During the duration of the RESPIRE3 programme, ERS organised three calls for applications. Sixteen Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellows were selected, as planned in the Grant Agreement, including thirteen European Fellowships and three Global Fellowships.
Compared to previous programmes, RESPIRE3 introduced innovatory elements such as the 3-year Global Fellowships, which allowed to expand the international dimension of the programme to include Third Countries and provided candidates with more flexibility within an individually-driven, bottom up approach towards research development. In parallel, the opportunity to carry out a secondment was also a novel feature of RESPIRE3, in order to promote an intersectoral approach. More in particular, the programme aimed to strengthen links with the non-academic sector by offering European Fellowships recipients with a 1-year extension if they secured a secondment in the non-academic sector in the 3rd year. Moreover, a number of fellows applied for and were granted an extension to stay at the host centre, facilitating the transition from the end of the fellowship to the next position.
In terms of the application and evaluation phases, RESPIRE3 introduced a new, dedicated, user-friendly fellowship application and reviewing platform as well as carried out a successful pilot to involve patient representatives in the interview phase. The support to selected fellows was also strengthened through the introduction of a family allowance to ensure competitive working conditions and attract the best talents. The training and networking support offered to fellows by ERS was also enhanced in order to complement what offered by host centres; this included among other: an ERS external mentoring scheme, training in self-leadership (in collaboration with EMBO), training in outreach and public engagement (in collaboration with the European Lung Foundation), attendance at the Lung Science Conference and ERS International Congresses, and dedicated RESPIRE MeetUps (face-to-face and online).
Research carried out during RESPIRE3 has led to numerous presentations/abstracts at congresses (e.g. ERS International Congress, etc) as well as papers in peer-reviewed journals and these figures will continue to rise as researchers continue to publish their results after the end of the fellowship. Moreover, fellows have also engaged in a number of outreach activities aimed at the general public during their fellowship and have started to disseminate widely their work. The statistics below give an overview of the significant impact of the RESPIRE3 programme (as of end of February 2022), in terms of dissemination and communication:
• 26 papers published to date in international journals (with several more being submitted or planned to be submitted);
• 10 articles in non scientific and non peer reviewed publication;
• 9 videos, including 7 fellows’ videos available via the ERS website and YouTube page.
• 16 conferences/workshops organised as part of the programme;
• 79 presentations at Congresses or other events by RESPIRE3 fellows;
• RESPIRE3 fellows attending 111 conferences or workshops;
• Fellows attending 21 other events (including pitch event, trade fair or exhibition);
• More than 720,000 different stakeholders reached, including the scientific community, general public and media.
