Personnel revolution at NCBR and the Łukasiewicz Network. The government is “cleaning up”, the opposition is protesting

Changes in the procedure for appointing and qualifying management staff, including: NCBR, the Łukasiewicz Network and research institutes are included in the amendment to five acts passed by the Sejm on Friday.

234 MPs voted for the adoption of the government amendment to the Act on the National Center for Research and Development and certain other acts, 202 were against and no one abstained.

The PiS motion to reject the bill in its entirety was lost in the vote.

The amendment introduces changes in the procedure for appointing the bodies of the NCBR, NAWA Łukasiewicz Research Network and research institutes. These changes include, among others: the composition of the management bodies of these entities.

The minister takes over the reins at NCBR

The act will give the Ministry of Science and Higher Education greater influence over the composition of the NCBR management and council. The amendment assumes that the director and deputy directors of NCBR will be appointed and dismissed by the minister. Currently, deputy directors are appointed and dismissed by the director of NCBR. The maximum number of NCBR deputy directors is to increase from two to three.

The method of selecting members of the NCBR Council is also changing. The minister is to be able to directly elect half of the council members from among people representing the scientific, economic and financial communities. Additionally, if the candidates for council members proposed by the community do not meet the statutory conditions, the minister may replace them with his own candidates. The regulations also assume that the minister will change the composition of the NCBR Council within 2 months of the entry into force of the act.

The return of doctorates and the requirement for vetting

The Act also establishes a lustration requirement as a criterion for access to the position of director of a research institute. From the date of entry into force of the Act, current directors of institutes will have 14 days to submit a vetting declaration.

The project also gives NCBR the opportunity to conduct the competition procedure, call for applications and evaluate them in English.

The Act on Research Institutes restores the requirement for directors to hold at least a doctoral degree. Directors are also obliged to submit a lustration declaration within 14 days of the entry into force of the Act.

Minimum requirements for deputy directors of research institutes have also been introduced.

The amendment also provides for the possibility for the supervising minister to grant a specific subsidy to co-finance the current operating costs of the institute, especially for new institutes (operating for no longer than 3 years, for a period of up to 5 years) and for others in a difficult financial situation (for a period of up to 3 years, based on a recovery plan).

The Act also provides that the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of National Defense may impose additional tasks on the research institute in the field of government administration or for state defense purposes. In the latter case, these may also be tasks that are not listed in the institute's statute.

Changes in NAWA, the Łukasiewicz Network and Zakłady Kórnickie

The amendment also provides that the NAWA director will be appointed and dismissed by the Minister of Science, and not, as before, by the Prime Minister at the request of the minister.

The Act on the Łukasiewicz Research Network introduces a ban on competitive activities for the president, vice-presidents and directors of the network's institutes.

The act also gives the government greater opportunities to control the Zakłady Kórnickie Foundation. New provisions regarding the composition of the Board of Curators give government representatives (the ministries of science, agriculture and assets and the voivode of Greater Poland) a majority of votes.

The act is to enter into force 14 days from the date of announcement.

Opposition: “Jump for positions”, Coalition: “Reaction to irregularities”

During the parliamentary discussion, MP Zbigniew Dolata (PiS) said that instead of increased funding for science there is a “jump for positions”. He assessed the new regulations regarding the Kórnik Plant as a “violation of the will of Count Władysław Zamoyski.” The MP submitted a motion to reject the bill in its entirety.

Adrian Witczak (KO) argued that from the point of view of controlling public funds, whoever is responsible for the institution should be able to appoint management and respond to irregularities. And Kinga Gajewska (KO) stated that these laws are a response to a number of shocking situations, including: in the work of NCBR when PiS was in government.

Marcelina Zawisza (Razem) assessed that the proposed regulations do not lead to transparency and the elimination of negative phenomena, but to “manual control by the minister” of institutions.

The bill will now be considered by the Senate. (PAP)

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