French Government Opens ‘Solidarity with Ukraine’ Emergency Fund to Host Ukrainian Researchers
France’s National Programme for the Urgent Aid and Reception of Scientists in Exile (PAUSE) has opened a special call enabling French education and research institutions to temporarily host Ukrainian researchers who have had to leave their county.
France’s National Programme for the Urgent Aid and Reception of Scientists in Exile (PAUSE – Programme d’aide à l’Accueil en Urgence des Scientifiques en Exil) co-funds higher education and public research institutions that wish to host foreign scientists who have been forced to leave their countries of origin because of dangerous political situations.
A special PAUSE call opened in March 2022 to provide emergency assistance to Ukrainian researchers. This Solidarity with Ukraine call is financed through emergency funding granted by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI).
The call is intended to help Ukrainian nationals (and, if appropriate, their family members) displaced from their country since 24 February 2022 as well as Ukrainian nationals who on that date were temporarily in the European Union (or an EU Associated State) under cover of a visa waiver or a Schengen visa.
Scientists must be of Ukrainian nationality and be able to justify a status of doctoral student, researcher or teacher-researcher (enseignants-chercheurs).
The financial support provided to host institutions is set at a flat-rate of €5,700 per researcher for a period of three months. This may be supplemented by a family supplement and/or housing allowance, as appropriate.
Applications are submitted by the host institution rather than the individual researcher. Eligible institutions are:
- Higher education or public research institutions.
- Designated Private Higher Education Institutions of General Interest (EESPIG).
A simplified procedure is in place for applications made under the special ‘Solidarity with Ukraine’ call, which will be open on a rolling basis until further notice.
The three-month period of emergency reception in France provided to eligible Ukrainian researchers is intended to allow them to prepare, in connection with a host institution, an application to the general PAUSE programme according to the regular procedures.
Researchers of nationalities other than Ukrainian who are in danger due to the context of the situation in Ukraine, in particular Russian and Belarusian dissidents, are eligible to apply to the general programme.
The remaining deadlines in 2022 for the general PAUSE programme are 8 April and 30 September.