The circulation of Early Career and PhD Researchers is an important element of the training activities of the Eu-SPRI Forum network. It is part of the development of the European Training Platform, which the Eu-SPRI Forum aims to develop in the area of science and innovation policy studies. It addresses our objective of offering a European pathway to Early Career and PhD Researchers in this field.

This call is open to Doctoral Researchers in their second year of PhD thesis or beyond and Early Career Researchers, who have completed their PhD within the past 36 months.

Topic Areas supported

This mobility call is restricted to research topics relating to science, technology and innovation policy including studies of science, technological innovation processes and entrepreneurship which may have relevance for policy.

Candidates can decide to apply for a short mobility call (at least one month visiting) or a regular mobility call (at least 3 months of visiting)

How to apply

  1. You must first discuss your proposed visit as Short-term visit or Regular visit with a potential supervisor at your chosen host organisation. Both the ‘ Home’ organisation and ‘ Host’ organisation must be members of the Eu-SPRI Forum Network. You must confirm that they are prepared to accept you if your proposal is selected.
  2. Send the following documents to Deborah.cox@manchester.ac.uk:
  • A completed application form (download from Eu-SPRI Forum website; does not need to be signed by all parties at application stage)
  • A Curriculum Vitae
  • Letter / email of support from Host Supervisor
  • Letter / email of support from Home Supervisor
  • 1 other academic reference

Your application will be evaluated by a committee from the Eu-SPRI Forum Training Group. You will be informed of the outcome when a decision has been made (within 1 month).

Application guidelines

  • The proposed location should be in a different “national system” so that the Early Career/PhD Researcher experiences a different institutional environment. An application to move, for example, within the Netherlands would not be accepted.
  • Length of circulation visit should be at least 3 months for regular circulation and at least 1 month for short-term circulation.
  • In the Letter of Intent, be as specific as possible about what you intend to do at your host organisation. Detail why you wish to visit that particular organisation; how it will contribute to your research; what you hope to achieve.
  • Prepare your proposal thoroughly, look at the criteria for selection, and make a good case. The awards are competitive, and you need to present yourself well. Have a specific objective of the stay. This could be to work on an area of theory with experts, or to undertake fieldwork in a different country, for example. Think about the potential benefits which may arise in the longer term. Make sure you put in sufficient material to convince the reviewers. If you apply for a short-term circulation you have to clearly explain why such a short-term visiting is sufficient to reach the research objective of the stay.
  • Ensure that the place you want to visit is a good match for you and your work and make sure that the researcher(s) you want to work with will actually be there and are willing to host you. Making preliminary enquiries about practical arrangements is also a good idea. However, if someone at another institution has agreed in principle to accept you, your proposal may still be subject to a request for further revision or rejected.
  • Ask someone (perhaps your supervisor) to review your proposal before you submit it.
  • Your research must be relevant to the Eu-SPRI Forum Network. For more information see the website.
  • Both the ‘Home’ organisation and ‘Host’ organisation must be members of the Eu-SPRI Forum Network. Therefore, you may only apply to organisations that are ‘Early Career/PhD Hosts’ within Eu-SPRI Forum Network. Full members are listed on the website.
  • The criteria for evaluating proposals are:

– Quality of the candidate
– Quality of the PhD project
– Relevance of the project to Eu-SPRI
– Expected benefits of stay for host institution
– Expected benefits of stay for research career and PhD studies
– Balance of student flows (only for Regular circulation)

Further details

  • Eu-SPRI will award a lump sum of €2,500 per regular candidate (for travel expenses and accommodation) and up to €1,200 for short-term candidates
  • If your application is successful, the Letter of Intent must then be signed by all parties who must agree to the terms outlined in it
  • On completion of the circulation you must provide a Circulation Report to the Eu-SPRI network, which will be placed on the website
  • If you think you need any further information please email  deborah.cox@manchester.ac.uk or kate.barker@manchester.ac.uk