Regulations

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ARTICLE 1. GENERAL 

1.1 The Ammodo Science Fellowship (Fellowship) has been established by Stichting Ammodo (Ammodo) to offer talented researchers at the beginning of their careers (0-5 years after the first PhD) the opportunity to carry out  scientific research at a (foreign) university or research institute (Host Institute) of their choice.

1.2 The Fellowship is presented biennially for research in the following science domains (the Domains):

– Biomedical Sciences
– Humanities
– Natural Sciences
– Social Sciences

1.3 Each edition of the Fellowship consists of a total sum of up to € 800.000. A maximum of sixteen (16) amounts each of € 50,000 are granted to applicants (Fellows) selected in accordance with these Ammodo Science Fellowship Regulations (Fellowship Regulations). A maximum of four (4) amounts of € 50,000 (i.e. in total a maximum of € 200,000) may be granted to one Fellow.

1.4 The Fellowship is funded by Ammodo.

1.5 The amount of money associated with the Fellowship will be used by the Fellow, in accordance with the conditions set out in these Fellowship Regulations, in its entirety to finance scientific research carried out by them (or under their supervision) (as further stipulated in Article 8).

ARTICLE 2. CONDITIONS

2.1 To be considered for a Fellowship, the following conditions must be met:

– on 1 March of the year of submission of the application, the applicant has held a PhD for zero to five years (maximum 60 months);

– the application submitted by the applicant is correctly completed and consists of:

a) the application form (in accordance with the format made available at Applications)

b) the acceptance letter (in accordance with the format made available at Applications) from the Host Institute. The acceptance letter should include an explanation by the applicant’s future supervisor, who has a permanent appointment at the Host Institute (Supervisor), of the following points: why the proposed research is supported, why the applicant is considered capable of conducting the research, and why the Host Institute is an appropriate place to conduct the research; and

c) two letters of reference (in accordance with the format made available at Applications) from researchers (not being the Supervisor) who hold positions at either a Dutch or foreign university or research institute and have expertise in the field of the proposed research (Referees), where at least one of the two Referees is a full professor, (a, b, and c together: the Application).

2.2 The Host Institute should be a university or a largely publicly funded research institute.

2.3 The proposed research (Research) can take place at:

1) a foreign Host Institute in case the applicant holds a PhD from a university or research institute in the Netherlands.

2) a Dutch Host Institute in case the applicant obtained a PhD abroad or conducted postdoctoral research abroad for at least two years, and:

a) obtained a bachelor’s or master’s degree from a Dutch university; or

b) obtained a PhD from a Dutch university or research institute or conducted postdoctoral research for at least two years fulltime at a Dutch university or research institute.

ARTICLE 3. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

3.1 Each applicant can participate in a maximum of two editions of the Fellowship and submit a maximum of one Application per edition.

3.2 The Application must be submitted in English to fellowship@ammodo.org no later than the closing date set by Ammodo. An application is deemed to have been submitted when the applicant has received an acknowledgement of receipt from Ammodo. If the Application is not submitted before or on the closing date it will not be considered.

ARTICLE 4. ADVISORY COMMITTEES

4.1 Ammodo shall appoint an Advisory Committee for each of the Domains. An Advisory Committee consists of five members, with one member acting as chair (Advisory Committee). Members of an Advisory Committee are appointed for one edition, with the option to be reappointed.

4.2 Only persons who at the time of their appointment are full professors are eligible for appointment as Chair of an Advisory Committee. Only persons who at the time of their appointment are university lecturers, associate professors or full professors are eligible for appointment as members of an Advisory Committee. In addition to the Chair, at least one other member must be a full professor.

4.3 The role of the Advisory Committee is to assess the Applications for the Fellowship in the relevant Domain in accordance with the assessment criteria (see Article 5) and make recommendations for granting of the Fellowship (see Article 6).

4.4 The members of the Advisory Committees are bound by the Ammodo Science Fellowship Advisory Committee Regulations (Advisory Committee Regulations) and the Ammodo Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest.

4.5 The Advisory Committees are supported by a secretary from Ammodo.

4.6 Members of the Board of Ammodo and members of the Advisory Committees may not act as Referees or as Supervisors.

ARTICLE 5. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Applications will be assessed by the Advisory Committees in accordance with the following assessment criteria:

– Quality of the Research; a) the Research should be high quality scientific research, considering, among other things, the significance of the Research for the relevant scientific field, and b) the Research should be feasible within the budget requested under the Fellowship.

– Quality of the applicant; the applicant should be a talented researcher who is considered capable of a) carrying out the Research, and b) thereby making an innovative contribution to their field.

– Quality of the Host Institute; the Host Institute, including the Department and Supervisor, provide a high-quality and suitable research environment for a) conducting the Research, and for b) supporting the applicant in doing so. This includes the scientific infrastructure facilities required for the Research and the necessary scientific expertise, network, and supervision. The quality of the Host Institute is thus explicitly weighed in relation to the Research and does not stand alone.

When carrying out their assessment, the Advisory Committee will consider all three criteria in conjunction.

ARTICLE 6. RECOMMENDATION

6.1 Based on the assessment of the Applications using the assessment criteria (as described in Article 5), each Advisory Committee will prepare a reasoned and substantiated recommendation for the board of Ammodo for the granting of the Fellowship in the Domain concerned (Recommendation). Each Recommendation will normally consist of a minimum of one to a maximum of four applicants. A sum of € 200,000 is available per Domain.

6.2 If the Recommendation results in an amount of money of less than € 200,000 being granted, the board of Ammodo may decide to use the (remaining) amount of money to grant additional Fellowship(s) in other Domains. For the avoidance of doubt: this means that there is a possibility that no Fellowship will be granted in one or more Domains.

ARTICLE 7. GRANTING AND PRESENTATION

7.1 After receiving the Recommendations, the board of Ammodo will take a final decision on the granting of the Fellowships to the Fellows (Grant) before the 31st of December of the year of submission of Applications.

7.2 The presentation of the Fellowship to the Fellows will take place at a ceremony to be organised by Ammodo..

ARTICLE 8. EXPENSES AND CONDITIONS 

8.1 The Fellowship:

– will be used by the Fellow to fund the Research (to be conducted by the Fellow or under the Fellow’s supervision),

– may be spent on the salary of one or more researchers and on other costs associated with the Research (including materials), a maximum of 3% may be spent on travel and accommodation costs if the Research takes place outside Europe, and a maximum of 1.5% if the Research takes place within Europe. (In exceptional cases, 5% and 2.5% respectively may be spent on travel and accommodation costs, see the application form), and

– will not be used to fund overheads or other costs of the Host Institute not directly arising from the Research.

8.2 The Fellow must start the Research no later than one year after the Grant.

8.3 The Fellow must complete the Research no later than two years (on a full-time basis) after the start of the Research.

8.4 The research period is a minimum of six months (on a full-time basis).

8.5 The Fellow should devote a minimum of 0.8 FTE to the Research.

8.6 Any budget requested and approved by Ammodo for travel and accommodation expenses will be paid directly to the Fellow.

8.7 The remainder of the Fellowship will be paid (in instalments) by Ammodo to the Host Institute or if the Fellow is seconded from a university or research institute, to this knowledge institute (Knowledge Institute).

8.8 Payment of the amounts referred to in this Article 8 will not be made until Ammodo has received written confirmation from the Host Institute (and if applicable, the Knowledge Institute) that it is bound by these Fellowship Regulations.

8.9 The monetary amounts referred to in this Article 8 are gross payments which will not be increased by Ammodo by any taxes payable by the Fellow or Host Institute (or where applicable, the Knowledge Institute) on the monetary amount granted. All tax obligations arising from the payment by Ammodo of the monetary amount granteded shall be fulfilled by the Fellow and the Host Institute (or where applicable, the Knowledge Institute).

ARTICLE 9. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

9.1 Within three months of the end of the Research, the Fellow will send a competed evaluation form to Ammodo (in accordance with the format that will be made available by Ammodo) indicating (i) the results of the Research and (ii) the actual amount spent.

9.2 The amount (if any) of the Fellowship that at the end of the Research proved not to be needed for the Research shall be repaid by the Host Institute (and/or if applicable: the Knowledge Institute) to a bank account to be specified by Ammodo. Ammodo has no obligation to disburse the remaining amount to another Fellow and/or the Host Institute.

9.3 Material changes to the Application including the research period and the funding requirement for the Research must be approved in advance by Ammodo.

ARTICLE 10. ADJUSTMENTS TO AMOUNT OF THE FELLOWSHIP

10.1 The Fellowship may be revoked by Ammodo if the Fellow and/or the Host Institute (and/or, if applicable, the Knowledge Institute), following a request for compliance, fails to comply with one or more of the obligations set out in Articles 8 and 9. In the event a Fellowship is withdrawn, the amount of the Fellowship already paid will be refunded by the party that received that amount and Ammodo will not be obliged to make any further payment in connection with the Fellowship.

10.2 If the Research is terminated prematurely due to illness or death of the Fellow, the portion of the amount already received that has not yet been spent shall be promptly refunded to Ammodo and Ammodo shall not be liable to pay any further amounts in connection with the Fellowship.

ARTICLE 11. CHANGES AND CONTINGENCIES

11.1 These Fellowship Regulations are available in Dutch and in English. In the provisions as set out in the English version of the Fellowship Regulations shall prevail.

11.2 The board of Ammodo will decide in respect of all matters not covered by these Fellowship Regulations.

11.3 These Fellowship Regulations may be amended by a resolution of the board of Ammodo.

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