Between historical heritage and policy learning: the reform of public research funding systems in Poland, 1989–2007

This paper provides an account of the reform of the public research funding system in Poland between 1989 and 2007, a period which includes the dramatic change after the breakdown of the Communist regime with the creation of a completely new system of research funding, yet still characterized by strong centralization; a lock-in phase until 2000 where only minimal changes happened; and a new reform period afterwards leading to a more decentralized and layered structure with a better separation between research policy and research funding. Our analysis displays strong elements on continuity and path dependency in this evolution, but at the same time the lasting influence of the western European model of research policy in the long run (especially after Poland joined the European Union); moreover, it shows how deeply reform in research funding has been embedded in the national context and in the whole process of reform of political institutions in the country. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.