Story of the KAPPA Programme
How it started and how it's going - a story of Czech newbies setting up a schema of European format, that despite all challenges became a resistant and unique programme at the TA CR.
Abstract
The interactive poster shows the timeline of the KAPPA funding programme for applied research financed by the EEA and Norway Grants, with some interesting numbers reached over its implementation at the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. The programme is focused on international cooperation between Czech entities and partners from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which makes it in many aspects a pilot and unique programme. The poster displays some challenges, lessons learned and newly adopted practices in the context of EEA and Norway Grants in Czechia, inspired by the European programmes. More numbers and details about the projects can be explored virtually.
In particular, we faced some challenges with:
- the initial preparation phase of the programme from scratch;
- the launch of the call in English without having English background in the organisation;
- using own unique information system and adapting it for our programme;
- recruiting international experts specifically to evaluate the applications;
- following Horizon 2020 practice without previous experience;
- promoting Open Access as a first funding provider in Czechia;
- administering project finances in different currencies;
- coping with different legal environments of Czechia and Donor states.
The poster shows the KAPPA programme with its background in EEA and Norway Grants in Czechia and in the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic as an example of a successful and unique initiative, built on both expert experiences and the flexibility and enthusiasm of its administrators. The programme represents important values of international cooperation, knowledge transfer, learning in the process and personal inputs. It sets an example for research funding in Czechia by pursuing goals on a European level.