Final Report Summary - AFR-PD (AFR - Postdoctoral Grants (Luxembourg))
The AFR Postdoc Scheme (www.fnr.lu/afr) managed by the National Research Fund Luxembourg (FNR), is in place since 1st October 2008, and was co-funded by the Marie-Curie Actions from 2nd March 2009 till 1st March 2013.
The main objectives of the AFR scheme are:
° to attract promising researchers/promote their integration into the Luxembourg R&D environment
° to increase the number of researchers
° to actively promote the scheme internationally
° to promote the mobility of researchers
° to improve working conditions for researchers by supporting work contracts as a standard
° to ensure a high scientific quality of projects through evaluation and monitoring
° to create a network of AFR beneficiaries
° to promote public-private partnerships
° to ensure a professional management of the AFR scheme promoting high quality training and career development.
Under the six co-funded calls organised in total, 119 projects were selected for funding. Out of these 119 projects, 24 dropped out because of alternative funding opportunities (in the majority longer term or fixed term positions), so that in total 95 AFR fellows started their grants between 2nd March 2009 and 1st March 2013.
The 95 AFR fellows have not all undertaken their full grant period until the end of the COFUND Contract. A total of 164 out of 148 fellow-years co-funded by the Marie-Curie contract were implemented until the end of the COFUND contract on 1st March 2013, while the remaining grant period of the fellows that have not ended their contract will be covered by the FNR's own funding.
The Cofunding of the AFR scheme has contributed largely to promote the scheme at international level and to set quality standards, in particular at the selection stage. Over the performance contract, success rates dropped from very high rates around 80% to around 50%. A second co-funded contract that will run until 2015 allows to build on the achievements and to consolidate quality standards.
As highlights of the first Cofund contract, the following activities can be mentioned:
• The AFR scheme offered work contracts as standard option, so that 88 fellows had a work contract while only 7 fellows had a stipend without work contract, but with full health and accident insurance.
• From 2011 onward, a training allowance was introduced covering 4000 EUR over the two year postdoc period and allowing fellows to define an individual tailor made training programme. Eligible costs are the participation in international scientific conferences, fieldwork and travel for project purposes, as well as non-scientific training courses in view of career development. The Cofund support helped to advocate the introduction of this measure in view to improve career development for AFR fellows.
• Travel grants for participation in ESOF 2010 in Torino and 2012 in Dublin offered in principle to all AFR cofunded
fellows, in which a total of 18 fellows participated; their costs were taken over by FNR.
• Organisation of two networking days end 2009 and end 2010 to allow an exchange platform between the cofunded fellows as well as other phd and postdoc candidates in Luxembourg;
• Organisation of a series of one-day project management courses for AFR fellows, organized with a professional trainer between 2009 and 2013, David White, from Fast Training Luxembourg and Lecturer at Royal Halloway/University of London. Until the end of the cofund contract, a total of 39 cofunded postdoc fellows participated in these seminars, i.e. 38% of all fellows.
• Participation of AFR programme managers in international networking activities, to promote and develop the scheme:
- Membership in the Steering Committee of the ESF Member Organisation Forum “European Alliance on Research Careers (EARCD)” and joint organization of the International workshop ‘How to track researchers careers’ on 9-10 February 2012 in Luxembourg (100 participants). Based on the results of the workshop and on the further collaboration with ESF, a career tracking pilot is developed n 2013/2014 in the framework of a career tracking platform hosted by the ESF where the FNR should participate, in order to collect data on careers of ex-fellows (including in particular the Marie Curie cofunded fellows under AFR): http://www.esf.org/serving-science/career-tracking.html
- European Network on Research Careers (ENRC): informal network chaired by DFG meeting each year in spring and autumn in Brussels to exchange good practice in managing career funding schemes (see http://www.dfg.de/en/magazine/dfg_international/ENRC/index.html);
- FP7 HR Strategy group: institutions implementing the Charter & Code principles (see http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/index.cfm/rights/strategy4Researcher)
- FP7 PEOPLE programme committee and NCP on Mobility (collaboration with Luxinnovation, coordinator of NCP Luxembourg); organisation of annual information sessions to promote the Marie Curie Indivdiual Fellowship and ERC calls among the AFR fellows in Luxembourg.
The main objectives of the AFR scheme are:
° to attract promising researchers/promote their integration into the Luxembourg R&D environment
° to increase the number of researchers
° to actively promote the scheme internationally
° to promote the mobility of researchers
° to improve working conditions for researchers by supporting work contracts as a standard
° to ensure a high scientific quality of projects through evaluation and monitoring
° to create a network of AFR beneficiaries
° to promote public-private partnerships
° to ensure a professional management of the AFR scheme promoting high quality training and career development.
Under the six co-funded calls organised in total, 119 projects were selected for funding. Out of these 119 projects, 24 dropped out because of alternative funding opportunities (in the majority longer term or fixed term positions), so that in total 95 AFR fellows started their grants between 2nd March 2009 and 1st March 2013.
The 95 AFR fellows have not all undertaken their full grant period until the end of the COFUND Contract. A total of 164 out of 148 fellow-years co-funded by the Marie-Curie contract were implemented until the end of the COFUND contract on 1st March 2013, while the remaining grant period of the fellows that have not ended their contract will be covered by the FNR's own funding.
The Cofunding of the AFR scheme has contributed largely to promote the scheme at international level and to set quality standards, in particular at the selection stage. Over the performance contract, success rates dropped from very high rates around 80% to around 50%. A second co-funded contract that will run until 2015 allows to build on the achievements and to consolidate quality standards.
As highlights of the first Cofund contract, the following activities can be mentioned:
• The AFR scheme offered work contracts as standard option, so that 88 fellows had a work contract while only 7 fellows had a stipend without work contract, but with full health and accident insurance.
• From 2011 onward, a training allowance was introduced covering 4000 EUR over the two year postdoc period and allowing fellows to define an individual tailor made training programme. Eligible costs are the participation in international scientific conferences, fieldwork and travel for project purposes, as well as non-scientific training courses in view of career development. The Cofund support helped to advocate the introduction of this measure in view to improve career development for AFR fellows.
• Travel grants for participation in ESOF 2010 in Torino and 2012 in Dublin offered in principle to all AFR cofunded
fellows, in which a total of 18 fellows participated; their costs were taken over by FNR.
• Organisation of two networking days end 2009 and end 2010 to allow an exchange platform between the cofunded fellows as well as other phd and postdoc candidates in Luxembourg;
• Organisation of a series of one-day project management courses for AFR fellows, organized with a professional trainer between 2009 and 2013, David White, from Fast Training Luxembourg and Lecturer at Royal Halloway/University of London. Until the end of the cofund contract, a total of 39 cofunded postdoc fellows participated in these seminars, i.e. 38% of all fellows.
• Participation of AFR programme managers in international networking activities, to promote and develop the scheme:
- Membership in the Steering Committee of the ESF Member Organisation Forum “European Alliance on Research Careers (EARCD)” and joint organization of the International workshop ‘How to track researchers careers’ on 9-10 February 2012 in Luxembourg (100 participants). Based on the results of the workshop and on the further collaboration with ESF, a career tracking pilot is developed n 2013/2014 in the framework of a career tracking platform hosted by the ESF where the FNR should participate, in order to collect data on careers of ex-fellows (including in particular the Marie Curie cofunded fellows under AFR): http://www.esf.org/serving-science/career-tracking.html
- European Network on Research Careers (ENRC): informal network chaired by DFG meeting each year in spring and autumn in Brussels to exchange good practice in managing career funding schemes (see http://www.dfg.de/en/magazine/dfg_international/ENRC/index.html);
- FP7 HR Strategy group: institutions implementing the Charter & Code principles (see http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/index.cfm/rights/strategy4Researcher)
- FP7 PEOPLE programme committee and NCP on Mobility (collaboration with Luxinnovation, coordinator of NCP Luxembourg); organisation of annual information sessions to promote the Marie Curie Indivdiual Fellowship and ERC calls among the AFR fellows in Luxembourg.