ZBIGNIEW ŚMIESZEK, Head of the Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals in Gliwice and Vice-President of the Main Council of Research and Development Units offers “Polish Market” his view on the activities of Polish R&D units.

Research and development units are the principal sector of science focused on application and innovation research. They also perform public services functions.
These are institutes operating in the following areas:
– agriculture including the State Veterinary Institute and the Fruit Farming and Horticulture Institute,
– environment protection such as the State Institute of Geology and the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas,
– health such as the Institute of Oncology and Institute of Cardiology,
– infrastructure such as the State Roads and Bridges Institute and the Institute of Construction Technologies,
– military institutes,
The largest group of institutes operates within the frame of the Ministry of the Economy including such institutes as the Institute of Electronic Materials Technologies, Institute of Energy Generation, Institute of Exploitation Technologies, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Institute of Petroleum and Gas, Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals, Aviation Institute, Central Mining Institute and others.
Most of these institutes have long-standing traditions, some being established before the Second World War to mention but the State Geological Institute in 1919, the Prof. I. Mościcki Industrial Chemistry Research Institute in 1926, Institute of Meteorology and Water Economy, State Veterinary Institute and others. All these institutes have a strong market character since 20% to 40% of their incomes come from the national budget and the remaining 60% to 80% from businesses which commission research and services operations. The group of Research and Development units owns a network of around 300 accredited, unique laboratories performing specialist research, attestations and certifications. Research performed by R&D units finds a large number of applications while 80% of implemented scientific results in Poland stem from R&D activities.
Polish R&D units perform the same role as public and consortium institutes, and large research organisations in other countries, constituting a bridge between science, basic research and the economy, focusing on applied research, developing innovative technologies and new products implemented in the economy to great economic effect.
In the last three years R&D units introduced 400 new solutions which generated economic effects to an approximate value of PLN 1 million.
The many examples of commercialisation of research findings include:
– new electronic materials produced according to technologies developed by the Institute of Electronic Materials Technologies,
– a unique world-class method developed by the Gliwice Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals to regain rhenium from waste sulphuric acid used in Ecoren KGHM S.A., a method which has generated profits of around PLN 10 million per year,
– new devices and apparatus designed by the Radom Institute of Exploitation Technologies,
– industrial technologies to produce polytrioxene developed by the Warsaw Industrial Chemistry Research Institute and the Puławy Institute of Artificial Fertilizers have been qualified as highly advanced production methods, the licence for which has been purchased by a Chinese institution among others.
Many institutes are leaders in the development of individual sectors of the national economy, offering new innovative solutions and boasting highly specialist, world-standard know-how concerning modern production methods.
Technologies and products developed by R&D units have been awarded many prizes in Polish and international competitions, including the Polish Product of the Future competition organised annually by the Polish Enterprise Development Agency, at invention trade fairs, the Poznań International Fairs and others.
The group of R&D units is presently at a new stage of growth through restructuring currently being introduced in all ministries which include R&D units. One outcome of this reform will be a reduction in the number of R&D units by the year’s end to around 100 research institutes as scientific units of higher research potential and greater competitiveness.
The basic issue which R&D units face is the insufficient finance awarded for scientific activity in Poland, both as budget-generated finance – only 0.4% of GDP as well as company finance – only 0.2% GDP, while R&D units account for less than 30% in the national science budget. It must be stressed that R&D efforts are of a comprehensive nature and are performed both in laboratories as well as in pilot systems and prototypes, the outcome being that this research costs more than in the higher education system and departments of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Increased financing of research by business is becoming increasingly important, the target being that they should finance 2/3 of research outlays, as is the case in the European Union, and also because this causes business to participate directly in the joint implementation of research, pursuing research on an industrial scale and the rapid implementation of the results of research.
An excellent example here is the large company CIECH which has set up a special innovative research fund to finance research implemented by centres cooperating with that large company.
New financial mechanisms and instruments encouraging companies to finance research should be urgently introduced as well as to actively bring new technologies and new products into general reach.
Such systemic solutions should be of a separate character in relation to large companies and companies with foreign capital. Banks and government agencies like the Polish Enterprise Development Agency and the National Research and Development Centre have an important role to play in this field.
Implementation of the Innovative Economy Operational Programme will be of great importance in the period up to 2013, which envisages financial outlays of around EUR 5 million. The “Act on some forms of supporting innovation” will be amended, thereby increasing companies’ interest in innovation.
The Chief Council of Research and Development units, on 18 March 2008 staged a national conference on “Innovation in the Polish Economy – Commercialising Scientific Research” together with the Chief Technical Organisation and the Engineering Academy in Poland, under the patronage of Deputy Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak at which the totality of issues connected with the key subject for economic growth based on science was reviewed.
Implementation of the conclusions reached at this conference should consolidate the key role played by R&D units in the innovation of Poland’s economy expressed in the commercialisation of new technologies and new products.
Research and development units are increasing wide-flung cooperation with foreign countries and participate in 600 projects of the 7th Framework Programme, Eureka and others. R&D units are
a reliable partner due to the high quality of their research personnel, the wide scope of apparatus and the possibility of undertaking research in pilot systems, as well as establishing consortiums with companies within the framework of Polish Technological Platforms.
The growth of Poland’s economy based on science and innovation requires conditions to be created which will strengthen research institutes to an extent that their services will be fully competitive when compared with what foreign research centres can offer and also to ensure an increase in the exports of original new Polish technologies and products and of whole systems and devices in conjunction with designing offices and companies.
The new Research Institutes Act should serve that purpose, creating conditions for the unhindered growth of Polish research institutes, making full use of the best solutions which have proved their worth in other EU countries in terms of research organising and financing, untrammelled functioning, creating spin-off companies, increase of research personnel and others.
Growth of Poland’s economy based on science and innovation is a natural catalyst for the expansion of Polish research and development units – research institutes.