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Slovak Republic
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE GOVERNANCE OF SCIENCE IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
The Slovak Republic has a long tradition of science and research. The first steps in scientific research were taken in during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, later in Czecho-Slovakia, and since 1993 in the independent Slovak Republic. Since the late 1990s, there has been increased interest of foreign investors and multinational companies in Slovakia, many of whom have started to support scientific research at Slovak universities directly. They have invested in new equipment and teaching methods and have brought new know-how, with the goal to educate future scientists, researchers, and employees for their companies.
Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic is responsible for science in Slovakia. Its structure includes a Division for Science and Technology. In particular, the Ministry of Education supports research activities at Slovak Universities in five different areas:
management and development of scientific and technical infrastructure at high schools and at universities;
basic research through the internal grant agency; research for education through the internal grant agency; applied research; international scientific and technical cooperation.
The Governmental Council of the Slovak Republic for Science and Technology is an advisory board of the Slovak Government which prepares and implements state science and technological policies in connection with the economic, social and cultural development of the Slovak Republic.
The main tasks of the Ministry of Education in the area of international scientific and techni¬cal cooperation are the coordination and evaluation of bilateral and multilateral scientific and technical cooperationactivities. The focus is oninvolvingthe Slovak Republic in S&T programmes and projects in the framework of the European Research Area and in initiatives such as COST and EUREKA. Other tasks are the coordination and fulfilment of obligations which arise from international agreements and from the Slovak Republic's membership in international organiza-tions and institutions, as well as the preparation of bilateral agreements and international S&T cooperation activities.
The Slovak Research and Development Agency (Agentura na podpora vyskumu a vyvoja -APVV) is the only R&D research and development grant agency in the Slovak Republic. It was es-tablished in July 2005 and is a successor of a previous agency which had been operating since 2001. APVV is the only instrument for the distribution of public funds for research and development on a competitive basis in Slovakia. APW is responsible for R&D promotion in all research areas, including international research cooperation.
In addition to the Agency's Executive Director, the Agency's Presidium (13 members, including two foreign experts) is appointed by the Slovak Government and is responsible for setting priorities, the budget and other important internal policy issues. Expert panels, appointed for a four-period years by the Minister of Education (based on proposals from the Slovak research and industrial communities), manage the selection of projects submitted to the Agency. Each expert panel has at least one foreign member.
Project evaluation is based on a combination of peer review and selection by the panel. All grant applications are evaluated by three independent reviewers, at least one of whom is from abroad. The Agency is the only body in Slovakia with access to the expert database of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research. Following the review of the project proposals by the experts, an additional evaluation is done by members of the panel who summarize the recommendations of the outside reviewers and compile a final assessment of each project. Finally, the panel selects projects to be funded, acc
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