PARENT-BRIDGE Programme
Grants for parents enabling them to return to research work and supporting pregnant women conducting research
In fields of research within the Bio, Info, Techno categories, the BRIDGE Programme is co-financed from EU structural funds under Action 1.2 ‘Strengthening the human resources potential of science' of the Innovative Economy Operational Programme 2007–2013. Projects that do not fit within these categories will be financed from the Foundation’s own funds.
The objective of the programme is to enable the best researchers who are raising young children to return to advanced research work and to enable pregnant women to conduct research projects financed from external sources.
The programme provides for two types of support:
1) RETURN GRANT – financing of projects carried out by researchers of either sex raising young children
The return grant is directed to researchers who hold at least a doctorate and work in a Polish research unit or have obtained a promise of employment for at least the duration of the project.
Applications may be filed by women with a child up to age 4 (or age 7 in the case of adoption or multiple birth) as well as by men who have taken leave or interrupted their work in connection with having such a child for an uninterrupted period of at least 6 months, under the condition that the return to research work after such leave (or interruption) occurred prior to the application deadline but no earlier than 12 months before the application deadline.
Financing includes:
- a research grant in an amount of PLN 140,000 per year (for such items as the salary of the project director, research costs, apparatus, research materials, and international exchange costs);
- stipends for up to three researchers supervised by the project director (students or PhD students) selected by competition. Their stipends are PLN 1,000 or PLN 3,000 respectively.
Application deadlines in 2010: 9 April (deadline is extended till 23rd of April) and 15 October
2) SUPPORT FOR WOMEN conducting research projects during pregnancy, where the nature of the work could affect their pregnancy
This form of support is addressed to women who hold at least a master’s degree, are taking part in research projects financed from external sources of the employing institution (e.g. thesis adviser grants, projects of other researchers, their own research projects, and the like), and are working under health-sensitive conditions (e.g. contact with radiation or chemicals, operating dangerous equipment, frequent travel, and the like).
Financing of support for pregnant women covers primarily costs of hiring (or delegation) of a researcher to take the place of the pregnant woman for tasks necessary to carry out the research project which she is unable to perform herself.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis beginning 9 February 2010.
Applications for both competitions (the return grant or support for pregnant women) are to be filed using the online application form. After the online form is completed, it should be printed out and signed (signatures of the candidate and the director of the unit are required). Then the completed and signed form with required enclosures should be sent or delivered to the Foundation’s office: Foundation for Polish Science, ul. Grażyny 11, 02-548 Warsaw.
More information:
PhD Monika Biłas-Henne
tel. 604 128 095
e-mail: monika.bilas@fnp.org.pl (applications in fields of research within Bio, Info, Techno) and
Piotr Laskowski
tel. (4822) 845 95 10
e-mail: piotr.laskowski@fnp.org.pl