RJ Sabbatical 2018

With RJ Sabbatical, researchers can receive funding to complete research already at an advanced stage and to write syntheses. The initiative is a pilot project with five calls for proposals, this is the fifth call.

Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (RJ) announces funding of research periods of six to twelve months for permanently employed senior lecturers and professors in the humanities and social sciences (including law and religion) at Swedish higher education institutions (HEIs). The grant is intended to enable grantees to conduct research to the full extent of their employment and should be used to complete research that is already at an advanced stage and to write syntheses. Grants include support for a stay abroad, thus promoting international ties for Swedish research and education.

An RJ Sabbatical grant should, during the period funded by RJ, include a research stay abroad in a research environment relevant for the project. The stay is to be at least one month, if the application is for a period longer than six months. When the application is for a period of up to six months, a stay abroad isn't mandatory but it is considered positive to include a well-thought out plan for a research stay abroad.

RJ Sabbatical is intended for use in research and edition projects. The research period must be devoted to completing ongoing research projects that have reached an advanced stage or to writing major works or syntheses likely to be regarded as representing significant scholarship. Grants may be for applications that will result in monographs or in journal articles.

Applications involving work on new research ideas and, accordingly, extensive collection of material should apply for RJ's Project grants instead. RJ Sabbatical may not be used for writing textbooks. RJ Sabbatical is never for a period longer than twelve months, but applicants can extend their research period with the research time included in the applicant's 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 that apply to research grants from RJ. Fund may also be applied for stays abroad, conference attendance, translation, language editing, publishing with open access and production support.

Note that researchers receiving RJ grants must publish their peer-reviewed writings in journals and conference publications open access, so they become freely available online. RJ also encourages researchers to publish monographs and book chapters open access.

RJ Sabbatical grantees in 2018 are obliged to start their research by 1 July 2019.

Instructions

  • Only one (1) RJ Sabbatical application may be submitted per application occasion.
  • By the application date, final reports for any previous research grants from RJ must have been submitted.
  • Successful applicants for RJ Sabbatical grants are required 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 per cent of full-time employment (corresponding to three PhD students) and the applicant's supervision commitment may not exceed the amount committed to at the start of the RJ Sabbatical. The supervision of PhD students is not funded by RJ.
  • 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 applicant must present a calculation of the expenses for the sabbatical abroad. A stay abroad for a maximum of 90 days should be calculated in accordance with government regulations for reimbursements for service abroad. Longer stays abroad, particularly if costs include other family members, should be calculated in accordance with the URA government agreement. Questions regarding the calculation of the cost for stays abroad are to be addressed to the researcher's own HEI.
  • Researchers who are drawing retirement pension or will start drawing it during the period covered by the funding may not apply for a RJ Sabbatical.
  • RJ Sabbatical grants may never cover more than the scope of the applicant's position.
  • It is not possible to apply for other RJ grants until after the grantee's final report on an RJ Sabbatical grant has been submitted.
  • The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the research is compatible with the ethical guidelines of the Swedish Research Council and that ethical review is carried out where necessary.

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 international academic contacts between involved departments (or equivalent) and to effects on higher and postgraduate education at the home department. RJ will give priority to applications that clearly show how an RJ Sabbatical will contribute to the research environment and education at the home department or institution over an extended period.
  • When the application is for a period longer than six months, it should include a stay abroad of at least one month in a relevant research environment. The stay abroad should be at least one consecutive month.
  • When the application is for a period of up to six months, it is considered positive to include a well-thought out plan for a research stay abroad.

Review process

Applications are evaluated by a panel composed largely of international experts, with the option of seeking advice from subject experts. In June 2018, RJ's Board will make the final decision on which applicants will receive grants. No reasons will be given for the Board's decisions.

Final report and follow up

One month after the funding ends, the researcher must submit a final report on the conducted research. RJ Sabbatical is a pilot initiative. One year after the research period ends, the research must also submit a brief account of the outcome of the grant, i.e. its results in the form of publications, promotion, submitted applications, new international collaborations, impact on higher education and postgraduate education at the home department and so forth. See the web site for instructions.

Application instructions

Applications are submitted through RJ's online 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 parts:

The title of the project, in Swedish and English.

The summary is to be written in Swedish and English and may have a maximum of 1500 characters including spaces. It should explain why the research task is important, its purpose and how it will 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 is to include operating costs (expenses for the stay abroad, conference attendance, translation, language editing, open access publishing and production support), annual working time, salary and LKP.

The project description is to have a maximum length of 15,000 characters including spaces and be written in English. It is to describe the research question, empirical material, theory, method and the relationship of the research to the international research front.

The application must also clarify both how academic contacts between departments (or equivalent) will be achieved and how the effects on higher and postgraduate education at the home department will be achieved.

The account of the academic work to be carried out must take the form of a detailed schedule for the planned publications. It should clarify 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.

The project description is to describe if and, if so, how RJ's grant will be combined with research time included in the researcher's own position.

All budgeted costs must be specified and justified. 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 grant.

Signatures and certificate from head of department

The cover pages of the application must be printed, 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 which the application relates. Funding received in the form of an RJ Sabbatical grant must not adversely affect the future time given for research in the grantee's employment that adhere to agreements on working time and similar provisions.
RJ processes only complete applications.

Application deadline

  • The application system will open on 9 January 2018.
  • Online applications must reach RJ not later than 4.00 pm on 7 February 2018.