 2.03.2016 3.03.2016 24.03.2016

14 SS - Seasonal school grants 30.12.2015 11.01.2016 15.03.2016 17.03.2016 27.04.2016

15 LEO - 'Leonardo da Vinci' -young inventors programmes (for secondary school students) January 4.02.201610.05 (1) 19.09

(2)16.05.(1) 22.09(2)

June. (1), November(2)

16 SCR -Research with the participation of secondary school students 30.12.2015 29.01.2016 23.02.2016 25.02.2016 7.04.2016

17 PhD programme calls 20.01.2016 4.03.2016 18.04.2016 20.04.2016 15.06.2016

18 STCU/ SRNSF joint call January February March AprilJuly(1)-

December(2)

19 JUELICH PHD - Julich Center programme for PhD students April July October October November

20 JUELICH PHD - Julich Center programme for MA students April July August August September

21 CNR -CNR/SRNSF joint call 22 CNRS PICS - CRNS PICS/SRNSF joint call April May June June October

23 DAAD - SRNSF/DAAD joint call for young researchers October November December December March 2017

24 VW - SRNSF/VW joint call for doctoral programmes October November December December March 2017

25 FR INST - SRNSF/French Institute joint call for young researchers October November December December March 2017

26 Target programme for science popularization September October November November December

27 Annual stipends/awards in science and technology June July August August September

Scientific Fields funded by SRNSF programs

OSCD / EUROSTAT classification

1. Exact and Natural sciences

2. Engineering and Technologies

3. Medical and health sciences

4. Agrarian sciences

5. Social sciences

6. Humanities

+ Georgian Studies

(up to 10 % of annual budget)

Funding Research – Basic Research

• 2015 Total Budget - 5 049 648 GEL

• Maximum budget per project - 150 000 GEL.

• # Submitted proposals - 540;

• Funded - 106 project, 395 scientists;

• Project duration - 6-36 month.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

PI Age Distribution

17%

14%

9%

4%6%

15%

8%

5%

11%

11%

Distribution of Funded Projects by Fields

Georgian studies1

2 Humanities, Social sciences

Engineering and technology3

Information engineering and

Communications4

5 Mathematics

6 Physical & Chemical sciences

7

8 Medical and health sciences

9 Earth and environmental sciences

10 Agricultural sciences

Life Sciences

Up to-35 35-40 40-55 over-55

Funding Research – Applied Research

• 2015 Total Budget - 2 996 776 GEL

• Maximum budget per project - 200 000 GEL.

• # Submitted proposals - 213;

• Funded - 35 projects, 161 Scientists;

• Project Duration - 12-24 month.

9%

9%

43%

10%

2%

3%

2%

3%

12%

7%

Distribution of Funded Projects by Fields

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

PI Age Distribution

Georgian studies1

2 Humanities, Social sciences

Engineering and technology3

Information engineering and

Communications4

5 Mathematics

6 Physical & Chemical sciences

7

8 Medical and health sciences

9 Earth and environmental sciences

10 Agricultural sciences

Life Sciences

Up to-35 35-40 40-55 over-55

Funding Research – Collaborative Research [Compatriots]

• 2015 Total Budget - 598 909 GEL.

• Maximum budget per project - 150 000 GEL

• # Submitted proposal - 38;

• Funded – 12 projects; 74 Scientists;

• Project Duration - 6-36 month.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

PI Age Distribution

35-40 40-55 over-55

14%

9%

18%

9%

32%

18%

Distribution of Funded Projects by Fields

Georgian studies1

2 Humanities, Social sciencesEngineering and technology3

Information engineering and

Communications4

5 Physical & Chemical sciences

6 Earth and environmental sciences

International Collaboration and Mobility –Travel grants (2015)

5%

31%

6%

3%

4%

19%

15%

10%

5%2%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Age Distribution of Grantors

Georgian studies1

2 Humanities, Social sciences

Engineering and technology3

Information engineering and

Communications4

5 Mathematics

6 Physical & Chemical sciences

7

8 Medical and health sciences

9 Earth and environmental sciences

10 Agricultural sciences

Life Sciences

Up to-35 35-40 45-55

Distribution of Funded Projects by Fields

International Collaboration and Mobility – Conference grants 2015

22%

11%

34%

11%

11%

11%

Distribution of Funded Projects by Fields

1

Engineering and technology2

3

4

5

6

Medical and health sciences

Agricultural sciences

Natural sciences

Social sciences

Humanities sciences

International Collaboration 2015

• CERN – 316 539 GEL

• DUBNA – 716 149 GEL

• JUELICH CENTER -25 069 GEL

• CNR – 47 300 GEL

• CNRS – funded in 2016 [total 30 000 EURO for 3

years, 10 000 per year]

• STCU – results expected in February 2016 [grant

allocation 537 000 GEL]

• ISTC – co-financing from 2017

• EU Multilateral Programs (FP7 IncoNet EaP;

Black Sea Horizon)

33%

29%

13%

12%

6% 6%1%

Distribution of 69 Applications by Fields

35%

31%

14%

12%6%

2%

Distribution of Second Stage Projects by Fields

Life Sciences

Engineering and technology

Agricultural sciences

Physical & Chemical sciences

Information engineering and

Communications

Earth and environmental sciences

Medical and health sciences

Humanities, Social sciences

Engineering and technology

Agricultural sciences

Physical & Chemical sciences

Earth and environmental sciences

Medical and health sciences

2016-2017 highlights 5 New Programmes for Young Scientists’ Development and International Cooperation

(PhD Fellowships, MA Fellowships, DAAD, VW, JULICH SMART EDM LAB, French Inst. )

Evaluation of big grants implemented by external reviewers only (Outsourcing of expertise FR, AR, DI)

Increased Budget per proposal in FR, AR, DI programmes (by 20% in AR, 40% in FR, DI).

STI Funding growth (2012-2016)# Priority Directions/ Programmes Budget Growth in GEL Growth in %

1 Research Funding (FR, AR, DI) 2,305,538

2Supporting young scientists development and facilitation of

international collaboration 3,432,040

3 Supporting Georgian Studies Development 172,000

4

Joint Research Programmes and international collaboration

(bi-lateral and multi-lateral cooperation with partner

institutions)3,324,737

5Supporting Development of Scientific Infrastructure

(ELSEVIER)960,000

6 Science Popularization 114,430

TOTAL 10,308,745 41%

• Introducing international standards in SRNSF National Programmes: Application forms and call terms

• Revised evaluation procedures and criteria appropriate to EU standards

• More transparency for scientific community: More interaction with universities and research institutions/centers, collaboration and consideration of target groups’ recommendations on programs and calls administration and evaluation procedures

• Outsourcing of the big grants’ evaluation (FR, AR, DI, first three years: 2016-2018 by CRDF Global and ORAU)

• Starting creation of National Experts’ Data base, involvement of international experts, creation of regional evaluation platform

Introducing International Standards - Latest Developments at SRNSF

Prospects of International Experts’ involvement in SRNSF Activities

Attracting external experts for grants’ efficacy evaluation –site visits of international experts

Evaluation of SRNSF Programmes and Activities: Analysis of data and development of needs assessment

Revision and modification of SRNSF programmes and funding schemes based on evaluation results

Supporting SRNSF in Science Management and revision of grants monitoring and reporting forms - sharing EU and US funding programs experience - focusing on science productivity indicators

SRNSF Bilateral Cooperation in 2010-2014

“Targeted R&D Initiatives Programme”, partner STCUthematic priorities: A. Biotechnologies and Life Sciences; B. New Materials and Nanotechnologies; C. Information and Communication Technologies.

“International Exchange Programme”, partner CNRS (France) thematic priorities: A. Mathematics, B. Physics, C. Life sciences.

Programme “International Research Group”, partner CNRS thematic priority: Geosciences.

“Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Programme” and Other Joint Programmes in Biomedical Research, partner CRDF (USA) thematic priorities: A. ICT, B. Biotechnologies, C. Agrarian Sciences, D. New materials, E. Energy, F. Health + Biomedicine.

“International Exchange Programme”, partner CNR (Italy)All thematic priorities.

“Joint Research and Education Programme”, partner Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany) thematic priorities: Mathematics; Information Technologies; Natural Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Life Science and Health.

Bilateral Cooperation and International Partners (2015-2016)

• SRNSF NCP of ERC

Bilateral Cooperation

• University of Oxford, UK

• Jülich Center, Germany

• CNR, Italy

• CNRS, France

• STCU

• CRDF-Global, US

• TUBITAK, Turkey

• ISTC, (from 2017)

Access to international scientific infrastructure and databases

• CERN

• JINR DUBNA

• ELSEVIER

Multilateral cooperation - EU framework programmes

H2020 projects:

New Project - EaP Plus (from September 2016)

Black Sea Horizon ( 3 year project, 2015-2017)

Enhanced bi-regional STI cooperation between the

EU and the Black Sea Region - Black Sea HorizonIncoNet EaP FP7

STI International Cooperation Network for

Eastern Partnership Countries

Twinnings, BE, Mobility, info days, Mixed

Policy Review Document, Promoting H2020

participation; Regional Eval. Platform

Outsourcing of big grants (FR, AR, DI, STCU YS, DO):• CRDF Global US • ORAU – Oak Rage Associated Universities

Sharing experience in STI management (EU, US):• ERC (European Research Council) – SRNSF as ERC NCP• ETAG (Estonian Research Council)• ETIK – (Estonian Intellectual Property & Technology

Transfer Center) • ESF (European Science Foundation)• NSF, US (Embassy Science Fellowship Programme)In June 2016 STI EaP Regional Evaluation Platform created (MoU between 5 EaP countries/ IncoNet EaP prpject)

International Cooperation in Science Management

New Agreement University of Oxford (Since 2015)Joint Research Programme in Georgian Studies at Russian and Eastern European Studies Unit, School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies. Objectives: Research visits by Georgian Postdoctoral early career academics working in Georgian Studies.

Renewed Cooperation agreement with STCU / Targeted Research and Development Initiatives program

(TRDI) (2016)

What is new: reduced percentage involved scientists - former weapon of mass destruction (FWMD) scientists,

evaluation criteria in Georgia (in line with general evaluation rules in SRNSF), involvement of international

expertise starting from the first stage . Two stage evaluation, both stages include international peer reviewing

Renewed Cooperation agreement with ISTC (2015)

What is new: Georgia become an equal partner, represented by a single vote on the Governing Board, liability

for co - funding

JULICH Center – SRNSF – MoES – TSU (2016)

Targeted Project: SMART EDM LAB development at Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

TUBITAK (Since 2016)Objectives: joint research and development projects, including exchange of research results and mobility of scientists and young researchers, Joint scientific meetings, conferences, symposia, workshops etc. Joint use of research infrastructure (as part of joint projects).

International Partnership New Agreements

Access to International Data Bases

Since 2014 Consortium of 21 organizations have access to

ELSEVIER data bases: Science Direct and Scopus

14 Public Universities

3 Research Centers

1 Scientific institute

Georgian National Academy of Sciences

The Georgian Academy of Agricultural Sciences

National Museum of Georgia

Since 2016 Production and Hosting of Georgian Journals by ELSEVIER

1. Transactions of A. Razmadze Mathematical Institute, Tbilisi State University

2. Annals of Agrarian Science, Agricultural University

SciVal Reviewer Finder – enabling SRNSF to find experts referring to their science

productivity, directions, abstracts and key words.

• Annual STI Forums

• ELS Info Days

• Trainings and

Workshops

• Capacity Building

“Joint Research and Education Programme”, partner Forschungszentrum Jülich(Germany) thematic priorities: Mathematics; Information Technologies; Natural Sciences; Engineering Sciences; Life Science and Health.

MA and PhD Students’ Fellowships (since 2012)

SMART EDM Lab at Tbilisi State University (from 2016)

New Partners (from 2016)

DAAD – Joint Fellowships for PhD Students and Post-Docs

Volksvagen Foundation – Joint PhD Programmes

Georgian – German Cooperation (since 2012)

1. Juelich – SRNSF joint PhD Fellowships

• 3 years

• SRNSF ann. Budget 24 000 EUR (8 000 EUR per F. 3)

2. Juelich – SRNSF joint MA Fellowships

• 1-2 years

• SRNSF ann. Budget 24 000 EUR (8 000 EUR per F. 3)

3. DAAD – SRNSF joint PhD and PostDocFellowships (3-6 months)

• Announcement timeline – December / January

• SRNSF ann. Budget 164 000 EUR (30 F)

4. VW – SRNSF joint PhD Programmes

• Announcement envisaged in Dec / Jan

• Results will be available in 2017

• SRNSF Budget 145 000 GEL per prog.

5. Jülich – TSU SMART EDM Lab

• Targeted programme

• Will be founded at Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University

• Participation of MA and PhD students from other Public Universities –consortia members is possible

• Agreement is signed on August 29, 2016

• SRNSF will start funding from January 2017

• Budget 500 000 EUR

Georgian – German Cooperation

New Opportunities and Challenges

• April 29, 2016 Georgia signed

Horizon 2020 Association Partnership!

• Regional STI Evaluation Platform

• Increased bilateral and multilateral cooperation

•Sharing Experience in Science Management

H2020 Association (PMPRD Statement)

• A major political initiative that should impact the whole STI system. However, the

necessary mobilization still not observed

• Need to develop a Plan of Action (to provide information; to support co-

funding/rewarding; to prepare participation in H2020 Governance; to set-up a Liaison

Office in Brussels; etc.)

• Need to strengthen the NCP system (role; train; remunerate; MoES/steering and

SRNSF/ ‘do the job’!)

• Participate actively in COST and Support Actions 25

It is extremely urgent!

New Opportunities and Challenges

Key messagesThe Association of Georgia to H2020 constitutes an

opportunity for improving the STI system

But it is also a challenge: a systematic multi-level effort is necessary in order to obtain the benefits from the Association

26

H2020 Association Opportunities and Challenges

SRNSF vision and plans:

New Programme for preparatory activities to foster H2020 project writing and networking

Supporting Georgian researchers’ participation in Brokerage Events, Twinning Programmes (TG, IG,

CG, SS, Multilateral projects)

Strengthening cooperation with Diaspora (DI)

SRNSF updated agenda: vision and work plan

Compliance of SRNSF action plan to EU Association Agreement agenda and European Research and Innovation Framework Programme HORIZON2020 (thematic priorities, application/evaluation /monitoring forms).

Creating special tools for effective evaluation and management of STI system:

- Grants Management Unified System (GMUS)

- Georgian Experts National Data Base (GENS)

- Georgian Research Portal

Mapping of Scientific infrastructure in Georgia: identification of excellent clusters andsupporting their development and integration in international research area / networks

Evaluation and Revision of National Programmes: focusing on international cooperation, capacity building, and young scientists development.

Funding best / excellent scientific projects, increasing grant scales and terms, supporting long-term international collaboration, promoting interdisciplinary approach.

Compliance of the SRNSF STI development strategy with the priorities of Georgian Governmental strategic document ‘Georgia 2020’ and active cooperation with other stakeholders: Research & Innovation Council (RIC), GITA, SAKPATENTI

Thank you for your attention

www.rustaveli.org.gemikaberidze@rustaveli.org.ge

keburia@rustaveli.org.ge