Applicant
Does the postdoctoral applicant need to have a doctoral degree by the deadline for the submission of grant applications?
No, the applicant must have a doctoral degree before concluding the grant agreement.
Can a postdoctoral fellow serve as support staff of an institutional research funding (IRF) topic (funded by the Estonian Research Council) during the grant period?
During the grant period the postdoctoral fellow cannot serve as a principal investigator or senior research staff of a personal research funding project and as a team leader or senior research staff of an institutional research funding topic funded by ETAG.
Is it possible to start the project before signing the grant agreement?
With the approval of the host institution the project can be started before signing the grant agreement, but the project costs will be eligible only after the funding decision from the Estonian Research Council.
Applying
Where can I find the application form?
You find the application form on your ETIS (Estonian Research Portal, www.etis.ee) desktop, when logged in. In order to get access to ETIS please contact your host institution.
Can one applicant apply for a project in different R&D institutions?
Submitting several different project applications is possible, but only one Project gets funded.
Can the postdoctoral project include several supervisors?
The application form enables to choose one supervisor. The co-supervisor can be mentioned in the project description.
How do you define experimental and non-experimental research?
Experimental research uses research equipment, research consumables or involves field work. We advise you also to contact your host institution about this issue.
Are there any restrictions concerning the source of the project’s self-financing?
Self-financing can not come from other European Funds or from funds where it is stated that it should not be used as self-financing.
What is the Nagoya Protocol?
The Nagoya Protocol is a convention on biological diversity aimed at sharing the benefits arising from the access to and utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. You can find more information here.
What should be described in the section for data management?
In the section for data management, please describe if and which data will be created, managed, or collected; which methods and standards will be applied; will the data be shared or made public and in which way; how the data will be stored during the period of the project and preserved after the end of the project.
The guidelines for compiling a data management plan can be found on the webpage of the University of Tartu Library: https://sisu.ut.ee/rdm_course1/data-management-plan
Which Estonian R&D institutions are positively evaluted?
You can find the list of positively evaluated R&D institutions from our homepage or from the Research in Estonia portal.
Salary and work load
How much of the amount of the grant can be allocated to salary and how much to research?
We use unit costs which means that we don’t specify how much a postdoc or returning researcher should spend on salary or research. The salary should correspond to the salary level at the host institution and is agreed between the researcher and the host institution.
Where are the unit costs taken from?
The unit costs are taken over from the national personal research funding scheme and include:
For experimental projects: 43 200 €/year for direct costs, 10 800 €/year for overhead costs.
Non-experimental projects: 40 800 €/year for direct costs, 10 200 €/year for overhead costs
Relocation support:
5 500 € in the first year for relocation allowance for projects that last for two years;
4000 € in the first year for relocation allowance for projects that last less than two years.
How should the unit costs be reflected in the accounts?
Separation of costs (concerning postdocs) is not required.
Are the unit costs auditable?
The unit costs (concerning postdocs) will not be audited or checked.
What is the required grantee’s work load?
The grantee must carry out his/her research project to the full. The grantee must have a full-time employment contract at the host institution with a place of work in Estonia.
How much are the taxes for the grant salary and relocation allowance?
The salary fund and relocation allowance include any taxes laid down in Estonian legislation.
Please use the salary and tax calculator
Example: If the personnel costs for one year are 27 000 €:
- employers taxes are 6821 €;
- gross salary is 20 179 €;
- net salary is 16 120 €.
The actual tax rate depends on your annual income.
Project implementation
Is it mandatory to acknowledge the Mobilitas Pluss support in a publication?
Yes, an acknowledgement of the Mobilitas Pluss funding in a publication is mandatory, unless limited by publishing restrictions, copyright, or intellectual property laws. Only the publications which include an acknowledgement will be taken into account when assessing the final reports.
Examples of correct form of acknowledgment of Mobilitas Pluss funding:
- Funding was provided by the European Regional Development Fund and the programme Mobilitas Pluss (Grant No).
- This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund and the programme Mobilitas Pluss (Grant No).
- Uurimistööd on finantseerinud Euroopa Regionaalarengu Fond ning Mobilitas Pluss programm (Grant No).
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