RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Cover Page
SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME
FP7 Marie Curie Actions – People
Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes
Grant agreement for:
COFUND
Annex I - “Description of Work”
Project acronym: RESPIRE
Project full title: REspiratory Science Promoted by International
Research Exchanges
Grant agreement no.: 229571
Date of preparation of Annex I (latest version): 7th August 2008
Date of approval of Annex I by Commission:
Page 1 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
PART A
A.1: List of Beneficiary and host organisations (where applicable)
Beneficiary/
Host
organisations
Number *
Beneficiary/ Host
organisation name
Beneficiary
/Host
organisation
short name
Country
Date enter
project**
Date exit
project**
1
European Respiratory
Society
ERS
Switzerland
Month 1
Month 36
2
* Please use n° 1 for beneficiary and the following numbers, where applicable, for pre-identified host
organisations actively involved in the programme
** Normally insert “month 1 (start of project)” and “month n (end of project)”
A.2: Project Summary

Free Keywords:
Health sciences, Medical sciences, Chronic diseases, Emergent diseases, respiratory
diseases and medicine, asthma, COPD, TB
 Abstract:
The European Respiratory Society (ERS), the main scientific society in the respiratory field in
Europe, promotes research into respiratory diseases in children or adults, including asthma,
cystic fibrosis, COPD, lung cancer, and sleep-related respiratory disease. Since 1998, the
ERS has operated a successful programme of trans-national exchange of researchers in
pneumology and respiratory science. The aim of the current RESPIRE proposal, is to expand
this programme and stimulate post-doctoral research opportunities in the respiratory field
within Europe. RESPIRE will fund 1-year research fellowships to enable holders of a PhD
(or others with equivalent research experience) to conduct research in a European country
other than their own. The specific objective of RESPIRE is to triple the number of fellowships
from the current 2 post-doctoral fellowships per year to a total of 18 fellowships over 3 years.
Candidates from outside Europe will be eligible, but only host institutions based in Europe
will participate in the programme. There will be no discrimination according to age, gender,
ethnic origin, religious or political beliefs. In line with the existing evaluation process of the
ERS, RESPIRE will ensure that all applications undergo an impartial and rigorous peerreview evaluation by recognised (but anonymous) international experts. Then, through a
procedure free of conflicts of interest, the scientific committee of the ERS will select the
fellows based on scientific merits and transparent criteria. RESPIRE will be evaluated using
quantifiable scientific output measures, as well as indicators of human achievements.
RESPIRE will not only boost the careers of the fellowship recipients, it will also promote the
European Research Area, by creating the platform needed to enhance and maintain
scientific networks, and retaining promising researchers in Europe. This will in turn be an
important step towards conquering some of the most disabling diseases in Europe.
Page 2 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
PART B
Introduction
Founded in 1990, the European Respiratory Society (ERS, www.ersnet.org) is an international
scientific society, composed of nearly 9000 members in over 100 countries who represent
pneumologists and other medical disciplines (paediatricians, intensive care, oncology,
thoracic surgeons etc); scientists and allied health professionals in the field of respiratory
medicine across Europe and globally. It is the pre-eminent medical society in Europe in its
field and represents the main forum for scientific exchange and continuing education for
medical doctors and scientists engaged in lung science in Europe and beyond.
The ERS mission is to alleviate suffering from respiratory disease and to promote lung
health through research, knowledge sharing, medical and public education and advocacy.
The ERS promotes and supports respiratory science through the dissemination and
exchange of knowledge at the Annual Congress, the Lung Science Conference and research
seminars, and via scientific publications and the production of guidelines. The ERS also
directly supports science and research through task forces, research awards, and particularly
through research fellowships. The ERS through the ERS School supports an extensive
education programme with educational symposia at the annual congress and external courses.
The ERS fellowship programme was started in 1998 and has over the years grown to
be a highly-esteemed programme supporting the best young researchers in respiratory science
in Europe. Overall, every year, the ERS supports 10–13 long-term fellowships of 12-months
(30–50 applications received) and around 15 short-term fellowships of 3 months (40–60
applications received). With the aid of the proposed RESPIRE programme, the ERS will now
extend its fellowship programme, and highlight and stimulate post-doctoral career
opportunities in the respiratory research area in Europe.
B 1 Selection process for the fellows under the programme
1.1 Transparency of the selection process for the fellows under the programme
Describe the efforts made to promote the programme and its calls, both nationally and
abroad, in order to reach the target audience.
The target for the ERS long-term post-doctoral research fellowship programme, proposed in
this application by the acronym RESPIRE, consists of experienced researchers in the
respiratory field. Applicants will be accepted only if they are in the possession of a doctoral
degree, or have the equivalent of 4 years full-time research experience. The RESPIRE
programme offers fellowships of 1 year with the possibility of renewal at the end of the
period. The programme is open to both Europeans and non-Europeans, but host-institutions
are always located in Europe. The RESPIRE fellowships described in this application are part
of a larger fellowship programme offered by the ERS, which covers both long-term and shortterm fellowships aimed at both training and research, and includes also early-stage
experienced researchers. For details on the complete ERS fellowship programme, see
enclosure 1, “ERS Fellowships 2008” which provides the rules and guidelines for applicants.
Since the ERS is an international organisation, the promotion efforts of the programme
are both across Europe and worldwide. Different means of promotion will be used in order to
reach the target audience, and these will include both internal advertisement activities within
the ERS, as well as promotional activities aimed at reaching a wider audience. Specific efforts
will be made to prevent circulation to be restricted to ERS members and associated activities,
Page 3 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
individuals or institutions. Notably, Community websites such as e.g. Cordis and Euraxess
will be used to disseminate actions related to the RESPIRE programme, and calls for
fellowships will be made through the support of these websites.
The support of these Community websites will enable higher access and visibility to
the RESPIRE programme at a European level, targeting in this way a larger audience and
supporting exchange with the focused host institutions for this programme, which are located
in Europe.
With regard to the specific ERS promotional activities, the following actions regularly
take place, aiming at reaching both ERS members and non-ERS members::
About four months before the application deadline, each of the 9000 ERS members
receives printed information, including a poster advertising the ERS fellowship programme
for the coming year, enclosure 2. Members are encouraged to display the posters in their
hospitals and research units. In addition, the ERS sends targeted email alerts to its 35,000
database contacts advertising the fellowships with targeted reminders before each deadline,
enclosure 3.
The ERS fellowship programme is also promoted via the website of the ERS and can
be accessed via: www.ersnet.org/fellowships. Before each deadline the programme is the
main topic of the ERS website homepage.
The fellowship programme is also advertised, using updated versions of the advert
presented in enclosure 2, upon request by the ERS Scientific Activities Department in the
main ERS scientific publications:
The European Respiratory Journal (ERJ). The ERJ is a scientific journal,
publishing original peer-reviewed research articles. It is issued monthly and
is ranked third internationally in respiratory medicine according to its ISI
impact factor of 5.076 for 2006. The ERJ reaches all the 9000 members and
most university hospitals and similar institutions at national level that have
specialist departments in respiratory medicine.
Breathe the ERS official educational journal and provides high-quality up-todate material for pneumologists, general practitioners, and allied health
professionals especially those in clinical practice. Breathe includes CME
accredited articles. It offers expert advice on special topics. The circulation of
Breathe is over 15,000 copies and is distributed to ERS members as well as
non-ERS members.
Promotion for the fellowship programme occurs at a bi-monthly basis in the
ERS Newsletter, an electronic publication which is sent out by e-mail to all members of the
ERS, but which is also freely available to all, and can be downloaded directly from the ERS
website, see: http://dev.ersnet.org/109-latest-issue.htm. A standard, constant feature in the
ERS Newsletter is the specific section on “ERS Fellowships” which both advertises and
promotes the ERS fellowship programme, see enclosure 4. Every issue also has a specific
section called “ERS Fellowships” and provides an opportunity for one or two fellows to
describe how they have benefited from the ERS fellowship scheme, see enclosure 5 - articles
of the ERS Newsletter, May 2007 and January 2008. The ERS also summarises the results of
the fellowship applications in its Newsletter.
A key activity of the ERS is to organise an Annual Congress in respiratory medicine.
It has grown to become the world's largest gathering in respiratory medicine with over 17,000
worldwide delegates attending. The ERS Annual Congress is used to actively promote the
fellowship programme in the following ways:
Page 4 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
-
Promotional articles on the fellowships are included in the Congress
publications (Advance and Final Programme), see enclosure 6, including
mention of the candidates awarded the previous year.
A dedicated scientific session during the ERS congress, where ERS fellows
can present their results and share experiences, the “ERS Fellows” Lunch
session.
Fellowships are promoted at the ERS Stand at the ERS Annual Congress,
which is always situated at a prominent position at the congress centre and is
held at different European locations every year, see http://dev.ersnet.org/415general-information.htm
The ERS Fellowships are also promoted during the numerous other seminars, courses,
workshops and conferences organised by the ERS or at many other national and international
meetings where the ERS is represented and/or has a stand, thereby also targeting nonmembers.
Finally all ERS officers are encouraged to actively promote the Fellowships through
their country or community. All ERS officers also receive a brochure called “Scientific and
Educational Activities – an overview of the opportunities and services offered to Assembly
and Group officers”, which also provides information on the ERS Fellowships, see enclosure
7.
The promotional posters that are sent to the 9000 ERS members will be publicly displayed in
the university hospitals and/or laboratories and institutes, and will thus reach out beyond the
membership of the Society and promoted at local, national level.
In addition to promotional material on ERS fellowships sent to all 9000 ERS
members, the ERS also manages a central database consisting of more than 35 000 contacts
most of whom are non-members. These individuals may have had some former contact with
the ERS and interest in respiratory medicine, and will also receive targeted email alerts with
regard to imminent fellowship deadlines, see enclosure 2. Typically these may be ERS
congress delegates, representatives of other specialties or sub-specialities (e.g. cardiologists;
allergologists; paediatricians etc); registered attendees to ERS research seminars/external
courses; investigators and/or other representatives of R&D-based pharmaceutical companies
etc. The contact database also includes former members of the ERS.
Non-members of the ERS will be informed about the fellowships directly through
their attendance at the ERS Annual Congress, which attracts some 17,000 delegates, many of
whom are non-Europeans, or belong to other specialities, and so not necessarily professional
members of the ERS. Information about the ERS and its range of scientific and educational
activities are regularly promoted at other major international conferences in the field of
respiratory medicine, and where the ERS is represented, notably annual events of the
American Thoracic Society (ATS) and American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).
Describe how applicants are informed about the evaluation and the selection process, in
particular about the evaluation criteria used to grade applications.
Applicants are informed about the evaluation and selection process on the ERS website and
the documents that can be downloaded from there. The rules and guidance document “ERS
Fellowships 2008” see section 3.6 “Selection”, enclosure 1 which describes in detail the
selection and evaluation procedure that applies for the ERS fellowships.
Page 5 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
In brief, candidates are informed that selection focuses on the scientific excellence of
the researcher/clinician and the proposed work as described by the candidates in their Project
Description, which forms an essential part of the application - see section 4.4, enclosure 1.
Section 3.6 clearly explains that the selection is made on the basis of the overall
average score of the scientific expert evaluation of the candidate application by the three
external expert reviewers. Section 3.6 also lists the individual six evaluation criteria upon
which the experts are asked to grade the application, as well as the applicable grades and their
respective meanings.
Section 3.6, enclosure 1, emphasises that experts of the highest international standing
in their respective fields carry out this evaluation task and that their assessments are normally
confidential and not divulged outside the ERS, but that upon specific request from the
candidates themselves, the “anonymised” reviewers’ comments and marks can be made
available to them. Candidates are also informed that no distinction will be made between
candidates on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation and religious or political
beliefs. Finally they are notified that the decisions are final and appeals are not considered.
Describe how and at what stage applicants are informed about the evaluation results.
The awarded applicants are informed through an official letter from the ERS Chair of the
Scientific Committee, which is sent both by regular post and electronically via e-mail. Those,
whose proposals could not be awarded, receive a letter via e-mail only. All applicants receive
the final reply at the same time (normally 4 months after the application deadline) regardless
of whether the application was positively or negatively evaluated.
1.2 Composition and organisation of selection committees
Describe your criteria for the selection and balance of experts on the selection
committee(s)
The organisation of the selection process of the fellows is the responsibility of the ERS
Scientific Committee, which is composed mainly of the Heads of the 11 Scientific Assemblies
and the Chair of the Committee, see enclosure 8. The Assembly Heads are elected by the
members for a 3-year mandate, and they are generally recognised leaders in their respective
disciplines. The Scientific Assemblies are composed of members with a similar interest in
specific areas within the broad field of respiratory medicine. Their purpose is to provide a
scientific forum. The final decision on the fellowships is taken by the ERS Executive
Committee.
After the application deadline is closed, the applications are assigned by the Chair of the
Scientific Committee to the most relevant Scientific Assembly Heads, depending on the topic
of the application. Each Assembly Head is then responsible for assigning each application for
external review to three experts of the highest international standing in their respective field.
The assessments by the experts will then be collected by the Assembly Heads and brought
forward to the Scientific Committee. Based on the assessments, the Scientific Committee
prepares a recommendation which is put forward to the Executive Committee who takes the
final decision about which applicants are rewarded.
The three experts are selected by the Assembly Heads on the basis of them having an in-depth
knowledge about the research topic proposed by the fellowship applicant. Criteria for
selecting the experts include relevant recent publications in the field, related research
Page 6 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
activities, authorship of textbooks, or educational activities in the topic. Invited experts are
both European and non-European, and they may be ERS members as well as non-ERS
members. The choice of experts is made by the Assembly Head. The ERS encourages the
Assembly Heads to make a balanced choice in terms of gender, country origin and
experience, but the emphasis should be on the scientific expertise and knowledge. The
proposed experts must not be from the applicants’ home or host institution, and must not have
a potential or actual conflict of interest.
Members of the Scientific Committee (who prepare the recommendations for accepted
fellows) and Executive Committee (who take the final decision) are elected and thus selected
by means of the nomination and voting procedures as stipulated in the ERS Constitution and
its Bylaws. A regular rotation of experts on the Scientific Committee is ensured following the
election results and the regular entry of new Assembly Heads.
Describe how these criteria for selecting experts follow the "Code of Conduct for the
Recruitment of Researchers"12(e.g. is the gender balance adequate, are different disciplines
and sectors (private and public) represented, are there experts from other countries)?
The experts are selected based on their merits in their respective scientific fields. Criteria for
selecting the experts include relevant recent publications on the topic, related research
activities, authorship of text books, or educational activities in the field. It is irrelevant
whether they are European or non-European, and both ERS and non-ERS members are
invited. The choice of experts is made by the Assembly Head. The ERS encourages the
Assembly Heads to make a balanced choice in terms of gender, country of origin and
experience but the emphasis should be on the scientific expertise and knowledge. The
proposed experts must not be from the applicants’ home or host institution, and may not have
a potential or actual conflict of interest.
Explain how your selection progress is organised (e.g. how many experts read a proposal,
who takes the final decision about the selection/rejection of a proposal, etc.)
General procedure
The Chair of the ERS Scientific Committee presents the final list of candidates one by one to
the ERS Executive Committee and recommends the Committee to approve these selected
candidates for the award of an ERS fellowship. The Executive Committee has the power to
raise objections to one or more of the selected candidates if the selection procedure was
contested. This, however, is an unlikely scenario as most of the discussion has already taken
place in the Scientific Committee which is composed of Assembly Heads who also are
members of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee of the ERS makes the final decision on the selection of researchers
to be awarded the ERS RESPIRE fellowship. The ERS Scientific Committee is involved in
the preparatory work, and puts forward the recommendation to the Executive Committee for
final decision. The recommendation on individual candidates is in turn based upon the
average overall score and comments of the experts.
Detailed description of selection procedure
1) The applications received by the ERS Secretariat (Scientific Department) are allotted
individual fellowship numbers. The applications are briefly reviewed by the Chair of the
Page 7 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Scientific Committee who assigns it to the relevant Assembly Heads depending on the
research area chosen by the applicant and in the absence of conflicts of interest.
2) The completed on-line application, see enclosure 9, received by the ERS Secretariat will
thus contain the following: (1) Fellowship sought including expected start and finishing
dates; (2) Applicant personal details (3) Home supervisor details (4) Host supervisor
details (5) Professional qualifications and experience of the applicant. In addition the
following documents need to be up-loaded online: 1x short CV (max 1 page), 1x
publication list; 1x project description (max 4 pages);
3) The candidate is requested to download and complete the following documents from the
online application link and send it by return fax or email to the ERS Scientific Activities
Department: 1x home supervisor release, enclosure 10; 1x host acceptance form,
enclosure 11; and 2x reference forms, enclosure 12, from independent professional
colleagues familiar with the applicants’ work, neither of whom belong to the home
laboratory or host institution.
4) The application, which can be viewed via a specific link online, is sent together with an
accompanying letter signed by the Scientific Committee Chair to the Assembly Head
asking him/her to enter the names of three different, suitable experts of the highest
international ranking for each application. The letter also informs the Assembly Head that
the proposed experts should not include any person from the applicants’ home institution
or host institution.
5) Each application is then sent to the three proposed experts together with a letter from the
ERS informing them that the Assembly Head has proposed them as a potential reviewer.
The letter asks them if they accept the invitation to evaluate the application for a
fellowship, and asks them to use the online reviewing system to grade and evaluate the
application within a 15 day deadline. The letter also says that in case they cannot act as an
expert, they should inform the ERS Scientific Department without delay, so that the
Assembly Head can nominate another potential reviewer.
6) The ERS Scientific Department receives the completed “Research Fellowship Review
Form” from the three experts, see enclosure 13. Each application is compiled with the
three reviews and then sent to the appropriate Assembly Head.
7) Prior to the meeting of the ERS Scientific Committee, all the documents are prepared by
the ERS Scientific Activities Department containing each full application and the
“anonymised” expert evaluations. The ERS Scientific Dept. will prepare the work of the
Scientific Committee by listing all applicants, their individual average scores of the three
expert grades, and the average overall score for each applicant. The summary list will thus
present the highest average overall scorers at the top and the lowest scorers at the bottom
of the list, see enclosure 14. These are up-loaded on the ERS intra-net and are to be
printed out by all the Assembly Heads prior to the meeting. The applications with the
lowest scores e.g. average score of < 3.5 are normally discussed very briefly and are
usually not considered further. Applications with high scores undergo an iterative
evaluation process.
Page 8 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
8) At the start of the Scientific Committee meeting, and before each application is discussed,
the Chair will announce the total budget available for fellowships, and thus the final
number of applicants that can be awarded a fellowship.
9) The applications together with the experts’ evaluation are presented one by one by the
Assembly Head according to the pre-ranked order, see enclosure 14, with the
recommendation of the Assembly Head to the Scientific Committee. The general principle
is that the Assembly Head is to follow the final recommendation of the experts.
10) Further discussions on each fellowship application take place right after the summary
presentation made by the Assembly Head at the meeting of the Scientific Committee.
There may be additional questions as well as valuable insights about the research topic/
the applicant etc coming from other Assembly Heads. After the discussion, the Scientific
Chair proceeds to state what the general consensus of the Scientific Committee should be,
and proposes a final decision (which is minuted) to recommend or to refuse to grant an
ERS fellowship. Sometimes there are several applications which are equally good. These
are put on “hold” pending the outcome of the discussions of the other applicants. Those
applications will then be discussed again in an iterative process, to see which of those
candidates would benefit most from an ERS fellowship since it may not be possible to
fund all applications.
11) At the Executive Committee meeting, which is held the day after that of the Scientific
Committee, the Scientific Committee Chair will present the final list of candidates as
officially agreed by the Scientific Committee that have been chosen to be awarded an ERS
fellowship. The final decision is then made by the Executive Committee who thus
formally approves the recommendation of the Scientific Committee.
How do you handle potential and actual conflicts of interest of the experts?
External experts will be asked to review an application only if there is no potential or actual
conflict of interest. Those with conflicts of interests will not be asked. In the case the
Assembly Head was not aware of a conflict of interest, the expert is asked to indicate any
possible conflict upon receiving the invitation to review the application.
In cases when a member of the Scientific Committee has a potential or actual conflict
of interest with an applicant, the home or host-institution, he/she leaves the room during the
discussion and is not allowed to vote when the final decision about the applicant is made.
1.3 Criteria and method of judging merit
Describe the criteria for the selection of fellows. Explain how they allow the identification of
the scientific capability of the applicants. Do they take into account diverse knowledge and
qualifications (e.g. scientific/practical/management experience, trans-national mobility, intersectoral mobility, etc.)
Experts are asked to grade the applications according to five criteria using a scale 1-5 and
using only whole numbers, as is indicated in the ERS Fellowship Expert Reviewer Form,
enclosure 13.
The following grades are given:
Page 9 of 33
RESPIRE
5
4
3
2
1
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Excellent - Should be funded with highest priority
Very Good - Should be funded
Good - Could be funded with lesser priority
Average - Probably not funded
Poor - Should not be funded
In order to identify the scientific capability of the applicant, several categories of the
application are graded. Grading these different categories will allow consideration of the
diverse knowledge and qualifications of the fellow, career stage, scientific achievements and
management experience (applicants are asked to submit a CV, as well as a list of publications)
and relevance of the topic. The fellowships awarded by the ERS are typically European transnational, but ERS also funds fellows from outside EU-27 to undertake a fellowship in Europe.
Moreover, the ERS applies the “WHO Europe” definition of Europe, which includes a total of
53 countries.
Specifically, each of the following criteria will be given a grade:
 Relevance of the topic
 Methodology (including ethical considerations)/hypothesis/originality
 Likelihood of project completion
 Adequacy of the host-institution for this project
 Added value of travelling
 Achievable results (which takes into account where the applicant comes from and
hence the degree of development of research in the applicant’s home environment)
The average grade is then calculated, and will be used in the comparison with other
candidates and the final evaluation.
Explain how your ethical rules align with the Commission's ethical principles for FP7.
The ERS acknowledges the importance of adhering to the Commission’s ethical principles for
FP7. Therefore, several measures will be implemented in the RESPIRE programme to ensure
adherence to these principles.
The expert reviewers will be requested to comment on ethical issues in each
application. Moreover, a member of the ERS’ own Ethical Committee will review all
successful applications before start of each fellowship, in order to make sure that research to
be carried out is in line with the ethical principles of FP7. Main ethics issues that must be
addressed in each accepted fellowship project are: informed consent, human embryonic stem
cells, privacy and data protection, use of human biological samples and data, research on
animals, research in developing countries, and dual use.
Furthermore, in line with national and international legislation each research
programme in an accepted fellowship application must be approved by an ethical review
board at the host-institution, before it is commenced. A copy of the approval by the ethical
review board will be requested by the ERS, and must be submitted at the latest at the time of
the interim report, which is 6 months after the start of the fellowship.
A signed statement from the host institution will be requested before start of the fellowship
and before making the first payment. The statement must include the following points:
1) Certification that there is an ethical review board for research at the host institution
2) The research conducted at the laboratory of the host institution is in compliance with local,
national and international legislation and guidelines on research in humans and/or animals,
3) All necessary steps will be undertaken to ensure that the specific research project for which
Page 10 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
the application is made, will be in compliance with these legislation and guidelines, including
the FP7 Ethical Principles, as specified below,
4) Documentation of ethical approval of the proposed research will be provided to the ERS as
part of the interim report..
Specifically, the following fields of research will not be financed in the RESPIRE
programme:
 Research activity aiming at human cloning for reproductive purposes
 Research activity intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which
could make such changes heritable
 Research activities intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of
research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic
cell nuclear transfer.
If relevant, describe how you treat ethical issues that might appear in an applicant's research.
As indicated above, reviewers will be asked to include ethical considerations in their
assessments; these will also be considered by the Scientific Committee, with help from a
representative of the ERS Ethical Committee, before granting a fellowship. In case of doubt,
the fellowship will not be granted. Documentation of approval of the research by the host's
institution ethical review board will have to be provided with the interim report. Failure to
provide this will result in termination of the grant. Any evidence or suspicion of breaches of
ethical conduct and/or scientific integrity during (or after) the fellowship will result in a rapid
and thorough assessment by the ERS Ethical Committee. If necessary, this may result in
termination of the fellowship and/or other appropriate actions towards the host institution and
its authorities.
Explain how the merit of returnees from a career break is valued, if relevant.
All relevant experiences (such as for instance management or practical experiences) will be
included in the evaluation of the candidates. The ERS has amended its Fellowship Rules
following a decision of the Scientific Committee at its recent meeting of 7 Feb. 2008, to
remove the age limit for fellowship applicants. This will ensure that for instance those who
have been on a parental leave or other career-break will not be put at a disadvantage. The
same applies to those who have received time-consuming specialist training.
B.2 Management of the programme
2.1 Appointment conditions of selected fellows
Describe how you assure that appropriate technical conditions are provided for the selected
fellows in terms of office/lab space, access to appropriate equipment and material etc.
The host institution must ensure that the candidate will have access to the appropriate
technical equipment, material, office and lab space at the host-institution. This is an important
aspect of the selection procedure, confirmed by completion of the “Host Acceptance Form”,
enclosure 11. In the fellowship application there should be a detailed description on how the
partnership between the host and fellow would take full advantage of the facilities, resources
and materials available. The adequacy of the host will be evaluated by the expert reviewer,
and only hosts offering appropriate technical conditions will be accepted. Detailed guidelines
Page 11 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
for the host supervisor are currently being drafted by the ERS Secretariat with the objective to
ensure the fulfilment of both practical and scientific aspects which are relevant in the
beginning (housing, safety), during the completion (regular meetings, evaluations) and at the
end/ during the follow-up of the fellowship. The host will also be required before start of the
project, to confirm in writing to the ERS that they provide for the necessary facilities to carry
out the research, as well as that lab and office space will be available to the fellow during
his/her stay.
Describe the employment conditions provided to the fellows, including statutory working
practices, social security coverage and social benefits (contribution to pension funds, health
and accident insurance, parental leave etc.)
When an application has been approved by the ERS Scientific Committee, the ERS will
inform both the fellow and his/her home institution of the decision. In addition, in order to
make sure that the fellow will be appropriately taken care of, the ERS will inform the host
institution and ask the promotor to confirm in writing that they are prepared to receive the
fellow. The written confirmation by the host should include a starting date of the fellowship,
and a confirmation of the host institution’s responsibilities which include availability of lab
and office space; ability to conduct the projected research; and verification that health &
safety issues are taken care of. The host will also be asked to assist the fellow in housing and
other practical issues (e.g. he/she will be directed to the university’s housing department).
Moreover, a signed ethics statement must be submitted by the host at this stage (see also
above, section 1.3).
An important aspect of this written confirmation will be that the host will be requested
to assign named persons as scientific and administrative mentors for the fellow. The first one
being responsible for the scientific part of the fellow’s project, whereas the second mentor
will be responsible for coaching the fellow in all matters related to visa requirements,
registration with the university, opening a bank account, housing, finding appropriate schools
for the fellow’s children, etc.
The ERS will at the start of the fellowship write to the fellow to ensure that all
practical matters have been taken care of, and that the fellow has optimal starting conditions.
If there are any problems, the fellow has the possibility to report these to the ERS, who in
such cases will contact the host in order to try to solve the problems.
An interim (or mid-term) report will be requested from the fellow (and signed by the
host supervisor) at 6 months after start of the project. This report will include scientific
progress, as well as administrative and other issues. At this time also a copy of approval of the
research project by the local ethical review board needs to be submitted.
An end-of-project report including the same topics as the interim report will have to be
submitted at the end of the fellowship.
The ERS will check published output and other outcomes after two years and after
five years after completion of the project.
The ERS provides grants directly to the individual, and half of the grant is paid out in
advance onto the fellow’s bank account in the host country upon his/her arrival. The
remaining sum of the grant is paid out by the ERS after six months, following receipt (and
approval by the ERS) of the interim report from the fellow.
Grants are funded according to the personal and professional circumstances of the
fellow and the host country. The ERS subsistence rates are based on those published by the
European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) www.embo.org, See section 3.5,
enclosure 1, ERS Fellowship Rules, and the updated EMBO rates in enclosure 15.
Page 12 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
ERS fellows are encouraged to engage in teaching, discussion and similar activities of
the institution they visit. They may not, however, engage in any paid or salaried activities
during the course of their fellowships.
The size of the grants is such that it allows for the fellows to arrange for necessary
insurances and pension schemes for themselves and their families. Each fellow’s individual
situation is different, depending on both the home and host countries’ provision of statutory
working practices, social security coverage and social benefits, and whether or not the fellow
is employed or not by his/her home institution during the stay abroad. The ERS has therefore
chosen to pay the grant to each fellow in two separate payments, which then can be used by
the fellow in the best way to cover individual needs.
Please note that there is no requirement in the ERS Fellowship Rules stating that the
fellow must be employed by the host institution. Having a link with their home institutions,
e.g. through previous employment, scholarship, studentship or other, is a sufficiently
qualifying application criterion.
Explain how these conditions align with regional, national or sectoral conditions, as specified
in the "European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of
Researchers"?
Since the ERS is a non-governmental international organisation whose awards are not
automatically endowed with any particular tax privileges, it is the sole responsibility of the
recipient of an award to pay any tax which may be levied upon him/her by the relevant
national authority.
The ERS is neither a funder nor an employer according to the definitions in the
“European Charter for Researchers” but seeks to promote research by facilitating research and
training exchanges on a trans-national level by providing a grant according to the personal
and professional circumstances of the fellow and the host country. The ERS subsistence rates
are based on those published by the EMBO, and thus is adjusted according to host country,
age of the fellow and the number of dependents.
2.2 Quality of the programme management
Describe the management plan of the programme and the resources; include a chart giving
an overview over the deliverables and milestones of the programme and its implementation.
The ERS RESPIRE fellowship programme will include two calls, and aims to approve and
complete 18 one-year post-doctoral fellowships in the 36-month period. See figure 1 for a
tentative distribution of the fellowships during this period, as well as the programmes
deliverables (D) and milestones (M). The distribution of the fellowships over the three-year
period allows for some flexiblity, but the end-result will be 18 successfully accomplished
fellowships.
The programme will start with the opening of the first call (D1), which will be
followed by a four-month expert review process, to be concluded with the decision of the
successful applications (D2). A number of 8 fellows will be rewarded as a result of the first
call. Upon notification of the results to the fellows and hosts (D3), the hosts will be required
to confirm the acceptance of the fellow as well as to submit a statement that FP7 ethical rules
will be followed in the fellow’s project. The awarded fellows will then start preparing their
stay at the host institution. The start dates of the fellowships will be flexible and at the
discretion of the fellows, but should generally be according to the dates indicated in their
applications.
Page 13 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
It is estimated that as a result of the first call at least 5 post-doctoral fellows will be
able to start their projects within one year of start of the programme (M1). The remaining 3
rewarded fellows will start their projects in the second year of the programme (M2). Mid-term
(interim) reports (D4 and D6) and end-of-project reports (D5 and D7) will be a requirement to
fulfil by all fellows at 6 months after start of the project, and within one month after the
fellowships have been concluded. The mid-term report will include a copy of the ethical
approval by the local ethical review board at the host institution. The second call (D8) will be
opened 12 months after the first call and will aim to lead to the selection of 10 candidates.
After completion of the review (D9) and notification to the fellows and hosts (D10), it is
estimated that at least 3 fellowships will be started during the second year (M3). This makes a
total of 6 started fellowships in the second year, including the 3 fellowships that start in the
second year as a result of the first call. The remaining 7 fellowships will be completed before
the programme is finished at the end of the third year (M4).
Months
0 1
2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
D1: First call open
D2: Review of applications
D3: Notification to fellows and host
M1: 5 fellowships year 1 (first call)
D4: Mid-term report
D5: End-of-project report
M2: 3 fellowships year 2 (first call)
D6: Mid-term report
D7: End-of-project report
D8: Second call open
D9: Review of applications
D10: Notification to fellows and host
M3: 3 fellowships year 2 (second call)
D11: Mid-term report
D12: End-of-project report
M4: 7 fellowships year 3 (second call)
D13: Mid-term report
D14: End-of-project report
Figure 1. Overview of deliverables and milestones of the RESPIRE programme.
Once the fellow has completed the fellowship he/she is expected to submit within one
month an end-of-project report as well as a completed ERS Fellowship questionnaire to the
ERS, see enclosure 16. Upon approval of this report the fellow will be eligible to become a
member of the Association of ERS Fellows and will also receive an “ERS Fellows
Certificate” upon successful completion of the fellowship.
The day-to-day management of the fellowship programme is handled by two dedicated
and experienced full-time staff based at the ERS Scientific Department in Lausanne. These
are the (i) Head of the Scientific Activities Department and (ii) the Scientific Activities
Coordinator. The Finance Department is only involved when a request for transfer of payment
to the account of the awarded fellow is received from the Scientific Activities Coordinator.
Page 14 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Strategic decisions and recommendations for change of the fellowship programme are
the responsibility of the Scientific Committee, with specific guidance provided by the elected
Chair of the ERS Scientific Committee and the nominated ERS Research Director, see figure
2.
Scientific
Knowledge
and
Execution
and implementation
Expertise
of RESPIRE fellowship
ERS
ERS Scientific
Scientific Committee
Committee
Recommendation
Recommendation
Experts
Experts
Review
Review
Ethical
Ethical
aspects
aspects
ERS
ERS Executive
Executive Committee
Committee
Decision
Decision
Execution
and implementation
Scientific Knowledge
and Expertise
of RESPIRE fellowship
ERS Scientific
ERS Scientific
Committee Chair,
Committee Chair,
ERS Research
ERS Research
Director, ERS
Director, ERS
Executive Director
Executive Director
ERS
Activities
Dept.
ERS Scientific
Scientific Activities
Dept.
ERS
Department
ERS Finance
Finance Department
Figure 2. Management plan of the ERS RESPIRE Fellowship Programme.
Figure 2. Management plan of the ERS RESPIRE Fellowship Programme.
Since the initiation of the ERS fellowship programme in 1998, the staff at the ERS
Scientific Activities Department has built up valuable experience in managing and running
the programme efficiently. The staff at the ERS Scientific Dept is responsible for advertising
the fellowships and announcing the deadlines, collecting all applications and distributing them
to the Scientific Committee Chair who in turn will assign the applications to the Assembly
Heads. The Scientific Department will also receive electronically all the incoming expert
reviews and distribute them to the responsible Assembly Heads.
Once the final decisions have been taken at the Scientific and Executive Committee,
the Secretariat will implement the decisions e.g. will be responsible for sending the signed
letters to the applicants informing them about the result of their applications. The Scientific
Department also collaborates with staff of the Finance Department, who is responsible for
paying out the grants into the fellows’ bank accounts. At the termination of each fellowship
period, the Scientific Department sends out a questionnaire which serves as an end-of-project
report from the fellows.
If several organisations propose a joint programme, please describe the responsibilities of
each partner organisation.
Page 15 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Not applicable.Describe any review process that is associated with the programme, and
which may have already been carried out for existing programmes.
At the end of the programme the fellows are asked to complete and submit within one month
an ERS Fellowship questionnaire in 22 parts and also to write a short end-of-project report
(section 23), which is sent to them via email by the Scientific Dept, see enclosure 16. In the
questionnaire the fellows are asked to include details on their satisfaction with the programme
and their host regarding both practical and scientific matters. In addition, the host is also
asked to provide comments on their experience about the completed fellowship, see section
24, enclosure 16.
The results of these questionnaires are evaluated by the ERS and used to review the
programme. Overall, the fellows respond very positively on the programme. However,
comments were also made and as a result of this review process, some of the rules have been
amended during the past two years. Among other things, it was decided at the Scientific
Committee meeting in Feb. 2008 to remove the age limit for application (which used to be
40). Moreover, it has also been made possible to submit a renewal application in order to
extend a 1-year fellowship to 2 years, and ERS fellowships may be used as an extension of
previous support from other sources. These new rules will also be applicable to the RESPIRE
fellowships.
Give an overview over the qualification and experience of the senior staff responsible for the
management of the programme.
The ERS fellowship programme has been running since 1998 and the staff at the ERS office
in Lausanne has acquired an extensive experience in managing this programme. The Head of
the ERS Scientific Activities Department is the dedicated senior staff responsible for
managing the programme. The Head of Scientific Activities Dept, Ms Carine Pannetier, holds
a masters degree in biochemistry and has worked for 3 years at the ERS office in Lausanne.
She is also responsible for coordinating the Scientific Programme of the ERS Annual
Congress, and for managing and preparing the work, agenda and minutes of the meetings of
the ERS Scientific Committee.
Other senior ERS staff and officers who are responsible in managing the programme
are the Executive Director, the Chair of the Scientific Committee and the Research Director.
The ERS Executive Director, Jean-Luc Eiselé, PhD, was appointed in his current
position in September 2007, based upon his strong merits in administration as well as
respiratory science. Mr Eiselé previously held the position as Deputy Executive Manager of
the ERS and was also the Scientific and Education Department Manager. He has been leading
ERS activities in the educational and scientific arena since 1999 and has extensive knowledge
of the current ERS Fellowship Programme. Mr Eiselé has been an active researcher in
biochemistry in Switzerland and France 1984-2007, holding a position at the Pasteur Institute
in Paris, initially as a recipient of a long-term EMBO fellowship. This opportunity gave him
an in depth knowledge of all aspects of fellowship programmes from recipient to
management.
The ERS Scientific Committee Chair is currently Professor Benoit Nemery. He has
been elected for a period of three years, starting in September 2006. Professor Benoit Nemery
is Head of the Lung Toxicology Research Unit, within the Laboratory of Pneumology, at the
Faculty of Medicine, and is also Chair of the Dept of Public Health of the Katholieke
Universiteit, Leuven. He has vast experience within the ERS. He has served as both the
Assembly Secretary and Head in the Occupation and Epidemiology Assembly. His main
scientific interests focus on the mechanisms of pulmonary toxicity caused by various agents.
Page 16 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
As a clinician, he treats patients with various occupational and environmental diseases,
including occupational asthma and asbestos-related disorders.
Professor Sven-Erik Dahlén is the newly-appointed ERS Research Director, whose
home institute is the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, where he is Head of a research unit of
approximately 25 basic and clinical scientists. He is also the Director of the Centre for
Allergy Research at this institute, a network organisation within the Karolinska Institutet that
attempts to stimulate trans-disciplinary research by supporting some core facilities,
postdoctoral positions and project grants for collaborative research. On a European level Prof.
Dahlén has been involved in several EU projects and is the coordinator of the BIOAIR project
(FP5) and Team Leader for the EU network of Excellence GA2LEN (FP6). He possesses
extensive experience of evaluating quality in science in various reviewing and granting
bodies.
Both the Scientific Committee Chair and the Research Director are strongly involved
in developing and strengthening the ERS future research activities in the field of respiratory
medicine at the European level, but also to further strengthen the existing ERS fellowship
programme making it more competitive and attracting a larger part of the respiratory researchactive community.
Give an overview of the estimated programme budget including the requested co-funding
contribution (use table as appropriate). Demonstrate that you will use the Community
contribution in line with the objectives and scope of the COFUND action as described in the
Work programme.
In the RESPIRE programme the Community contribution will be used to increase the number
of trans-national post-doctoral fellowships awarded by the programme. The number of
experienced researchers holding a doctoral degree that were awarded a long-term ERS
fellowship have so far been low, as the focus of the programme has been on less-experienced
researchers. Among the 13 long-term fellows awarded in 2007, 2 were in possession of a
PhD, although there were also a number of clinicians with several years of experience in
clinical research. The ERS recognises the importance of stimulating the post-doctoral research
opportunities in Europe and has therefore decided to expand the long-term fellowship
programme for experienced researchers (the proposed RESPIRE programme), while at the
same time maintaining the other components of its fellowship programme (including shortterm and training fellowships) at an undiminished level.
The present application for COFUND will be for a period of 36 months. See figure 3 for the
estimated increase of the RESPIRE programme budget. The budget is also explained in detail
below.
Page 17 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
300
CoFund contribution
250
Budget (kEUR)
ERS contribution
200
150
100
50
0
Year prior
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Figure 3. The RESPIRE programme budget.
The estimated RESPIRE budget for the first year of the programme:
Budget in the year prior to the CoFund application:
80.000 EUR (2 fellowships)
Proposed increase of the programme:
121.000 EUR (3 fellowships)
Total cost of the programme:
201.000 EUR (5 fellowships)
CoFund contribution (40% of total):
80.000 EUR
Own contribution:
121.000 EUR
Please note: all costs including 10% overhead and 5% management costs
This will be subsequently increased to a total of 6 fellowships for the second year and 7
fellowships for the third year, as follows:
The estimated RESPIRE budget for the second year of the programme:
Budget in the first year of the programme:
201.000 EUR (5 fellowships)
Proposed increase of the programme in the second year:
41.000 EUR (1 fellowship)
Total cost of the programme:
242.000 EUR (6 fellowships)
CoFund contribution (40% of total):
97.000 EUR
Own contribution:
145,000 EUR
Please note: all costs including 10% overhead and 5% management costs
The estimated RESPIRE budget for the third year of the programme:
Budget in the second year of the programme:
242.000 EUR (6 fellowships)
Proposed increase of the programme in the third year:
41.000 EUR (1 fellowships)
Total cost of the programme:
282.000 EUR (7 fellowships)
CoFund contribution (40% of total):
113.000 EUR
Own contribution:
169.000 EUR
Please note: all costs including 10% overhead and 5% management costs
Please note: the current budget estimations do not take into account yearly increase due to
inflation.
2.3 Client-friendliness towards applicant researchers
Describe your application documentation, with particular view to accessibility and usability.
Page 18 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
The fellowship application procedure is processed wholly on-line in English language via the
ERS website, and is accessible to everyone throughout the year at the following link:
http://www.ersnet.org/fellowship08/login/default.aspx?type=1. First time users need to create
a username and password, see enclosure 17. Once the personal account is created, applicants
can enter and re-enter the account as they choose. They can change the information as long as
they do not press the "submit" button. Once the submit button is pressed, amendments to their
application can only be made if he or she directly contacts the ERS Secretariat. The “ERS
Fellowship Rules”, enclosure 1, and other necessary information can also be accessed via the
application website.
In addition to the information entered directly via the on-line system, a number of
documents need to be uploaded onto the system. Other documents require the applicant to
first download templates, have them completed, and then return them in a separate email or
via fax to the Secretariat. This is clearly explained via the on-line system. The additional
documents include a curriculum vitae, a publication list, a project description of maximum 4
pages, 2 reference forms, 1 home supervisor release form and 1 host acceptance form, see
enclosures 9, 10, 11& 12.
This system has been in use for a number of years and has proven to be user-friendly
and well-functioning. In the event where an applicant may have failed to upload certain
documents, they will be contacted directly via email by the ERS Secretariat (Scientific
Department) and given the opportunity to submit them afterwards.
Do you offer support to applicants? If so, describe the individual functions (e.g. help-desk,
FAQ's, Quality assurance)?
The ERS Scientific Department in Lausanne provides a help-desk function by handling any
direct queries by phone or e-mail that may come from applicants and that relate to any
questions or problems to the application procedure. The on-line application indicates that any
queries on the application process should be sent to the general email provided. Specific
eligibility-related queries from applicants that may imply a change in rules or other principle
discussions, are collected and added as an agenda item to be discussed in the up-coming ERS
Scientific Committee meeting at the same time when the applications are discussed. The
decision of the committee may then result in a change of the ERS Fellowship Rules. The
applicant is then informed that the query will be discussed at the subsequent meeting, and that
he/she will be informed of the final decision.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the applicant will have a chance to complete his/her
application since the Secretariat staff actively request the on-line system company to notify
them in the event that the online application is incomplete with missing documentation. Thus,
there is no exclusion of applicants in the submission phase and the Scientific Department
actively ensures that all supporting documents of applicants are in place, and notifies those
candidates where there are missing supporting documents, encouraging them to complete
their application.
Describe the information to applicants about the expected time to receive evaluation results
and to start fellowships
The applicants are informed in the guidelines for the application that they will receive the
evaluation results four months after the application deadline. Those applicants that are
awarded a fellowship may then start the fellowship according to the start-date that they
themselves propose, provided that this date allows sufficient time to solve practical issues
such as passport, visa, housing etc.
Page 19 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Illustrate the feed-back given to the applicants about the evaluation results (e.g. are the
reasons for rejection explained in detail? Are strengths and weaknesses of the proposal
mentioned?).
Those who did not get awarded the fellowship receive an e-mail with a letter in which
they are briefly informed of the fact that unfortunately the budget for the fellowship
programme allows only an average of 20-35% of applications to be accepted, and that
therefore it was not possible to fund their proposals. The exact percentage varies from year to
year and depends on the number of applications received and budget available for funding. As
already mentioned under section 1.1 the reasons for the rejection are not normally explained
in detail in the letter to the applicant, although these may be made available to the candidate
upon request. In that case the candidate would get a transcript of the “anonymised” three
expert reviewer individual scores and comments, including a clear statement of the reasons
for declining the proposal.
2.4 Administrative capacity to implement the programme
Show that your organisation/institution has the necessary infrastructure to carry out the
administrative tasks of the proposed fellowship programme
As explained in section 2.2, the ERS fellowship programme has been running since 1998, and
the ERS Scientific Activities Department, has acquired extensive experience to manage the
programme efficiently. The staff at the ERS Scientific Dept. is responsible for advertising the
fellowships and announcing the deadline, collecting all applications and distributing them to
the Scientific Committee Chair who in turn will assign the applications to the Assembly
Heads. They collect all expert reviews and distribute them to the responsible Assembly
Heads. Once the final decisions have been made, the staff is responsible for sending the letters
to the applicants informing them about the result. The Scientific Dept. collaborates with the
ERS Finance Department, who is responsible for paying out the grants into the fellows’ bank
accounts. At the termination of each fellowship period, the ERS staff collects the end-ofproject reports from the fellows.
The two competent full-time staff involved are the Head of Scientific Activities who
holds a masters degree in biochemistry and has worked for 3 years at the ERS office, and the
Scientific Activities Coordinator who holds a masters degree in physics and has several years
work experience at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property as a patent researcher.
Show that your organisation has the required financial expertise and audit function for the
programme.
The ERS is a recognised, established, non-governmental organisation handling large
congresses, scientific journals, fellowship programmes, external courses and seminars etc. It
has an adequately staffed and well-functioning Finance Department based in Lausanne
Switzerland with personnel of the required expertise and audit function for the programme. Its
accounts are fully audited on a yearly basis by KPMG / Deloitte.
Give an overview over the qualification and experience of the general staff responsible for the
execution of the programme.
Page 20 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
As explained in section 2.2, the day-to-day and general management of the fellowship
programme is under the direct responsibility of two experienced full-time staff at the ERS
Scientific Department in Lausanne. Specifically, the Head of Scientific Activities, Ms Carine
Pannetier, holds a masters degree in biochemistry and has worked 3 years at the Scientific
Department of the ERS office in Lausanne. She is responsible for the coordinating the
Scientific Programme of the ERS Annual Congress, and she is also responsible for managing
and preparing the work, agenda and minutes of the meetings of the ERS Scientific
Committee.
The Scientific Activities Coordinator, Ms. Josephine Ricou Yanmaz, holds a masters
degree in physics and has several years of relevant work experience as a patent researcher
from the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property. She joined the ERS Scientific
Activities Dept. with a particular responsibility for coordination and successful
implementation of the ERS fellowship programme, in line with decisions of the ERS
Scientific and Executive committees.
2.5 Appropriateness of the scale of the programme
Demonstrate that the number of fellowships suggested in your programme is appropriate in
terms of achieving a strategic impact.
The award of an ERS fellowship is recognised as very prestigious, and so it is extremely
important for the individual receiving it, since this provides them with a unique opportunity to
broaden his/her scientific as well as personal experiences. A stay in a different country to
acquire new skills is usually highly-valued in the home country upon return of the fellow. A
fellowship also often results in a life-long collaboration between the fellow, his/her home
institution and the host, which strengthens the networks and collaborations between research
groups and countries in Europe.
In Europe, as well as in the rest of the world, lung diseases are among the leading
causes of mortality and morbidity. The leading killers such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease are strongly related to tobacco consumption, but other risk factors such as
air pollution, allergens, infectious pathogens and toxic occupational agents also play an
important role in the development of respiratory disease in Europe. Other major respiratory
diseases that are seeing an increased prevalence and incidence in Europe are asthma, rhinitis,
drug-resistant TB, pneumonia, sleep-related disorders etc.
There is a crucial need for efforts to concentrate not only on prevention, but also for an
expansion of the means dedicated to scientific research and treatment of lung disease. The
work accomplished by the ERS to develop research and training opportunities, amongst others
through the RESPIRE programme, will be essential if Europe is to come to the forefront of
medical research and patient care.
Thus although the respiratory science community is relatively small, it will be a major
achievement to increase the support of experienced researchers to become leading
investigators in their respective field. More than doubling the number of long-term postdoctoral fellowships in the proposed RESPIRE programme will therefore have a significant
impact on building and maintaining scientific networks in the respiratory field in Europe.
Describe the programme design elements that give it the capacity to adapt or expand easily?
The programme is designed in such a way that it has the capacity to adapt to the fellow’s
circumstances. For instance, if the fellow wishes to expand his fellowship, the RESPIRE
programme gives the opportunity to extend his/her stay, and he may submit a new application.
Page 21 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
The ERS will allow 1-year fellowships to be extended with one additional year. The new
application will be evaluated on scientific merits.
2.6 Future development of the programme
Describe the longer-term strategy of the programme and how you see its future development
beyond the Community co-funded phase.
In September 2007, the ERS has created the new position of Research Director. One of the
main tasks of the Research Director is, together with the Scientific Committee, to assess the
long-term strategy of the ERS fellowship programme and in particular the proposed RESPIRE
programme with focus on post-doctoral positions. The future development of this programme
is a process which has been commenced by the Research Director and Scientific Committee,
and will be further discussed within the ERS during 2008. A final strategy is expected to be in
place by the end of 2008.
A recent overview of the ERS long-term strategy was started a few years ago. In brief,
the future scientific strategy of the ERS set out several objectives for the long-term, among
others the ERS will to a greater extent than previously focus to attract the best science and
improve standards from low-income countries. The ERS Annual Congress will continuously
strive to be the best forum for the presentation of breakthrough discoveries and attract
abstracts from high-level research centres in Europe and worldwide. The ERS has also
already commenced a process and will consider re-categorising fellowships in the future,
depending on the location and the experience of applicants. This will imply greater support
for experienced post-doc researchers, as well as continued support for young investigators
with a more clinical profile.
Describe how foreseen impact assessment and key indicators may serve to improve the
evolution of the programme.
The assessment of the impact of the RESPIRE programme will take place at regular intervals,
normally every year. Key indicators of the success of the programme may include the number
of applications submitted to the programme; the number of approved fellowships; the number
of original research presented leading to publication; the number of presentations at national
or international congresses dealing with the research as proposed in the fellowship; the
number of collaborative projects emanating from the fellowships; the number of (research)
awards linked to the fellowship; and the number of established collaborations that continue
between home and host institutions after the fellowships are finished. Each of these indicators
will be carefully recorded each year, and will be a helpful tool in the future evolution of the
programme.
B 3 Relevance and Impact to "Life-long training and Career development"
3.1 Openness of the programme to trans-national mobility
Explain in detail the trans-national elements of your programme (e.g. the importance of
incoming, outgoing, re-integration components as relevant).
The ERS is a European organisation, and as such is keen to promote European science in the
respiratory field. The ERS fellowship programme has the following aims:
- Promoting science, research and training in respiratory medicine in Europe;
Page 22 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
- Supporting the exchange in Europe of young scientists and clinicians actively involved in
respiratory medicine;
- Contributing to the diffusion and implementation of new techniques in Europe and
internationally.
The RESPIRE programme is a truly trans-national programme and welcomes all
nationalities to apply. The only restriction is that the host-institution must be located in
Europe. Therefore the programme can be seen as containing both incoming and outgoing
components for fellowships where both home and host are located in Europe.
The ERS as an international society is keen to promote talented researchers from
outside Europe and to elevate their potential, and therefore it is important that they can be
given the chance to have access to facilities that are available in Europe but rarely in their
own country. Thus, in the past several fellowships have been awarded to non-Europeans (e.g.
in 2005 and 2006 ERS awarded long-term research fellowships to researchers based in Brazil,
Mexico, Peru, Australia, Turkey, Argentina and Indonesia) to undertake research in Europe.
This part of the fellowship programme can be seen to contain incoming components only.
The RESPIRE programme does not specifically offer re-integration components, but it
does encourage fellows to return to their home institutions after completion of the fellowship,
which as mentioned earlier, is explicitly stated at the end of the online application,
enclosure 9, as well as in the rules “ERS Fellowships 2008”, enclosure 1.
If applicable, describe the reasons for the chosen combination of trans-national elements.
The reason for requiring the host institution to be located in Europe is that the ERS wants to
stimulate European respiratory medical research.
What specific efforts are made to attract non-nationals?
As described above, the fellowship programme is open to all nationalities. Announcements
for the fellowship programme are made internationally and are not restricted to Europe only,
for instance on the ERS website, by sending out mass-email alerts to all 35,000 database
contacts of the ERS (of which a significant proportion are non-European); advertising in the
Annual Congress programme etc. see section 1.1 and in the European Respiratory Journal,
which both can be accessed worldwide.
The ERS fellowships are without exception always granted to so-called “nonnationals” as every fellow can be seen to be categorised as belonging to the “incoming
mobility” type. The ERS funds 100% trans-national European exchanges and is also
international since it also accepts researchers from outside Europe to come to Europe. Of the
14 long-term research fellowships awarded in 2006 by the ERS (note that this category has
previously included both experienced and early-stage researchers), 4 fellows were being
hosted at a European institute and were nationals based outside EU-27 i.e. Australia, Turkey,
Argentina, Indonesia.
3.2 Contribution to diverse career development of researchers (broadening and
deepening)
Explain how the programme helps the fellows to deepen the skills within their discipline
and/or to gain new skills in other disciplines/sectors (private-public)
The overarching aim of the fellowship programme is to enable fellows to go to another
country with the specific objective of deepening their skills within their discipline. The
Page 23 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
fellows are asked to describe this in the project description as part of their application, and the
objective of deepening their skills is one of the key elements of the programme and will be
evaluated as such by the external experts.
Although gaining new skills in other disciplines is not a general requirement of the
programme, this is a natural consequence of the fellows’ stay at their host institutions located
in a different country and often a different research environment. The fellows will improve
their language skills, management skills and networking skills while conducting their research
project in the given time-frame and in a different country. That this is the case is usually also
confirmed in the fellows’ end-of-year report.
Does the programme also offer support or training in non-scientific skills (e.g. management,
presenting and publishing research results etc.)?
As explained above, the programme in itself does not specifically offer support or training in
non-scientific skills, but ERS fellows are encouraged, as stated in the Fellowship Rules, to
engage in teaching, discussion and similar activities of the host institutions. In addition, ERS
fellows are also invited to participate at specific sessions (open to all delegates who register to
take part at the Congress) organised at the ERS Annual Congress which aim at developing the
non-scientific skills of researchers. For instance in Stockholm 2007 a session on “How to
write a Scientific Paper” was included in the Congress programme.
The fellows will in a natural way become involved in taking responsibilities for
management activities at their host institutions and they will be expected to present and
publish research results e.g. at the ERS Annual Congress or other international congresses. As
can be seen from the end-of-year report, the fellows usually have published and presented the
outcomes of the research. In addition to that, they will also improve their language skills and
their networking skills, as a consequence of the new situation to which they are exposed.
3.3 Career development support to fellows
Explain how the programme contributes to the career development of the fellows.
Being awarded an exclusive ERS fellowship after selection from a large number of candidates
by an international evaluation process is an important milestone in the career of a postdoctoral fellow. The ERS is a highly recognised professional body and the pre-eminent
society in respiratory medicine in Europe, well-known among all scientists with an interest in
respiratory medicine and pneumologists in Europe and beyond. The ERS Annual Congress
represents the largest gathering in respiratory medicine world-wide with an attendance of
around 17,000 delegates. Thus, being able to demonstrate the acquisition and completion of a
prestigious ERS fellowship signifies a truly important step in the career development of a
fellow.
In terms of specific aspects of career development, many times fellows emphasise the
importance of the contacts that were made during the fellowship, and these have often
contributed to them obtaining their present position or employment. Another relevant impact
of the ERS fellowship is that it has contributed to deliver scientific outputs in the form of
articles in scientific peer-reviewed journals.
Explain any specific mentoring or support schemes in place to support career development
Upon submission of a satisfactory end-of-project report, which will be published on the ERS
website, fellows are eligible to join the Association of ERS Fellows, which is a valuable
Page 24 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
support scheme for career and networking development. The Association’s directory provides
a unique and invaluable resource of addresses, current professional activities, fellowship
subjects and host institutes. It permits members to identify and contact colleagues. It may also
serve as a useful recruitment pool. New fellows who work in Eastern Europe or in lowincome countries may benefit from a one-year free ERS full membership. The ERS office will
contact fellows on a regular basis in order to update their profile on the website.
In addition to the above, the ERS has started to highlight the fellowship programme by
means of a dedicated ERS Fellows Session during the Annual ERS congress, see
enclosure 18. ERS fellows are invited and encouraged to attend this ERS Fellows Lunch. It is
a means of presenting results, meeting with other fellows and sharing experiences.
The ERS issues an ERS Certificate to each fellow who has completed the end-ofproject report, including the host report. Finally, an ERS fellow’s website is also currently in
preparation, and is anticipated to become available by the end of March 2008. This will form
a valuable means of career development through communication and discussion among
former and current ERS fellows, as well as future networking.
In addition to these support schemes offered by the ERS, the fellows career
development will also benefit from the mentor relationship established with the host.
Frequently these relationships are maintained also after the fellow has returned to the home
country, and result in fruitful collaborations and possible future projects.
Describe any specific schemes to follow up career re-integration or return mechanisms if
appropriate?
Fellows are encouraged to return to their home institutions after completion of the
fellowships, but no specific schemes for career re-integration or return mechanisms have been
set up, see as previously indicated the “ERS Fellowships 2008”, enclosure 1, and at the very
bottom of the online application form, enclosure 9.
Describe any post-scheme network support offered to maintain relationships established
during the fellowship?
As explained above, the ERS supports the fellows post-scheme by means of offering them to
become members of the ERS Fellows Association, a network consisting of ERS fellows. The
fellows are also invited to take part in the dedicated “ERS Fellows” session at the ERS
Annual Congress, see the agenda in enclosure 18. In addition, the fellows’ website will offer
opportunities for networking and for the fellows to stay in touch and maintain their
relationships.
3.4 Equal opportunities, including for resuming a research career after a break
Explain the measures the programme takes to ensure equal opportunities.
The RESPIRE programme values equal opportunities, and therefore invites both male and
female, European and non-European, ERS members and non-ERS members to apply for
fellowships. The final decision is then based purely on scientific merit and the quality of the
submitted proposal, as elucidated in section 1.3.
Describe the monitoring of success ratios of men/women, and appropriate targeting of fellows
in areas where they are imbalanced, etc.).
Page 25 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
The success ratios of men and women are monitored annually, and in 2007 of the 13 accepted
long-term fellowship applications 7 were male and 6 female. Of the 17 accepted short-term
fellowships 8 were male and 9 female. This indicates the success ratio of the ERS fellowships
of men and women is perfectly balanced.
Does the programme encourage applications from researchers after a career break?
Yes. There is no age limitation for the applicants, so those who have had a career break have
an equal opportunity to success.
3.5 Relevance for the European Research Area13 (ERA) of the scientific field covered by
the programme's calls
Chronic respiratory diseases include some of Europe’s most disabling diseases which are third
in terms of mortality, morbidity, incidence, prevalence and costs. The total annual cost of
respiratory diseases in Europe is estimated to be around €102 billion, mainly due to lost
working days. Apart from high costs, respiratory diseases also impose a major burden to the
patients, in particular due to a significant decrease in life quality.
The ERS, as the main scientific society in the respiratory field in Europe, promotes
research into chronic disabling respiratory diseases in both children and adults, including
asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, lung cancer and
sleep-related respiratory disease. Research into a better understanding of these diseases is of
vital importance as this will lead to more effective treatments, which will improve quality of
life and reduce the financial burden to the European society.
In the medical / life sciences field scientific, professional medical bodies such as the
ERS that operate at European level, are key stakeholders in many aspects of facilitating the
exchange between experts / scientists and thus overcoming the fragmentation that exists in the
ERA. Many times such bodies at European level have a key role in setting up and maintaining
pan-European clinical and/or research-based multi-disciplinary networks that could develop
and lead larger independent clinical trials. Such pan-European clinical trial initiatives, free
from commercial interest and not politically governed, are invaluable and will also serve to
strengthen the competitiveness of the ERA.
Internationally the influence of the ERS is growing, and it now cooperates with its
sister organisations and other key stakeholders in a recently launched process aimed at
reviewing methodologies relevant to research and clinical practice. Moreover, the ERS has
succeeded over the last decade to expand its membership considerably by meeting the
growing demands of our world-wide membership. The ERS now has the largest respiratory
congress in the world. This makes ERS to be one of the most relevant key stakeholders in
respiratory science in the ERA.
The ERS RESPIRE programme will therefore not only boost the careers of the
fellowship recipients, it will also promote the ERA by facilitating the platform needed to
enhance and maintain scientific networks, and retaining promising researchers in Europe. This
will in turn be an important step towards conquering some of the most disabling diseases in
Europe.
How does the programme proposed contribute to the general policy objectives of ERA?
The proposed RESPIRE programme is well-aligned with the general policy objectives of the
ERA. It attempts to increase the competence and competitiveness of European post-doctoral
Page 26 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
fellows and research in the respiratory field. Specifically, it will contribute significantly to the
following policy objectives:
 Networking of existing centres of excellence in Europe and the creation of virtual
centres through the use of new interactive communication tools, through the use of the
interactive fellows’ website.
 More coherent implementation of national and European research activities and closer
relations between the various organisations of scientific and technological cooperation
in Europe.
 More abundant and more mobile human resources:
o Greater mobility of researchers and introduction of a European dimension to
scientific careers
o More prominence to the place and role of women in research
o Stimulating young people’s taste for research and careers in science.
 Sharing knowledge and bringing together scientific communities, companies and
researchers of Western and Eastern Europe.
 Improving the attraction of Europe for researchers from the rest of the world.
Demonstrate that your programme contributes to the overall objective and expected impact of
the COFUND action (developing of the trans-national dimension, increasing the number of
trans-national fellows or improving the fellows' conditions)
With aid of the COFUND action, our RESPIRE programme will more than double the transnational movement of fellows in the respiratory science field in Europe, which will
significantly increase the trans-national dimension in this area. This demonstrates clearly that
the proposed programme will contribute to the overall objective and expected impact of the
COFUND action.
Indicate the evolution of own budget over time. If relevant, justify any reductions from
previous years' budget.
The ERS decided to increase the budget for long-term research fellowships this year, in
particular the budget allocated to experienced researchers, as the value of more post-doctoral
opportunities in the respiratory field has been acknowledged. This budget has been relatively
constant in the past few years. It is the ambition of the ERS to further increase the budget
allocated to fellowships in the future, in particular those aiming at experienced researchers as
is proposed in the current RESPIRE programme, see figure 3 on page 14. The development of
the ERS fellowship programme as a whole is however related to the evolution of the future
ERS budget as a whole.
How does your programme contribute to specific ERA goals (e.g. efforts to overcome
fragmentation and to contribute to long-lasting international cooperation, development of
common research methods/approaches, etc.)?
The RESPIRE programme will support experienced investigators in the development,
acquisition and application of advanced research procedures that may not be available in their
own institution and that require a period in a well established centre in another European
country. Thus, fellows supported in the RESPIRE programme will build up valuable contacts
and collaboration during their stay in the host country. Experience from fellows who
previously participated in the ERS fellowship programme indicates that these contacts are
often maintained once the fellows have returned to their home institutions, thereby building
Page 27 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
long-lasting international cooperation and contributing to scientific networks in Europe.
Research methods and approaches learnt by the fellows at their host institutions are generally
brought back to their home country, which is an important element in the development of
common methodology across Europe.
The use of these common methods will facilitate future collaboration and will reduce
fragmentation in European research. The RESPIRE programme will also aid in the
participation and collaboration of European research groups and clinics in common study
protocols, which will further increase the excellence of European networks in the respiratory
field in comparison with for instance American counterparts.
For fellowships awarded outside of ERA, is there a suitable return element foreseen?
Fellowships offered in the proposed RESPIRE programme will not be awarded outside ERA,
so a return element is therefore not included.
3.6 Impact of the programme to the development of the researchers careers in the
ERA
Describe how the programme assures that the researchers can choose as freely as possible
their research topics and research institutions/supervisors according to their individual
career development needs
The ERS RESPIRE programme as well as the ERS fellowship programme as a whole does
not impose any restrictions with regard to the opted research/training topic within the field of
respiratory research. The host institutions may be chosen freely within Europe, thereby
ensuring the ERA objectives and fortifying European respiratory research.
The applicants are totally free to choose their research/training according to their
individual career development needs, as long as it is within the field covered by respiratory
medicine which spans the wide range of topics such as chronic, inflammatory, infectious,
cancer, allergic, epidemiology, and paediatric disorders. The applicant is requested to justify
and demonstrate the value and relevance of the project and how it contributes to promoting
respiratory medicine in Europe.
No restrictions are imposed with regard to the fellow’s choice of host institution, so
long as it is located in Europe, thereby boosting respiratory research in the ERA, and subject
that the host accepts to receive the fellow as demonstrated by the duly completed “Host
Acceptance Form”, enclosure 11. The opinion of the three expert reviewers and the final
discussion in the Scientific Committee will be decisive to assessing the relevance and
feasibility of the proposed project to developing and strengthening respiratory research in the
ERA.
Explain how and why the award of a fellowship under your programme will help to boost the
researchers' careers after the end of the fellowship.
Being awarded an exclusive ERS RESPIRE fellowship after selection from a large number of
candidates by an international evaluation process is an important milestone in the career of a
post-doctoral fellow. The ERS is highly recognised, and is the main society within the
respiratory field in Europe, well-known among all scientists and pneumologists in Europe as
well as outside Europe. Thus, being able to demonstrate the completion of a prestigious ERS
fellowship is a truly significant step in the career development of a fellow.
Page 28 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
The well-established ERS fellowship programme has over the years contributed to
boost the careers of now highly ranked scientists and clinicians. Many ERS fellows emphasise
the importance of the contacts that were made during the fellowship, and how these have
often contributed to obtaining their present position or employment. The proposed ERS
RESPIRE programme, with the additional added-value of the prestigious Marie Curie
COFUND action, will therefore provide a unique opportunity to enhance post-doctoral career
opportunities in the respiratory research area in Europe, thereby promoting the ERA.
Page 29 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Table 1: Indicative long-term strategic programming of the programme
Type of mobility: incoming§
Proposal Acronym: RESPIRE
Average
20032007)*
100
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
80
121
145
169
193
Own long-term indicative
funding planned by the
programme (kEUR)**
1998
Year of start of the
programme
* for years only where the programme was fully operational
** including 10% overhead and 5% management costs. These percentages have also been
added for comparison reasons to the average costs of 2003-2007 and to the budget of 2007,
even though these were not added as such to the internal fellowship programme budget in
those years.
§
Please note: for the purpose of this application we consider our mobility as incoming only,
since the ERS is an international organisation and does not grant fellowships from a national
perspective. Most of the fellowships are within Europe, but the European home and host
countries are different for each fellow. Some of the fellowships are awarded to fellows who
are based outside Europe, and in such cases the host country is required to be in Europe.
Hence the choice to consider all fellowships as incoming for the current application.
Page 30 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Table 2: Yearly breakdown of requested Co-funding
Proposal Acronym: RESPIRE
Type of mobility: incoming§
Year
COFUND action
before
COFUND
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
action
80
201
Total budget of calls (committed
as a result of calls under that
year) (kEUR)**
of which - own budget
80
121
- Community contribution
0
80
2
5
Fellowship-years selected
0
5
Fellowship-years executed under
COFUND
* the current application is for 36 months
** including 10% overhead and 5% management costs
§
Year 4*
TOTAL
242
282
725
145
97
6
6
169
113
7
7
435
290
18
18
Please note: for the purpose of this application we consider our mobility as incoming only,
since the ERS is an international organisation and does not grant fellowships from a national
perspective. Most of the fellowships are within Europe, but the European home and host
countries are different for each fellow. Some of the fellowships are awarded to fellows who
are based outside Europe, and in such cases the host country is required to be in Europe.
Hence the choice to consider all fellowships as incoming for the current application.
Page 31 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
Table 3: Cost breakdown per fellowship type
Proposal Acronym: RESPIRE
Cost categories (average
Outgoing fellows
Incoming fellows§
Re-integration
costs)
phase
35,000
Living allowance
(EUR/year)*
0
Travel/mobility allowance
(EUR/year)**
0
Research cost contribution
(EUR/year)**
3,500
Overheads (EUR/year)
1,750
Management costs
(EUR/year)
40,250
TOTAL (EUR/year)
16,100
Community contribution
(EUR/year) (40% of total)
18
Number of eligible fellows
12
Average duration of
fellowships (months)
18
Number of eligible fellowyears
724,500
Total budget (EUR)
289,800
Community Contribution
(EUR)
* Based on average ERS long-term fellowship costs of 2007, which in turn are based on the
EMBO subsistence rates (see enclosures 1 and 15). The yearly increase due to inflation is not
taken into account in these calculations.
** Contribution by host.
§
Please note: for the purpose of this application we consider our mobility as incoming only,
since the ERS is an international organisation and does not grant fellowships from a national
perspective. Most of the fellowships are within Europe, but the European home and host
countries are different for each fellow. Some of the fellowships are awarded to fellows who
are based outside Europe, and in such cases the host country is required to be in Europe.
Hence the choice to consider all fellowships as incoming for the current application.
Page 32 of 33
RESPIRE
REspiratory Science Promoted by International Research Exchanges
PART C
For this part of Annex I, tables A3.1 and A3.2 of GPFs have to be included.
Page 33 of 33