The government has determined how the competition for the selection of scientific and scientific and technical works, which are carried out with the funds of the state budget, should take place. The relevant Procedure was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers during the meeting on September 12, 2018.

The adopted document is a framework and establishes general rules for the first time, according to which all managers of budgetary funds for science must conduct competitions for the selection of works. There are also specific cases when holding a competition is mandatory.

"Last year, there were 23 main managers of budget funds in Ukraine, which financed scientific research and development from the state budget. And each of them determined their own rules for conducting competitions in order to select those works that were then financed at the expense of the state. Now the Government has adopted a document that established unified requirements for conducting such competitions for all managers. Based on them, they will be able to establish their own conditions for conducting competitions, but following the same rules. This will ensure greater transparency of competitions and guarantee equal conditions for all participants," explained Minister of Education and Science Liliya Hrynevych.

In particular, the Procedure clearly defines that the organizer of the competition must take into account the legally established priorities of the development of science and technology, priorities in the field of international scientific and technical cooperation during the definition of the topic. Directly during the competition, the organizer must ensure the avoidance of conflicts of interest between participants and members of the competition commissions, must publish on its website the conditions and general budget of the competition, requirements for participants, as well as the results.

Thus, for conducting the competition, a corresponding commission is formed, in which the number of employees of the institution conducting the competition should not exceed half.

The competition must include 8 stages:

- Making a decision to hold a competition;

– Publication of the announcement;

- Acceptance of documents from participants;

– Preliminary examination of the submitted documents for compliance with the requirements established by the terms of the competition;

– Carrying out scientific and scientific and technical examination of applications;

- Forming by the tender commission, taking into account the results of the examination of applications for proposals regarding the list of works planned to be carried out at the expense of the state budget and their executors;

– Making a decision about the results by the organizer;

- Publication of results.

Liliya Hrynevych noted that the approved document introduces another important change. Prior to the adoption of the Procedure, the main administrators of budget funds for science, after conducting competitions and determining the winners, had to carry out public procurement procedures that are absurd from the point of view of world practice. From now on, it will not be necessary to conduct tender purchases to finance the works of the winners, which were selected by competition in accordance with the approved Procedure. This will simplify and speed up the procedure of providing funds to scientists.