Research Infrastructures for the Future of Ukraine: Roadmap for Sustained Growth an Recovery (RIFF)

Research and innovation (R&I) in Ukraine has seen challenging times since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Ukraine inherited about 20% of the Soviet Union’s experimental centres, incl. nuclear reactors, astronomical observatories and marine research vessels. However, much of this research infrastructure (RI) was lost during independence. Before any major reforms to counter the situation, the Russian aggression started in February 2022 – and resulted in the destruction or damage of 35% of Ukraine’s RI and caused around a quarter of researchers and scientists to leave Ukraine. However, as the country obtained the EU candidate status and started the EU negotiations in July 2024, the ambition to promote its research system and ensure its integration into the European Research Area (ERA) has received a new impetus.

The RIFF project will facilitate this process by offering a fresh forward-looking perspective on the Ukrainian research infrastructures; a roadmap that will be: (1) bottom-up, using an open call for proposals and a robust training, awareness raising and dissemination strategy towards potential applicants, rooted in a network of full and associated partners in Ukraine; (2) relevant to Ukrainian policy priorities thanks to a robust consultation process involving broad range of stakeholders from government as well as other sectors (top-down); (3) open and transparent, benefiting from a peer-review methodology established by ESFRI; (4) independent thanks to the involvement of several panels of internationally renowned experts, and thereby highly resistant to conflicts of interest and clientelism; (5) connected to EU/ESFRI through the implementation team linked to major European RIs and a comprehensive strategy for enabling mobility and knowledge exchange between the EU and Ukraine.

The objectives of RIFF are to (a) develop a Roadmap for recovery and enhancement of research infrastructures in Ukraine, (b) deliver a training programme that will enable Ukrainian R&I community to efficiently design and operate RIs, and (c) promote the Roadmap among national and international stakeholders as a blueprint for post-crisis reconstruction and upgrading of the R&I system in Ukraine.