The research sector in Ukraine is struggling – can Europe help?

Unprecedented unrest in the Russian invasion, the European Union has reduced its presence in the Ukrainian research sector, and the creation of financing channels and offices in Kiev. Scientists hope that these moves will lead to leading reforms in the research financing system in Ukraine and breathing a new life in the struggling innovation sector.

Since a The Horizon Eurobe office was opened in Kyiv in late 2023Some criteria began to shift, but the pace is slow due to the ongoing war. In 2024, for the first time, grant requests at the Ministry of Education and Science in Ukraine took into account European values ​​such as gender balance, open science and the impact of results on society, says Jana Tolstova, the council deputy in research at Taras Shevchenko National University in Kiev. If these developments gain momentum, it may be a new era of Ukrainian research on the horizon.

The support of the European Union for Ukrainian Research includes three initiatives, which were launched in December 2023: a office based in Kyiv in Horizon Europe, the European Union research and innovation program (R& I); Commitment to granting financing at least 200 Ukrainian “Information Technology” companies; and Technology and Innovation Center in Kyiv. The Hub is one of the 16 of these initiatives that were opened across the center, east and southern Europe to enhance links between local companies and education authorities and researchers.

In addition to approximately 59 million euros ($ 62 million) in the financing that Ukrainian research has received so far through Horizon Eurobe, the European Union says it intends to increase its presence in the country to pay widespread cultural changes in the research sector. “The successful integration of Ukraine in the ecosystem for research and development in the European Union will require large -scale policy reforms,” The European Union Council was announced in 2023.

For Tolstanova, Ukraine’s opportunity to simulate transparency and relative efficiency of the European Union’s research financing system will be a change in games. The Ministry of Education and Ukraine Science has announced plans for a comprehensive review of the country’s research infrastructure, including checking all research institutions to determine the current situation of their research practices.

These audits have not started yet, and no wider decline, due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. As of late 2023, nearly 20 % of Ukraine scientists left the country¹. The power outage occurs for several hours every day – often without warning – and the destruction of at least 35 % of the search infrastructure or its destruction. According to Peter Berkekik, who runs the physics department of stars and galaxies at the main astronomical observatory at the National Academy of Ukraine Sciences (NASU) in Kiev, the entire air system was destroyed at the Radio Astronomy Institute in the second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, during the Russian profession in 2022.

BERCZIK says Horizon Europe is more than a box; Its support can help stimulate Ukrainian research and development by enhancing competitiveness and fairness in how to customize grants. But this will not be a small achievement. Berczik says that the Ukrainians themselves will have to decipher the aging roots in the search system to make a permanent difference. “Horizon Europe can be a first step, but it will not solve our problems. This is deep and returns to more than 30 years.”

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Berczik, NASU, is above all in the minds of Ukrainian researchers who want to see changes in allocating financing. As the first National Research Organization in Ukraine, NSU is the goal of many criticisms, and some scientists see it as old and ineffective.

NASU lacks transparency in how to process grant grants applications, and the information is sometimes withheld from researchers who may want to apply, a world of asking not to disclose his identity. He told Nature Index. They say the problem is that the financing decisions are taken by the managers of the individual NASU centers, without involving the wider administrations. The world says that information on competition financing often takes a long time to reach the departments, so it is often not time to submit the application. They notice that some people who have major roles in allocating financing and managing grant requests have left Ukraine.

BERCZIK also feels anxious what it sees as uncompromising and objective in NASU financing decisions, and a stubborn culture of closed networks that make it difficult for young researchers to advance. NASU did not respond to Index Nature’s requests to comment.

Low salaries for researchers make the financing issue particularly controversial. NASU data shows that the total monthly salaries for doctoral employees in NSU institutions reach about 460 euros, before tax discounts and pensions. Researchers have to save their own money to cover publishing costs in higher research magazines. According to BERCZIK, some of these publications receive about 2500 pounds ($ 3100) per sheet. Financing for scientists who win foreign grants from bilateral projects with European Union countries, such as Poland, Lithuania and Austria, mainly pays the research conducted in the collaborative country. Moreover, funding excludes accommodation, equipment and food.

Some Ukrainian research organizations improve the competitiveness of the grant application, according to Tolstova. She says the National Research Corporation in Ukraine (NRF) in Kiev, a state budget institution established in 2018, is a good example of this. However, the bureaucracy in Ukraine can be repressive, as Tolstova adds, which means that any improvements will take time. “There are a lot of papers and restrictions.”

For example, researchers in Ukraine must justify each unit of the chemical detector or other consumables in NRF research grant agreements, says Tolstova. Any subsequent requirements lead to additional individual requests, which creates more administrative burdens. On the contrary, Tolstanova is cited the typical research operations for research in European Union universities, which require the main researcher to calculate costs across broad categories, such as equipment, travel expenses and events organizing.

However, the accuracy of the operation under the supervision of the main researchers in NRF increases the accountability of the research, says Tolstova. “I am sure that every piaster of NRF financing that has been spent on science is spent on the intended purpose, and that pricing is justified.” One of NRF’s current system is that government officials – instead of senior academics, as in NASU – evaluate proposals and awarding awards. This brings more objectivity to this process, says Tolstova.