Ukraine advances research infrastructure reform with PSF support.
Date: 2025-05-26
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU research policy, Ukraine, competitiveness, economic recovery, innovation, medicine, regional policy, research budget, research expenditure (EU), research infrastructure

Ukraine advances Research 
Infrastructure reform with 
PSF support

HorizonEU

POLICY SUPPORT FACILITY (PSF) COUNTRY

Ukraine’s research and innovation (R&I) system has faced longstanding challenges – many of which have been exacerbated 
by  Russia’s  full-scale  war  of  aggression.  Even  before  the  war,  the  country’s  research  infrastructure  (RI)  landscape  was 
marked by underinvestment, outdated facilities, and fragmented governance. In response, Ukraine is now implementing 
major reforms to modernise its research infrastructure and the overall R&I system, aligning it more closely with European 
standards and laying the foundation for post-war recovery and long-term growth.

The national RI ecosystem includes a wide array of structures – from Centers for Joint Research Equipment Use (CJREUs) 
to National Research Centres and State Key Laboratories. These assets reflect the scale of Ukraine’s scientific base, but 
many are concentrated within the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU), with limited links to higher education 
institutions or regional innovation priorities. Fragmented governance across more than 20 public bodies, constrained budgets 
and procedural barriers have restricted their impact.

Since 2022, the war of aggression against Ukraine has had a devastating effect on the R&I sector. Over 1,200 buildings 
and nearly 170 institutions have been damaged or destroyed. At the same time, Ukraine continues to prioritise science and 
innovation, recognising their importance for resilience, recovery and global competitiveness. In 2024, a national reform 
effort – supported by the Horizon Europe Policy Support Facility (PSF) – was launched to guide a new strategic vision for the 
country’s RIs.   

What are the panel’s main findings?

Between 2024-2025, the PSF expert panel carried out a comprehensive review of Ukraine’s RI system, focusing on governance 
structures, operational effectiveness, funding models, open science, and international partnerships. The findings highlight both 
the scale of the challenges and the opportunities for systemic reform.

A key barrier is the fragmentation of responsibilities across more than 20 public bodies. Without coordination, duplication 
and inefficiency persist. The legal framework is widely viewed as outdated, overly complex and inconsistent, lacking clear 
mechanisms for prioritisation, monitoring, or strategic investment. RIs often operate with limited autonomy, restrictive access 
policies, and inadequate links to broader innovation agendas.

Bureaucratic obstacles, especially in public procurement and import of scientific equipment, continue to restrict institutional 
flexibility and delay progress. While the Concept for the Development of Research Infrastructures (2021–2026) was approved 
by the Cabinet of Ministers, its implementation has stalled, largely due to lack of financial resources, administrative hurdles 
and limited strategic coordination.

Research andInnovationThe funding landscape is also complex. Budget allocations for RIs remain low and fragmented, with over 21 Key Spending 
Units responsible for distribution. While the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU) has made progress in introducing 
competitive calls – including a significant RI-specific funding call in 2024 worth UAH 300 million (EUR 6.8 million) – the wider 
system is shaped by bureaucratic hurdles and limited strategic alignment.

The panel identified that Open Science has gained momentum through the 2022 National Plan on Open Science and collaboration 
with the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), but implementation varies. Gaps in training, infrastructure, and awareness 
persist, limiting the uptake of open data, digital repositories, and data management tools.

International collaboration is a critical pillar of Ukraine’s R&I system. Horizon Europe and bilateral cooperation programmes 
have opened important channels for funding and knowledge exchange. However, awareness of opportunities through ERICs, 
ESFRI  roadmaps,  and  mobility  schemes  remains  limited.  Improving  access  to  these  resources  –  especially  for  equipment 
donations  and  researcher  mobility  –  is  essential  to  maintaining  research  continuity  during  and  after  the  war.  A  particular 
challenge is addressing internal and external brain drain, with many researchers forced to take jobs outside science due to low 
salaries or relocate abroad.

PSF recommendations: towards a modern, connected research infrastructure system

The PSF panel has formulated a comprehensive set of recommendations addressing challenges identified across the four 
key dimensions of Ukraine’s research infrastructure system: governance structures and operational effectiveness, funding 
models, open science, and international partnerships. These recommendations are designed to be mutually reinforcing and 
should be implemented as part of a coordinated reform strategy. It is carried out under conditions of active war and aims 
to support long-term reform and EU integration while war is still ongoing.

The panel provides clear timeframes for implementation, categorising actions as immediate (within a year), short-term 
(within 2 years), and medium to long-term (beyond 2 years).

Immediate and short-term priorities

In the short-term, the panel recommends that Ukrainian authorities should prioritise legal and regulatory reform – including 
the implementation of the RI Development Concept and State Program and the adoption of the ERIC regulation. Ukraine 
should revise and harmonise its legal and regulatory framework for RIs, begin mapping existing infrastructures in alignment 
with European taxonomy. It should initiate a national RI roadmap and increase the autonomy of RIs. Funding mechanisms 
should be clarified and simplified, procurement procedures overhauled, and institutions empowered to build investment 
consortia with participation from the private sector.

Efforts to implement the Open Science Plan should be strengthened by linking adherence of the plan to funding and by 
improving training for researchers, RI managers, repository managers and university staff. Data management and repository 
use should be integrated into evaluation frameworks. Access and usage policies for RIs should be updated to reflect openness, 
collaboration and European good practices.

A critical focus must be on human resources – raising salaries, attracting the younger generation to RIs, providing essential 
training,  and  addressing  both  internal  and  external  brain  drain.  Well-designed  mobility  programmes  and  stipends  for 
international and intersectoral mobility are essential to maintain research talent during the war period and beyond.

The expert panel strongly recommends using the EU’s Ukraine Facility (with up to EUR 50 billion available for 2024-2027) 
to repair RIs during the ongoing war, and for creating and supporting a roadmap of prioritised infrastructure needs.

Medium to long-term vision

In the medium to long-term, Ukraine will need to develop a long-term RI roadmap, strengthen monitoring and evaluation 
systems, and align RI planning with regional smart specialisation strategies. Training programmes for RI managers should 
be developed and career pathways improved. A transparent and stakeholder-inclusive process should be established for 
prioritising RI investments and ensuring efficient use of national and international resources. Funding instruments need to 
be updated, and the responsibilities among the national funding bodies clearly defined. 

Science-business links should be deepened, and Centres of Excellence supported through competitive funding mechanisms 
that  include  equipment  investment.  The  panel  recommends  building  on  the  innovation  success  in  Ukraine’s  defence 
sector, where necessity has driven rapid innovation and stronger collaboration between science and business. This organic 
development could serve as a blueprint for stimulating innovation in other sectors of the economy.

In the area of international cooperation, the recommendations focus on increasing awareness and uptake of EU instruments, 
improving support for mobility, and addressing brain drain. The panel strongly recommends that the Ukrainian authorities 
follow -up on the EU’s Ukraine Facility and on possible support from the G7 and other international stakeholders for repair of 
RIs and for the construction of new Research Infrastructure of European relevance. Stronger internal collaboration between 
research institutes and higher education institutions will be key to a more efficient R&I system and to positioning Ukraine as 
a reliable and engaged member of the European research community.

Conclusion

Ukraine’s  reform  efforts  –  supported  by  the  PSF  –  represent  a  key  step  towards  modernising  the  country’s  research 
infrastructure and the overall R&I system. In its policy messages the panel expressed its respect that even during war, 
Ukraine is laying the foundations for a more integrated, internationally aligned, and sustainable R&I landscape.

The panel noted that reforms suggested in the previous PSF review in 2016-17 should be followed up to maximise the impact 
of recommendations proposed in this review, particularly concerning the organisation of the research sector, strengthening 
research in universities, and innovation support. 

By following the recommendations of the PSF panel, Ukraine can move towards long-term transformation of the R&I system 
– one that allows research infrastructures to reach their full potential, that supports scientific excellence, drives innovation, 
and strengthens the country’s integration into the European Research Area and its broader EU accession goals.

For further information: 

Final report - Support to Ukraine on research infrastructures policy

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The PSF’s objective is to help Member States and Associated Countries to ‘improve the design, implementation and evaluation of R&I policies.’ The PSF 
provides expertise and practical support to Member States in three major ways: PSF Country (formerly PSF Peer Reviews & Specific support to countries); 
PSF Challenge (including the PSF Mutual Learning Exercises, focused on specific and operational R&I challenges of interest in several volunteering countries); 
and PSF Open (which allows countries that have already benefited from a PSF exercise to receive support to follow up on PSF recommendations). The PSF 
is funded under Horizon Europe.

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