The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a refugee crisis in Europe, and many scientists and researchers are among the millions of Ukrainians who have fled their country.

To assist these researchers in continuing their work in safety, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has launched the Safe Passage Fund to support the Polish Academy of Sciences as it helps fleeing Ukrainian scholars and their families relocate in Poland and neighboring countries. This initiative builds on recent efforts undertaken by the U.S. National Academies’ Scientists and Engineers in Exile or Displaced (SEED) initiative, which helped evacuate and resettle a group of Afghan researchers following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. Those scientists and engineers are now teaching and working on research projects in Rwanda.

In early March, the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences entered into an agreement with the Polish academy, which offered to help place Ukrainian researchers in an institute of the Polish academy and supply a grant that provides up to six months of support. However, given the large demand, the funding available through the Polish academy was exhausted within days.

As the numbers of refugees and related costs of relocation grew, the NAS quickly joined the collaboration and is now working with the Polish and Ukrainian academies to collect contributions from individuals and foundations in the U.S. and elsewhere to help support displaced researchers.

“I know that many of my U.S. colleagues are eager to support the work of Ukrainian researchers who are under siege,” said NAS President Marcia McNutt. “This effort provides a mechanism to help relocate these refugees and their families temporarily in neighboring countries and to connect them with research institutions so that they can continue to be part of the international science community.”

The NAS will evaluate proposals and recommend candidates for placement in suitable institutions, and will use the funds raised to provide grants to help support the scholars and their families. To date, a number of U.S. foundations have pledged their support to this effort, including the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Walder Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation, the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, and most recently, the American Chemical Society.

The NAS is also preparing to help expand the relocation program to include partnerships with other science academies in Eastern Europe and beyond.

“A number of other regional Academies are looking at ways to replicate the Polish program, and the NAS will work with partners to identify ways to scale up this program to truly meet the needs of our displaced Ukrainian colleagues,” said McNutt.

The NAS is convening stakeholders to identify potential longer-term opportunities for these researchers in the United States, should their return to the Ukraine not be feasible in the near term, while also providing a venue for discussing steps to rebuild Ukrainian science institutions after the fighting ends.

“The international science community must work together now to accommodate Ukraine’s scientists and their families until it is safe for them to return to their homes,” said McNutt. “Ukraine will urgently need their talent and expertise following this devastating war, and their contributions will also help advance global science for the betterment of us all.”

Science and Innovation Fund for Ukraine

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