EIG CONCERT-Japan is delighted to announce that the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF) has officially joined the EIG on January 12th, 2018.

By signing the Memorandum of Cooperation, Executive Manager Prof. Veslin Brezin and Chairman of the Executive Board Prof. Nikolai Lazarov allow their institution to take part in the activities of the organising body of EIG CONERT-Japan.

The Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF) was established according to the Law on Encouraging the Scientific Research, adopted in 2003 and started operating in 2008. As a national funding agency BNSF aims to support projects and activities that promote research, consistent with the national strategic documents, national policies and national priorities, as well as with priorities of the European Union and with the Strategy for the Development of Science in Bulgaria by 2020.
BNSF is the major national structure for budgeting research in scientific institutions and universities based on open-call competitions and programs. The Executive Council (EC) of the BNSF is the decision-making body, whereas the implementation and coordination activities are the responsibility of its official representative, the Chief Executive (CE). The EC is appointed by the Minister of Education and Science in Bulgaria to a two-year term. Each year BNSF defines its on-going actions in the Annual Activity Program to:

• support research in thematic scientific areas
• support and promote research in universities and research institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Science and the Agricultural Academy
• provide financial support for young researchers
• offer financial assistance to the organizers of international scientific events in Bulgaria such as congresses, conferences and seminars
• promote Bulgarian scientific journals
• support development of scientific infrastructure in Bulgaria
• encourage the interaction of national science with the international scientific community and promote participation of Bulgarian scientists in international and transnational initiatives and programs
• coordinate bilateral programs with the Ministry of Education and Science and to provide funding for research projects within bilateral and multilateral scientific cooperation and mobility
• provide support for participation in ERA –NET programs and COST actions of the European Union

BNSF research policy is science-based and result-oriented and main priority issues are integrated in the research calls organised annually with the aim to:

• prioritize the target research domains and concentration of resources
• integrate different research structures and organisations
• increase the investments in competitive R&D projects
• increase the organizational project culture among the research community
• facilitate an open-ended and sustained dialog, operation at the interface between science, policy and wider society

https://www.fni.bg/