The WIB Virtual Research Institute represents an innovative formula for conducting research at a national level with a strong potential commercialisation.

The Polish government has allocated PLN 450 million from the Polish Science Fund for the first WIB Programme supporting scientific research and development in the field of medical biotechnology. Up to 10 research teams will be established within 10 years from the launching of the Programme in 2020.

The first research team funded within the WIB programme began in February 2022 has received almost PLN 70 million for research focussing on the development of high-efficacy therapeutic mRNA technology and its use in cancer immunotherapy.  

The WIB Programme will finance successful teams under the guidance of the leaders with recognized scientific achievements to undertake research projects selected competitively for their potential to  develop new Intellectual Property (IP) outcomes  (such as new products and technologies) which can be commercialised successfully.

The WIB Programme is supported by a group of international experts who are outstanding specialists from the world of science and business and occupy key positions in outstanding global research units and business organizations.  The current list of experts is here (link).

The most important information for specialists from science and business who would like to join the panel of experts of the WIB Programme are outlined below:

WIB Programme Experts play a key role in the evaluation of submitted applications for funding research teams and their involvement can be defined on three levels:

1. Substantive evaluation of Applications for funding a Research Team:

After the validity of an application has been formally confirmed for eligibility by  the WIB Managing Entity, selected Experts will be contacted  to make a substantive evaluation of the application. The selection of Experts will depend upon their scientific and/or business specialization.  

In the first place the absence of a conflict of interest of the Expert in connection with the planned evaluation is confirmed.  Substantive evaluation is carried out in accordance with approved Evaluation Criteria, available as part of the competition documentation (link).

The substantive evaluation process will consist of two stages:

• evaluation on the basis of application documents;
• evaluation based on presentations and Q&A sessions during the Expert Panel in which at least five Experts involved in the first stage of evaluation will take part.

As part of the first stage, a group of Experts (3 with scientific and 4 with commercialisation expertise for each application) will work remotely using a dedicated tool. Experts will formulate their reviews and allocate points within each criterion and the final evaluation will be the arithmetic mean of the sum of points awarded individually by each Expert. A positive result  determines progress of the application to the second stage.

The second stage of the evaluation (Expert Panel) is a direct meeting of the research team with a group of experts. Meetings are mainly held remotely. As part of the meeting, the Research Team has the opportunity to refer to:

• the Experts’ comments formulated at the first stage of the evaluation,
• and to provide answers to additional questions and doubts of experts formulated during the Panel.

This stage ends with individual assessments prepared by each Expert participating in the meeting.  

A positive result of this evaluation process is a condition for recommendation for funding.

2. Evaluation of completed and continuing research tasks

 The implementation of research tasks financed under the WIB Programme is subject to annual evaluation which primarily focuses on the substantive evaluation of the effect achieved in the past period. Based on strictly defined evaluation criteria, the research task is subject to evaluation in the following areas:

• implementation of research objectives;
• the timeliness of the research problem in the light of the changing socio-economic environment;
• the potential of the research team to continue scientific activity at the world-class level;
• the impact of the results of the research team’s work on the creation of other scientific results in the field of medical biotechnology;
• the possibilities of applying the results of the work in practice and the scope of their current application;
• the scope of scientific activities necessary after the completion of the research team to commercialize;
• potential benefits and proceeds of funds from commercialization.

The result of the scientific evaluation affects the decision of the Managing Entity to continue the implementation or suspension of financing of the research task.

Currently, the research project funded within the  WIB programme began in February 2022. This team received almost PLN 70 million for research focussing on the development of high-efficacy therapeutic mRNA technology and its use in cancer immunotherapy.  
Learn more – link to the granted research team.

3. Consultation and support of the WIB Managing Entity in the implementation of the Programme and commercialization of the results

 The WIB Managing Entity may commission selected Experts to perform:

• additional necessary evaluations in relation to the implemented research tasks;
• analyses of developing trends in the global market in medical biotechnology.

Co-operation with Experts will be defined by  business contracts which set out its scope. Remuneration will be related to performance of specific services at the request of the WIB Managing Entity.  Remuneration rates for individual areas of cooperation are available in the documentation attached to the announcement of the call for experts.

Experts are obliged to confirm:

• the absence of a conflict of interest in the context of the evaluated applications and
• are obliged to be impartial during their assessments, as well as to maintain confidentiality in relation to the scope of their tasks.