National Research and Development Core Program - Continuity Support for Marine Research

Abstract

"Launched in 2003, the Core National Research and Development Programme has become an essential source of national funding for scientific research. The marine and coastal fields have had the necessary research support, through the continuous financing of several multi-annual Core Programme, which NIMRD has carried out over time. Thus, NIMRD has run six Core Programs so far. The paper presents funding details from 2003-2020, with an analysis of the financial distribution per program and over time, revealing the influence of political and internal management decisions. The paper ends with the presentation of the Core Program in progress, at the time of writing. An obvious conclusion is that without basic support, it is not possible to guarantee the functioning of the NIRDs and to cover the national research strategy evenly. This minimum basis also creates the conditions for international collaborations in the field, and involvement in European research programs, without forgetting the accomplishment of the external community obligations and the internal alignment in which Romania is taking part. NIMRD has been operating for over 50 years and continues to meet the increasingly complex requirements of environmental research. This is demonstrated by the experience of over 18 years of participation in the National Core Research-Development Programme."