The workshop report “IGLO in Action: Workshop and Survey on Simplification — Summary Report”
On the 10th of October 2025, the report “IGLO in Action: Workshop and Survey on Simplification – Summary Report” was published, summarising the workshop in Brussels, which took place on the 4th and 5th of June 2025, and the accompanying survey.
The new report presents key findings and recommendations for simplifying the rules and procedures of the Horizon Europe program, based on the collective expertise of research managers and administrators from across Europe. Sixty-three participants from 14 countries took part in the survey. The workshop was attended by 22 research managers from public universities and research institutions in 12 European countries, as well as representatives of the European Commission, the Research Executive Agency, and the ERC Executive Agency.
The new report presents the main findings and recommendations for simplifying the rules and procedures of the Horizon Europe program, based on the collective expertise of research managers and administrators from across Europe. Sixty-three participants from 14 countries participated in the survey. The workshop was attended by 22 research managers from public universities and research institutions in 12 European countries, as well as representatives of the European Commission, the Research Executive Agency, and the ERC Executive Agency.
During the workshop in Brussels (4th and 5th of June 2025), participants discussed essential aspects of simplifying the rules and procedures of Horizon Europe, covering a wide range of topics: from lump sums and other simplified cost options, through the interpretation of rules and guidelines, the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, project proposal templates, time to award grants, to reporting, reimbursement of actual costs, financial audits, and the involvement of third parties.
Key recommendations include:
1) Staffing and cost simplifications
• settlement of personnel costs based on actual costs
• simplification of working time records
2) Eligibility rules and technical costs
• Reimbursement of repair and maintenance costs
• Reporting of total depreciation costs only once during the project
3) Contracting and contract amendments
• Simplification of the contract amendment process
- Streamlining the process for making minor changes
4) Reporting
• streamlining of reporting
• extension of the reporting deadline
5) Audits and compliance
• recognition of national audits
• appropriate selection of auditors with a recommendation of knowledge of national law
• raising the threshold for mandatory use of CFS
6) IT tools and document standardization
• automatic transfer of data from an approved application to the SyGMa platform
• introduction of templates for non-scientific parts of project applications
7) Support and communication with the grant provider
• launch of a telephone hotline
The report emphasises the importance of clarity, credibility, and stability of funding rules, as well as the need for early and continuous involvement of practitioners in the development of new measures.
The report can be downloaded at: HERE
IGLO is an informal network of Brussels-based, non-profit R&D liaison offices whose objective is to facilitate and streamline interaction, information exchange, and cooperation between IGLO members, their national research systems, and EU institutions in the area of framework programs.
The PolSCA office is the only Polish representative actively involved in IGLO, representing the interests of Polish institutions, sharing implementation practices, and initiating the exchange of experiences.
One of the results of our activities was the co-financing of the participation of Joanna Kartasiewicz (ICTER – Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences) and Anna Demner (University of Warsaw) in the “Simplification” workshop.
• Valorisation of knowledge (January 2025) KoWi published a summary and a short report on the event.
• Lump sums (October 2023) — “IGLO in Action: Second IGLO Workshop on Lump Sum Funding — Summary Report.”
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Polish Scientists and Scholars in Europe – Legacy and the Present
October 17, 2025 09:30 – 17:00
Polish Academy of Sciences – Scientific Station in Paris, together with the foreign stations of the PAS in Brussels, Rome, Berlin, Vienna and Kyiv, invites to a unique event dedicated to Polish scholars whose achievements shaped and still influence the development of European science.
The meeting will combine reflection on inspiring figures of the past with a conversation about the challenges of contemporary researchers. The exhibition accompanying the event – prepared on the occasion of the Polish Presidency in the Council of the EU – will present the profiles of outstanding scholars and their successors, emphasizing the links of Polish science with the priorities of European research and development policies, including the Horizon Europe program.
The premiere of the exhibition took place during the conference “Transnational Science Cooperation: Fostering Collaborative Research in Europe and Poland,” organized by NAWA on 23–24 June 2025 in Brussels. See the coverage of the exhibition’s inauguration in Brussels here.
The event will be attended by distinguished representatives of the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, whose profiles were presented in the exhibition, including:
- Prof. Maciej Górny, Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, PAS
- Prof. Monika Kusiak, Institute of Geophysics, PAS
- Prof. Janusz Lewiński, Institute of Physical Chemistry, PAS
- Prof. Paweł Olko, Institute of Nuclear Physics, PAS
More details about the event are available on the website of the PAS Scientific Station in Paris here.
Horizon Europe Navigators MeetUp: Granty na Eurogranty w PARP – part II
October 16, 2025 10:00 – 11:30
Continuing the June meeting within the Horizon Europe Navigators network, we invite you to the second edition of the webinar dedicated to national support mechanisms for participation in European programmes.
This time we will focus on the practical use of the instrument “Grants for Eurogrants”, offered by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development under action FENG.02.12. Participants will learn, among other things, what the eligibility conditions are, how to effectively prepare an application, and will receive practical tips for the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences preparing to participate in Horizon Europe calls.
The workshops are organized within the Horizon Europe Navigators network – an initiative of the PolSCA Office, launched in 2021 in synergy with the PASIFIC programme. The network brings together research managers from 62 institutes and several auxiliary units of the Polish Academy of Sciences, supporting the exchange of good practices and the development of competencies related to the Horizon Europe programme. Regular meetings and trainings within HE Navigators foster stronger participation of PAS institutes in European projects.
The programme will also include an interactive Q&A session and an exchange of experiences among PAS institutes.
Round Table: projects’ regulatory and administrative perspective!
On 9 October, the Warsaw School of Economics hosted a Round Table Discussion on Research Projects: Regulatory and Administrative Perspectives. It was the first meeting of its kind among experts on research projects carried out in Polish institutions.
The round table design meeting (OSP) brought together experts who, on a daily basis, connect different worlds: science with administration, researchers’ ambitions with institutional requirements, European standards with national practice. On one side of the table were representatives of research funding agencies and ministries, on the other – research managers and administrators (RMAs) from universities and research institutions, and between them – designers of IT infrastructure intended to streamline everyday grant management.
The meeting saw active participation from representatives of institutions financing and programming scientific research: NCN, NCBR, NAWA, FRSE, ABM, FNP and MNiSW, representatives of universities and research institutions (KRASP, PAN) and the RMA community – FAA, PolARMA, PolSCA. Representatives of OPI (e-Grants) were guests from the technology sector.
The OSP was established as a platform to connect stakeholders in the grant process at every stage: from conception and application to implementation and settlement. It is a declaration of a shift away from ad hoc ‘firefighting’ in favour of ongoing dialogue and a roadmap for simplification. In the background, a simple but important thesis resonated: the development of universities today means the development of projects, and without professional administrative support and wise, consistent rules, we will not be able to build lasting quality.
Areas identified as requiring cooperation:
RMA as the missing pillar. The role of RMA was a recurring theme in the participants’ statements: a recognised profession in Europe, but still undefined in Poland, despite its key importance.
E-Grants platform – a common language for the system. This is an OPI project that aims to bring together the entire project lifecycle in a single environment.
Wise standardisation, i.e. the need for wise harmonisation of what is common and repetitive in the offerings of Polish research funding institutions.
Information and competence, i.e. comprehensive training and clear competition announcements.
At times, the discussion was very practical, almost workshop-like. However, it was agreed that this was not a one-off event, but a format for ongoing sectoral consultations.
PolSCA Masterclass. Research project management using the PM2 methodology.
October 7, 2025 14:00 – October 8, 2025 17:00
PolSCA Office is opening October with the Project Management Masterclass workshops, dedicated to managing research projects according to the PM² standard. The two-day workshops aim to familiarize participants with tools and techniques that facilitate effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of projects funded by European resources.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the project life cycle, team roles and structures, risk and change management, as well as communicating results in line with the requirements of the European Commission. The sessions will be conducted in the form of practical workshops, also including case study analysis.
The workshops will be led by Dr. Justyna Małkuch-Świtalska – researcher developer, project manager and leader, certified coach and mediator. She specializes in designing and evaluating international training programs for researchers and research managers, as well as in the analysis of researchers’ competencies.
More about Trainer: see here
The event will be an opportunity not only to gain practical skills related to managing research projects in the PM² standard, but also to exchange experiences between research managers and scientists.
The workshops are organized within the framework of the Horizon Europe Navigators network – an initiative of the PolSCA Office, launched in 2021 in synergy with the PASIFIC program. The network brings together research managers from 62 institutes and several auxiliary units of the Polish Academy of Sciences, supporting the exchange of good practices and the development of competencies related to the Horizon Europe program. Regular meetings and trainings within HE Navigators foster the increased participation of PAS institutes in European projects.
The event is organized in cooperation with the Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.
Here you can find the summary of event
“Standing on the Shoulders of Giants” in Paris – Polish Science in the European Context
After a successful inauguration in Brussels, the exhibition “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Polish Scientists and Scholars in Europe: Legacy and the Present” continues its European journey. Its next stop is the Polish Academy of Sciences Scientific Centre in Paris, where on 17 October 2025 a special event will take place, dedicated to the legacy and contemporary achievements of Polish science in Europe.
The meeting is organised by the PAS Scientific Centre in Paris, in cooperation with the foreign stations of the Polish Academy of Sciences, including the PolSCA Office in Brussels, the Centre for Historical Research in Berlin, and the PAS Scientific Centres in Rome, Vienna and Kyiv.
The programme will feature popular science presentations, a panel discussion, and networking opportunities aimed at fostering dialogue and reflection on the role of Polish science in the European research landscape. Among the speakers will be outstanding researchers from PAS institutes, also featured in the exhibition, including Prof. Monika Kusiak, Prof. Janusz Lewiński, Prof. Paweł Olko, Prof. Andrzej Gamian, and Prof. Maciej Górny. The exhibition highlights the intergenerational dialogue between eminent figures of Polish science — such as Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Jan Czochralski, and Ludwik Hirszfeld — and their modern successors, who continue their work and ideas in new fields of research.
The exhibition was jointly developed by six foreign PAS stations. It was initiated by Dr Tomasz Poprawka, Director of the PolSCA Office in Brussels, and Prof. Igor Kąkolewski, Director of the PAS Centre for Historical Research in Berlin. The project was first presented in June 2025 in Brussels, during the conference Transnational Science Cooperation: Fostering Collaborative Research in Europe and Poland.
The exhibition will be open to visitors from 1 to 28 October 2025 at the PAS Scientific Centre in Paris, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
We warmly invite you to join the event inaugurating the Paris edition of the exhibition. It will be a unique opportunity to meet leading Polish scientists, listen to their insights, and discuss the place of Polish science within Europe’s academic landscape. Registration form accessible here.
ERC Workshop at the CMB Conference in Rome – 19 September 2025.
How to demystify ERC in 150 minutes? At the 1st Polish-Italian Conference on Chemistry, Materials & Biomedicine (CMB) in Rome, Expert from the PolSCA Office ran an interactive workshop, “Demystifying the ERC: Strategy & Success” It was concise, hands-on and lively – just the way we like to work with researchers.
(wiecej…)Horizon Europe Navigators MeetUp: Project Management with focus on PM2
September 2, 2025 10:00 – 11:30
An upcoming meeting of the network of research managers and administrators across institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, known as the Horizon Europe Navigators, will try to answer questions such as: How to effectively plan, conduct and monitor research projects in a European environment? What management approach should be chosen for projects of varying scale and complexity? In particular, we will look at the PM2 methodology – created and developed by the European Commission and widely used in projects funded by EU research programmes.
The programme includes:
- Project management – from theory to practice through excellence;
- PM2 – presentation of the tool and its applications in the context of HE;
- Q&A and exchange of experiences with participants.
The event will be hosted by Dr Justyna Małkuch-Świtalska, an expert in project management and academic career development, author of the book ‘Scientific Projects. Management in Practice’, trainer and coordinator of national and international projects. Our guest will be Nicos Kourounakis, EU Project Management Consultant and PM2 Expert.
Match-making EVENT: MEDIA, MIGRATION, EDUCATION!
An event promoting cooperation within Cluster 2 HE for the years 2026-2027!
The PolSCA office, in cooperation with the IGLO liaison offices in Brussels representing a total of 12 Member States: Austria, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Spain, with the participation of representatives from Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, is organising a matchmaking event for those interested in the upcoming calls for proposals to be published under the 2026-2027 Work Programme – Cluster 2. The event will take place in person in Brussels on 20 November 2025 and will focus on topics related to media, migration and education.
The organizers have selected 12 topics, based on draft of the Work Programme 2025 available in EC Comitology register. When registering to the matchmaking event provide a specific role/expertise that you want to bring to the consortium and/or you seek in partners. Refer to the wording of the scope of the topic.
The person attending the match-making event should be able to engage in technical discussions on the presented project ideas or expertise contributed to the consortium.
AGENDA (tbc) – HERE
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: An Exhibition of Polish Scientific Legacy opens up in Brussels
Six foreign stations of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAS) jointly conceived and developed the exhibition titled ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Polish Scientist and Scholars in Europe – legacy and present day’ — a visual and intellectual journey through the legacy of Polish science, and its living connections to the challenges and priorities of Europe today. The exhibition was inaugurated in Brussels on 23rd June 2025 and it will soon embark on the passage via selected European capitals.
EXHIBITION CELEBRATING THE CONTINUITY OF POLISH SCIENCE IN A EUROPEAN CONTEXT
The idea for the exhibition arose from the need to jointly showcase the achievements of Polish scientists in a European context, with particular emphasis on Poland’s historical heritage and its contemporary presence in the European research area. It aims not only at presenting the profiles of outstanding scientists, but also at showing their contemporary successors and linking their work to the priorities of European Union R&I policies, including the Horizon Europe programme.
Drawing on the metaphor made famous in the Middle Ages — standing on the shoulders of giants — the exhibition invites us to reflect on how today’s discoveries are anchored in the foundations laid by pioneering figures of the past. It is through the lens of historical and cultural continuity that we connect the early visions of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, Jan Czochralski, or Zofia Kielan-Jaworowska with the groundbreaking work of their modern successors.
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