SPIN POSTDOC PROGRAMME 2008

The aim of SPIN is to stimulate and fund long-term scientific cooperation between researchers and research consortia from Indonesia and the Netherlands, through integrated bilateral research programmes and supporting activities, based on the principles of reciprocity and mutual benefit, granting Netherlands' and Indonesian researchers access to scientific resources and research areas. For the period 2005 – 2011, the KNAW launched a new SPIN subsidy instrument for post-doctoral research in Indonesia to stimulate young talented Indonesian PhDs to develop further as researchers and to improve the scientific environment in Indonesia.

The KNAW invites Indonesian and Netherlands researchers to submit proposals for the fourth round of the SPIN Postdoc Programme.

  Deadline for submission: Wednesday 15 October 2008

SPIN Postdoc Programme

Set-up

SPIN consists of several cooperation programmes, one of which is a programme for Indonesian postdoctoral research to which this Call for Proposals pertains. The overall objective of the SPIN Postdoc Programme is to create opportunities for Indonesian postdocs to establish themselves in Indonesia's science system by providing postdoc positions for outstanding Indonesian PhD-graduates based at Indonesian universities or research institutes. With the SPIN Postdoc Programme KNAW anticipates on the development of these researchers and their institutes into steady research partners for present and future Indonesian - Netherlands scientific cooperation.

The SPIN Postdoc Programme is open to all fields of science.

The primary dimensions of capacity building that this programme aims to address include: - Creation of scientific career opportunities;

- Strengthening of emergent and existing scientific excellence;

- Fostering of scientific curiosity and an academic culture in Indonesia;

- Promotion of (inter)national scientific networking;

- Taking-up of an international research tradition;

- Utilisation of international funding,

The KNAW has earmarked E 1,500,000 for the SPIN Postdoc Programme for the period 2005 — 2011 (with a yearly budget of E 300.000,-). Each year, during five consecutive selection years, at least six postdoc projects will be awarded. Grants are awarded for a period of two years with a mid term evaluation moment at which the grant can be withdrawn. The first three groups of postdocs were selected in 2006, 2007 and 2008 following Calls for Proposals in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Financial constraints

The contribution to a postdoc project will be maximum E 25,000 per year. The KNAW Postdoc Grant will cover:

maintenance costs of the Indonesian postdoc candidate in Indonesia (minimum 9 months per 12 months);

maintenance costs of the Indonesian postdoc candidate while visiting the Netherlands (maximum 3 months per 12 months);

research expenses;

scientific training courses (e.g. courses of English scientific writing and proposal writing);

travel expenses, including accommodation/subsistence expenses for the Indonesian and Netherlands supervisors to visit their postdoc in the Netherlands or in Indonesia,

Cooperation

SPIN seeks not only to consolidate bilateral cooperation between Indonesian and Netherlands institutions, but also encourages the expansion of the cooperation, including other (international) partners. The Indonesian postdoc should therefore be encouraged to establish research cooperation with at least one other Indonesian postdoc or senior researcher based at another Indonesian institution. Cooperation with a postdocs or senior researcher from a third country will be a point of advantage in the selection procedure.

Selection procedure

KNAW will invite applications for Indonesian Postdoc Projects on a yearly basis. All applications will be assessed by expert referees. The SPIN Programme Committee will evaluate and rank the applications. The selection is the result of a process of comparative competition. Scientific merit/quality, feasibility of the research proposal and the possibility for success will be the main criteria for assessment. When a choice needs to be made between proposals of equal/comparative quality the Programme Committee will consider an equal spread over research areas.

Time schedule

July 2008

15 October 2008

November 2008 - January 2009 January 2009

February/March 2009 February/March 2009

Call for Proposals

Submission deadline Call for Proposals

Peer review procedure

Opportunity for applicants to respond to referee reports Final selection by SPIN Programme Committee Announcement of successful Postdoc Projects

Successful applicants are expected to start their project ⁱⁿ the course of 2009.

Application form (to be downloaded from our website), guidelines and further information are available from KNAW, Department of International Relations and Quality Assessment, Drs J Frietman, Dr J Stapel or Ms N Jaski, tel. +3120 551 0823, e-mail and from the KNAW website ().

Important.^• The proposal should be supported by a Netherlands and an Indonesian institutional partner (through senior researchers). Signed letters of support and commitment by both partners should be attached (see paragraph 4 of the Guidelines).

Proposals should be submitted (and in our possession) electronically by email (nanny.jaski@bureau.knaw.nl) before the deadline of  Wednesday 15 October 2008. Please send your proposal both in 'Word' and 'PDF' format.

A signed hard copy posted by regular mail needs to be submitted (and in our possession) before Monday 20 October 2008 (this means that an extra few days ofpostal delivery time is allowed - please note that we still need the electronic version on 15 October 2008 at the latest!).

Both the project applicants from Indonesia and the Netherlands must sign the hard copy of their project application. Electronic or scanned signatures are not allowed.

Please send hard copy proposals to:

Secretariat Scientific Programme Indonesia - Netherlands Department of International Relations and Quality Assessment Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) P0 Box 19121

1000 GC Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Both the electronic and hard copy submission are required for a successful application.