Funding for Institutions in Europe to Host Scientists Displaced by War in Ukraine

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) is an independent, non-profit association that represents academic organisations in Europe and works to improve conditions for research and collaboration and promote science for the greater good.

With funding support of US$1.5 million from the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, ALLEA has established the European Fund for Displaced Scientists (EFDS) to support researchers and institutions that have been affected by the war in Ukraine.

The EFDS has two funding lines:

• EFDS Funding Line 1 – funding for academic institutions in a Council of Europe Member State to host scholars who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine.
• EFDS Funding Line 2 – funding to enable affected Ukrainian universities, academies, and research institutes to maintain their operations and rebuild their scientific facilities and research collaborations. Funding will also support the reintegration process of researchers after their return to a post-war Ukraine.

The first application round for EFDS Funding Line 1 is currently open. Funding is intended to enable host institutions to provide immediate assistance to scholars and integrate them into existing or new research projects and departments and provide the required infrastructure for them continue their research work in a safe environment.

Application is open to academic institutions, including universities, academies, and other research-performing organisations that are based in a Council of Europe Member State and are seeking to act as a host institution for a researcher who has been displaced by the war in Ukraine. Institutions dedicated to military research are excluded from applying.

Eligible beneficiaries include scholars of any nationality and scientific discipline who have left or are seeking to leave Ukraine as a consequence of the war. Eligible beneficiaries include postdoctoral and senior researchers, as well as assistant, associate or full professors affiliated with Ukrainian academic and/or research-performing institutions.

There is no limit to the number of beneficiaries that the host institution may apply for. The host institution must submit one application per beneficiary. Proof of affiliation of the beneficiary with a Ukrainian institution must be provided as part of the application.

The maximum award per beneficiary is €25,000 to fund a stipend over 12 months. The exact value of the award will depend on the beneficiary’s academic position and the regulations of the hosting institution.

Applications for the first Funding Line 1 application round should be submitted by the deadline on 1 July 2022.