Interdisciplinary funding to attract experienced researchers in oceanography and marine sciences
The BANDIERA-COFUND Programme managed by the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) was based on the national RITMARE flagship project and covered a period of 4 years from March 2013 to February 2017. RITMARE was a multi-annual Italian flagship project launched within the Italian National Plan for Research in the field of Oceanography and Marine Sciences. The EU-cofunded BANDIERA project (Best action for national development of international expert researchers activity) set out to support EU researchers to undertake interdisciplinary research and training in fields covered by RITMARE. The goal was to further develop career prospects of the researchers and facilitate cooperation with their institutions and countries of origin. BANDIERA issued two calls for applications and awarded 13 fellowships, with a duration of 24 months each. The programme recruited fellows through CNR and hosted them at CNR Institutes and other Italian research institutions involved in the RITMARE flagship project. The programme evaluated and selected applications through two evaluation committees that consisted of international experts in the fields of oceanography and marine sciences. BANDIERA supported the recruited researchers with a monthly salary, including a living allowance, a mobility allowance and social security charges. Research costs’ contributions were also allocated for the benefit of each fellow and the funding of four of the fellowships was increased based on the high-level profiles of the candidates. The first call awarded fellowships to projects involved with monitoring chemical, biological and geographical indicators in the seas. The second batch of fellowships was awarded to a more diverse range of marine projects, including research on climate modelling and satellite data processing. The BANDIERA COFUND Programme contributed to the objectives of RITMARE to safeguard the sea environment and enable sustainable use of resources.
Keywords
Expert researchers, BANDIERA, fellowships, RITMARE, oceanography, marine sciences