New Academy 2026

Abstract

The article presents a proposal for actions to restore the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN) to its strong position in the science system and increase its social importance. We propose a reform understood primarily as a change in the way the Academy operates and in the scope of its influence, rather than merely a modification of its organization. The key solution is to direct the activities of the Polish Academy of Sciences towards society. We postulate a nationwide campaign to increase funding for science to 3% of GDP, develop professional communication and popularization mechanisms, and create structures for rapid response to crises and disinformation. The second package of solutions concerns the strengthening of the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences: systematic presentations of the institutes' achievements, internationalized quality audits, restructuring programs, and the creation of new institutes in strategic areas of science, as well as support for securing consortium grants and the expansion of legal, human resources, and infrastructure support. The third area is the active impact of the Polish Academy of Sciences on the scientific community, including initiating a debate, preparing a proposal for a coherent national scientific policy, strengthening internationalization, and developing innovation mechanisms from basic research to implementation. In the field of research reliability, we propose the creation of a nationwide institution for scientific integrity, the unification of ethical procedures across the institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the introduction of ombudspersons, and the development of a non-profit open-access publishing platform.