RJ Sabbatical 2016
With an RJ Sabbatical grant, senior lecturers and professors can during three to twelve months complete research that is already at an advanced stage and write syntheses. A grant will also include support for an extended stay abroad for the grantee thus further reinforcing international ties of Swedish research and education.
In assessing applications of equivalent scholarly quality, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, (RJ), the Swedish Foundation for Humanities and Social Sciences, prioritises those which both aim to create further academic contacts between the Swedish and foreign departments (or equivalent) involved and aim to have an impact on higher and postgraduate education at the home department.
The initiative is a pilot project and in this third and last call, the wording of the call has been somewhat revised.
Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) announces funding of research periods of three to twelve months’ duration for permanently employed senior lecturers and professors in humanities and social sciences at Swedish higher education institutions (HEIs). The research period may be extended by the research period included in the applicant’s position. RJ will include, during the period funded by RJ, one or more research stays abroad in research environments relevant to the project.
RJ Sabbatical is intended for use in research and edition projects. The research period must be devoted to completing ongoing academic projects that have reached an advanced stage or to writing major works or syntheses likely to be regarded as representing significant scholarship. The support may relate to applications that will culminate in monographs as well as in journal articles. Applications involving work on new research ideas and, accordingly, extensive collection of material are referred to RJ’s Project support form instead. Nor may RJ Sabbatical be used for writing textbooks. The support is intended to enable grantees to conduct research to the full extent of their employment, the only exception being for supervision of PhD students up to a maximum of 10% of a full-time position (corresponding to three PhD students). The supervision of PhD students is not funded by RJ. RJ’s contribution can never relate to a period exceeding 12 months, but it may be combined with the research time included in the grantee’s own employment.
RJ pays salary costs, including LKP (lönekostnadspålägg, i.e. employer's social-insurance contribution top-up), and a grant for costs of premises and indirect costs. The amount awarded is based on the principles applying to research grants from RJ. Funds may also be sought for stays abroad, conference attendance, translation, language editing, publishing with open access (OA), and production support. The applicant should calculate the size of the grant sought for costs occasioned by staying abroad according to the Swedish state ‘Agreement on overseas contracts and guidelines on employment conditions in service abroad’ (‘URA Agreement’: The abbreviation ‘URA’ (for the Swedish title of the Agreement, Avtal om utlandskontrakt och riktlinjer för anställningsvillkor vid tjänstgöring utomlands), is widely used.).
Note that RJ research grantees must publish their peer-reviewed writings in journals and conference publications in such a way that they become freely available on the Internet. RJ encourages researchers also to publish monographs and book chapters with free online access.
RJ Sabbatical grantees in 2016 are obliged to start their research by year-end 2017.
Instructions
- Only one (1) RJ Sabbatical application may be submitted per application occasion.
- By the application date, final report must have been issued on any previous research grants from RJ.
- The applicant awarded RJ Sabbatical funding is obliged to conduct research to the full extent of the employment. An exception may be made only for supervision of PhD students on a limited scale, up to a maximum of 10% of full-time employment (corresponding to three PhD students) and not exceeding the scale of the applicant’s supervision commitment when the RJ Sabbatical period is due to begin.
- The applicant is personally responsible for the planning and all practical arrangements for a stay abroad (insurance, accommodation, visa and the like), in consultation with the applicant's own HEI and the research environment abroad. The size of the grant applied for, to cover costs occasioned by the stay abroad must be calculated by the applicant according to the Swedish state URA agreement.
- Researchers who are drawing retirement pension or will start drawing it during the period covered by the funding may not apply for RJ Sabbatical.
- Funding within the RJ Sabbatical form of support can never cover more than the scope of the applicant's position.
- It is not possible to apply for support in RJ’s other forms of support until after the grantee's final report on a RJ Sabbatical grant has been submitted.
- The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the research is compatible with the ethical guidelines laid down by the Swedish Research Council, and that ethical assessment is carried out where required.
Assessment criteria
Applications are assessed in terms of:
- The academic value of the research and the quality and feasibility of the research plan.
- The expected contribution to (a) international academic ties between the departments (or equivalent) concerned and (b) effects on higher and postgraduate education at the home department. RJ will give priority to applications that clearly show how RJ Sabbatical will contribute to the research environment and education at the home department or institution over an extended period.
Review process
The applications are examined by a panel composed largely of international experts, with the option of calling in subject experts. RJ's Board will decide in June 2016 which applicants are to receive the award. No reasons for the decisions are given.
Final report and monitoring
One month after the funding ends, the researcher must send in a final report on the research work that has been carried out. RJ Sabbatical is a pilot initiative. In addition, the researcher must, one year after the research period ends, submit a brief account of the outcome of the grant, i.e. its results in the form of publications, promotion, applications sent in, new international collaborations, effects in higher education and postgraduate education at the home department, and so forth.
Application instructions
Applications are submitted online, using RJ's web-based application system. Follow RJ’s general instructions on how to apply online. Certain instructions that are specific to RJ Sabbatical are given below. The application must include all the costs of the project. The application must be written in English and contain the following part:
The title of the project, in Swedish and English.
The summary, to be written in Swedish and English, comprising a maximum of 1500 characters including spaces. It should explain why the research task is important, its purpose and how it is to be implemented. The summary must be formulated in such a way as to be intelligible to an interested layman. If the application is approved, the summary will be posted on RJ's website. The start and end dates must refer to the support applied for from RJ.
The budget, with operating costs (costs associated with the stay abroad according to the URA agreement, conference attendance, translation, language editing, publishing with OA and production support) annual working time, salary and LKP.
The project description, up to a maximum length of 15,000 characters including spaces, to be written in English. This must describe the research question, empirical material, theory and method, and also the relationship of the research with the international research front.
The application must also clarify both how the academic contacts between the departments (or equivalent) will be brought about and how the effects on higher and postgraduate education at the home department are to be attained.
The account of the academic work to be carried out must take the form of a detailed schedule for the planned publications. It should clearify what research has already been completed and what remains to be done. It must also specify the types of work input required for the various phases of the work and the estimated time required.
The description should also include a brief CV with information about the applicant's current employment, ongoing assignments and external research grants the researcher has obtained.
All budgeted costs must be specified and their grounds stated. No unspecified or unexplained costs will be approved. RJ has no obligation to cover the costs reported; instead, RJ is entirely free to determine how much support may be given.
Contributions for conferences, workshops and networks that the applicant wishes to arrange personally should be applied for through the Research Initiation form of support.
Signatures and certificate from head of department
The application must be approved by the grant administrator as follows. The cover pages of the application must be printed out, signed by the researcher and the head of department or equivalent and sent by letter post to RJ within a week after the deadline. Since the head of department or equivalent signs the application, this means that (s)he guarantees that the applicant will be able to conduct research throughout the full extent of the employment, for the whole period to which the application relates. Funding received in the form of a RJ Sabbatical grant must not adversely affect the future scope for research in the grantees employment pursuant to agreements on working time and similar provisions. RJ processes only complete applications.
Closing application date
- The application system will open on 11 January 2016.
- The online application must reach RJ not later than 4:00 pm on 10 February 2016.