Grant funding for research projects in Kazakhstan is administered by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Receiving a grant brings not only financial support, but also a number of obligations.
Who can receive a grant for a scientific publication in Kazakhstan?
Applicants are accredited entities engaged in scientific and/or scientific-technical activity – universities, research institutes and other organisations. A separate competition is announced for young scientists aged 40 or under.
A grant for a scientific publication is not just about paying for an article
Publication costs are included in the budget already at the application stage. The Rules for grant funding of scientific and (or) scientific-technical activity set out how these funds are distributed. Publication itself usually remains a mandatory part of the report – without it, closing the grant report is generally not possible.
What requirements must a grant-funded publication meet?
The number and level of required publications are set out in the competition documentation and depend on the project's field and duration. The general principle stays the same: results must be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Most often, these are journals indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, or journals with a Scopus CiteScore percentile no lower than the level set by the competition documentation – often a threshold of 50, or a Q1-Q3 quartile by Web of Science impact factor. A competition may also require publications from the KOKSNVO list, but these usually do not replace the requirement for international indexing.
Deadlines for grant reporting on a scientific publication cannot be moved
A grant recipient must submit the report by strictly fixed deadlines: an interim report – by 25 January of the year following the reporting year, and a final report – by 10 December of the current reporting year.
It is worth preparing the publication for reporting well in advance – allowing for the average review time at the chosen journal. For international journals, the report must also state the Web of Science quartile or the Scopus CiteScore percentile at the time of publication.
What mistakes make it harder to close a grant report on a publication?
Common difficulties faced by grant recipients include the following:
- publication in a journal later removed from Scopus or Web of Science
- a mismatch between the article's topic and the project's research area
- no mention of the funding source and project number in the text of the publication
- exceeding the permitted similarity level in an anti-plagiarism check
- moving the publication to the next reporting period without approval
Results obtained under a grant are subject to mandatory state registration, and all project reports, including the results achieved, are checked for similarity using a licensed system – this is then recorded in the report.
Checking ahead of the report reduces the risk of a rejected grant for a publication
To reduce the risk of a report being rejected, it helps to follow this sequence of steps:
- Check the publication requirements against the conditions of the specific competition.
- Confirm the journal's current status in the Scopus and Web of Science databases and the KOKSNVO list.
- Make sure the article states the project number and the source of funding.
- Run a similarity check before submitting the manuscript to the journal.
- Plan the review period so that the publication is ready in time for the report.
Receiving a grant for a scientific publication brings obligations for the entire duration of the project, not just financial support. Checking the competition's requirements well in advance helps preserve grant recipient status.
Need help with publishing a scientific article? The specialists at Scientific Publications will check whether the journal meets KOKSNVO, Scopus or Web of Science requirements and support you at every stage of submission and review. To get a free consultation, fill in the form below, and our manager will contact you shortly. Onwards to new scientific achievements!
