Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PEGASUS-2 ([PEGASUS]², giving wings to your career.)
Reporting period: 2017-06-01 to 2020-05-31
Two calls were launched in the framework of the [PEGASUS]2 programme. The first call (deadline on February 1st, 2016) was launched during the launch event in September 2015. A second call (deadline on May 1st, 2016) was launched in February 2016. In the first call, 81 applications were received and 16 INCOMING/4 OUTGOING fellowships were awarded. In call 2, 167 applications were received, 33 INCOMING/7 OUTGOING fellowships were awarded. No further calls will be launched.
In a first step each application was subject to an eligibility check that was based on the rules clearly described on the [PEGASUS]2 website, in the [PEGASUS]² regulations, guide for applicants and online application module. Ineligible applicants were informed about this decision and their application was rejected for further evaluation. Eligible applications were further processed by a three-step evaluation procedure. First, the applications were sent out for external peer-reviews. In a second step, the project proposals were evaluated by the domain-specific panel to which the applicant submitted his/her application (30 monodisciplinary/1 interdisciplinary). Proposals that got ranked in this step were evaluated in a third phase by our Commission for International Collaboration (CIS) who made two final lists of successful INCOMING/OUTGOING fellows respectively + reserve list. Applicants were informed about the outcome of their application in June 2016 (call 1) and November 2016 (call2). Within three months all applicants (successful/unsuccessful) received a feedback report (reports of all 3 evaluation steps). Researchers funded by the FWO are required to identify any ethical aspects in their research. This is effectuated as follows: a self-assessment before submission, a screening during evaluation, and an in-depth ethical assessment when granted and needed.
As put forward in the FWO’s 2012-2016 policy plan, internationalisation is regarded as a strategic lever to enhance human capital in research. Therefore the FWO actively encourages transnational mobility and specifically designed [PEGASUS]² to attract more foreign researchers to Flanders via the incoming fellowships, as well as to bestow Flemish researchers with increased international experience via the outgoing fellowships.
Not only did this programme raise the number of international fellows in Flanders, it also installed a transnational mind-set both among the fellows and their colleagues at the (foreign) host institutions. The ‘brain circulation’ thus induced contributed to dissolving regional and national boundaries and brought the European Research Area nearer to completion.
The [PEGASUS]² programme offered both its incoming and outgoing fellows a unique opportunity to boost their career by providing support and training all within an optimal research environment and enjoying the best working conditions. On the one hand these fellowships aimed at improving the researchers’ skills in their specific research domain, via acquisition of new methods and techniques, interaction with group members and mentoring. Both incoming and outgoing fellows benefited from the intellectual and socio-cultural exchange with their peers and through their immersion in a highly qualified international environment they helped FWO reach its strategic goal of keeping Flemish research in line with international standards. Yet on the other hand the fellows had access to a wide range of transferable skill training and inter-sectoral activities, improving the researchers’ competencies and resulting in a more attractive profile for the general job market. To allow [PEGASUS]² fellows to use their bench for transferable skills training, the FWO had to adjust its regulations at that time. At a later stage, this practice was extended to all FWO postdoctoral fellows demonstrating the impact [PEGASUS]² had on other FWO funding programmes. Another example of such a spillover effect was the possibility to conduct the [PEGASUS]² fellowship in collaboration with non-academic partners (intersectoriality). At that time this was not possible at FWO. Nowadays all FWO PhD and postdoctoral researchers can spend up to 12 months at a non-academic institution. Another aspect of the [PEGASUS]² programme that found its way in FWO procedures is the flexible start date for postdoctoral fellowships.