Regulations EOS research programme

For TYPE I-FL, TYPE II-FL and other institutions contracted with FWO in the frame of an EOS consortium, the General Regulations of FWO apply. For TYPE I-FR, TYPE II-FR and other institutions contracted with F.R.S.-FNRS in the frame of an EOS consortium, the General Regulations of F.R.S.-FNRS apply.

Detailed information, guide for applicants, guide for evaluators and forms are available online.

Any additional information can be obtained from:

• The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), eos@fwo.be.
• The F.R.S.-FNRS, helpdesk@frs-fnrs.be.

Art. 1.

The aim of the EOS programme is to promote joint research projects in basic research in any discipline between the Flemish and French-speaking community, based on scientific excellence.

Art. 2.

The FWO and F.R.S.-FNRS board can allocate EOS project funding to four TYPES of host institutions defined below.

Art. 3.

Host institutions that are fully eligible are defined as TYPE I institutions.

§1. TYPE I-FL: for the Flemish community, the eligible host institutions are the following:

• Universities in the Flemish community;
• The Evangelical Theological Faculty in Leuven and the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Brussels for research related to religious studies or theology;
• The Antwerp Maritime Academy for research related to nautical sciences;
• The Vlerick Management School and the Antwerp Management School for research related to management sciences;
• The Institute of Tropical Medicine for research related to tropical medicine, veterinary medicine or healthcare in developing countries.

TYPE I-FL principal investigators and the spokesperson-coordinator of the consortium must hold at least one of the appointments or research fellowships as governed by the provisions of Article 10, §1.,§2. and §3. of the FWO regulations for research projects fundamental research .

TYPE I-FL co-supervisors should be researchers who have obtained a PhD, with a remunerated appointment at a TYPE I-FL host institution.

If the requirements set out here are not met at the time of the application, the applicant needs to prove that this will be the case at the start of the EOS research project. Moreover, the appointment of the spokesperson coordinator and principal investigator must fully cover the duration of the EOS research project applied for. In addition, the submission of the application shall be subject to prior approval by the Head of institution where the research will be carried out.

§2. TYPE I-FR: for the French-speaking community, the eligible host institutions are the following:

• The six French-speaking universities from the French-speaking community.

TYPE I-FR principal investigators and the spokesperson-coordinator of the consortium should be a permanent researcher of F.R.S.-FNRS (chercheur qualifié, maître de recherches or directeur de recherches en poste), or a researcher holding a tenure track academic or scientific position (or an assimilated position including pending tenure track) within one of the research institutions from the French-speaking community.

This appointment must have a final and conclusive assent from the competent body to legitimize this appointment in accordance with the Law or the university’s regulations at the latest by the beginning of the EOS project.

This academic or scientific position must be effective at the latest by the beginning of the EOS project.

Moreover, the appointment of the spokesperson coordinator and principal investigator must meet these criteria for the duration of the EOS research project applied for.

TYPE I-FR co-supervisors should be researchers who have obtained a PhD, with a remunerated appointment at a TYPE I-FR host institution.

Research logisticians of rank A, as defined by the Royal Decree of 31st October 1953 fixing 'le statut des agrégés, des répétiteurs et des membres du personnel scientifique des universités de l’État', are allowed to be co-supervisor applicant provided they hold a Ph.D.

For the co-supervisors, if the requirements set out here are not met at the time of the submission, the applicant needs to prove that this will be the case at the start of the EOS research project.

The PI, spokesperson or co-supervisor who would have reached retirement at the starting date of the project is not eligible. If the applicant reaches the age of retirement in the course of the project, he/she should precisely describe the handover of his/her tasks in the proposal. Otherwise, the Head institution can provide prior approval to the retired PIs, spokespersons or co-supervisors in order to pursue the project until its completion.

Art. 4

Research institutions of the Flemish and French-speaking community that are not comprised under Art 3. and are not considered as a federal research institution, are eligible for EOS funding and are defined as TYPE II institutions.

§1. TYPE II-FL:The following research institutions of the Flemish community are eligible:

• Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO);
• Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO);
• Interuniversity Microelectronics Center (IMEC);
• Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA);
• Royal Conservatory of Antwerp;
• Royal Conservatory of Brussels;
• Royal Zoological Society – Antwerp (KMDA);
• Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (MuHKA);
• Botanic Garden Meise;
• Flemish Institute for Biotechnology (VIB);
• Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO);
• Flemish School of Arts;
• Flanders Make;
• Flanders Marine Institute;
• Flanders Heritage Agency;
• Flanders Hydraulics Research;
• Flemish Peace Institute.

TYPE II-FL principal investigators should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a permanent remunerated appointment to one of the above listed TYPE II-FL institutions.

TYPE II-FL co-supervisors should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a remunerated appointment at one of the above listed TYPE II-FL institutions.

If the requirements set out here are not met at the time of the application, the applicant needs to prove that this will be the case at the start of the EOS research project. Moreover, the appointment of the principal investigator must fully cover the duration of the EOS research project applied for.

§2. TYPE II-FR:The following research institutions of the French-speaking community are eligible:

• Centre Wallon de Recherches Agronomiques (CRA-W);
• Institut de Recherches Microbiologiques Jean-Marie Wiame (I.R.M.W.);
• Musée Royal de Mariemont.

TYPE II-FR principal investigators should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a permanent remunerated appointment to one of the above listed TYPE II-FR institutions.

TYPE II-FR co-supervisors should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a remunerated appointment at one of the above listed TYPE II-FR institutions.

If the requirements set out above are not met at the time of the submission the applicant needs to prove that this will be the case at the start of the EOS research project. Moreover, the appointment of the principal investigator must meet these criteria for the duration of the EOS research project applied for.

The PI or co-supervisor who would have reached retirement at the starting date of the project is not eligible. If the applicant reaches the age of retirement in the course of the project, he/she should precisely describe the handover of his/her tasks in the proposal. Otherwise, the Head institution can provide prior approval to the retired PIs or co-supervisors in order to pursue the project until its completion.

Art 5

The federal research institutions listed below are eligible for EOS funding and are defined as TYPE III institutions:

Official Federal Research Institutions:

• State Archives of Belgium
• Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
• Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
• Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage
• Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium
• Royal Museum for Central Africa
• Royal Library of Belgium
• Royal Museums of Art and History
• Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
• Royal Observatory of Belgium

Assimilated Federal Research Institutions:

• Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Center
• National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology
• Scientific Institute of Public Health
• Royal Military Academy
• Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK/CEN)
• Von Karman Institute
• Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History

TYPE III principal investigators should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a permanent remunerated appointment to one of the above listed federal institutions.

TYPE III co-supervisors should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a remunerated appointment at one of the above listed federal institutions.

If the requirements set out here are not met at the time of the application, the applicant needs to prove that this will be the case at the start of the EOS research project. Moreover, the appointment of the principal investigator must fully cover the duration of the EOS research project applied for.

Art 6.

Any foreign research institution is also eligible for EOS funding and is defined as a TYPE IV institution.

TYPE IV principal investigators should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a permanent remunerated appointment at the concerned TYPE IV research institution.

TYPE IV co-supervisors should be researchers who have obtained a PhD and have a remunerated appointment at the concerned TYPE IV research institution.

If the requirements set out here are not met at the time of the application, the applicant needs to prove that this will be the case at the start of the EOS research project. Moreover, the appointment of the principal investigator must fully cover the duration of the EOS research project applied for.

Art. 12.

The EOS research contract will have a duration of four years.

Art. 13.

The EOS research contract shall include unilateral termination clauses, which shall in any case be accompanied by prior notice provisions.

Art. 14.

By submitting an EOS research proposal, each included host institution, regardless of the TYPE of host institution, gives its consent for the following actions, in case the EOS proposal gets granted;

• The consent for the execution of the EOS research at their premises as described in the initial EOS proposal;
• The consent to all other researchers involved in the consortium to access their premises and perform the necessary EOS research as described in the initial EOS proposal.
• The consent to all other researchers involved in the consortium to use the equipment provided by the FWO/ F.R.S.-FNRS in the frame of the approved EOS proposal.

The spokesperson-coordinator must upload a standard consent form in the online EOS platform, signed by all principal investigators and the heads of each institution involved in the EOS research project, providing the above described consent for the execution of the EOS research project.

Art. 15.

The EOS funding is awarded exclusively for the execution of the approved EOS research projects, hence the principal investigators and co-supervisors shall use the EOS funding exclusively for this purpose. As soon as their use no longer meets this requirement, the funding - or its balances - shall return to the concerned funding agency which provided the initial budget.

Art. 16.

Any fundamental change to an ongoing EOS research project, content-wise or in the composition of the consortium, can be made the subject of an investigation, equal to that for a new application, and shall be included in an amendment to the agreement, that does not extend the original agreement. Any partial modification of the research project, as well as any change in the planned expenditure, is subject to prior approval by both the FWO and F.R.S.-FNRS.

Art. 17.

§1. Each EOS consortium may apply for a yearly total consortium budget of maximally €1.000.000.

§2. Each research group from a TYPE I institution must apply for a yearly budget of minimal €120.000.

§3. Each TYPE I institution may apply for a yearly budget of maximally €700.000.

§4. The difference between the total requested budget of the Flemish research groups of TYPE I-FL and TYPE II-FL institutions and the total requested budget of the French-speaking research groups of TYPE I-FR and TYPE II-FR institutions cannot exceed 20%.

§5. The board of FWO and F.R.S.-FNRS can allocate up to 10% of the total budget of an EOS research project to all included TYPE II, TYPE III and TYPE IV host institutions, respecting the limit laid out in Art. 17 §1. TYPE IV host institutions will receive the allocated funding through subcontracting modalities outlined in the guidelines.

Art. 18

§1. For the execution of EOS research projects, the FWO and F.R.S.-FNRS may grant funds for three categories:

• Category 1: staff
• Category 2: operating costs and consumables
• Category 3: equipment

Respecting the initial allocated total EOS budget and after notification to the relevant funding agency, these funds can be transferred from the 1st category to the 2nd category and vice versa but not to the third category.

§2. The final EOS panel can, if necessary and whenever scientifically motivated, reduce the requested budget with a maximum reduction of 20%. However, they cannot increase it and they must respect the upper and lower limits specified in these regulations. Respecting the ranking and selection of the final EOS panel, both F.R.S.-FNRS and FWO boards have the right to apply linear budgetary cuts in order to optimize funding distribution.

§3. Remunerated spokesperson-coordinators, principal investigators and co-supervisors are not allowed additional remuneration from the approved EOS research project.

Art. 21.

§1. Only the equipment that is needed for the project and that is specified in the approved application, can be charged to this category.

§2. TYPE IV research groups are not allowed to request equipment.

§3. Each research group from TYPE I, II and III institutions can apply for a maximum amount of €150.000 for equipment during the entire EOS research project (except for the last project year), respecting the budget limits set out in Art 17. The total cost for equipment can amount up to €300.000 per EOS consortium. Requested equipment funding can take the form of matching funding.

§4. Operating costs, consumables and staff costs cannot be charged to the equipment category.

§5. Expenses are accepted if they are dated during the contracted project duration and can no longer be accepted after the official end date of the EOS research project.

Art. 22.

§1. All materials purchased with the EOS budget, shall become the property of the host institution to which the principal investigator spending the concerned EOS budget is affiliated.

§2. The host institutions, regardless of the TYPE of institution, undertake to keep the concerned material at the disposal of the researcher for the time that is needed to complete the EOS research for which the budget was awarded. Moreover, it undertakes to neither sell nor lend out the material without prior permission of the concerned funding agencies.

Art. 31.

For any cases not provided for in these regulations, reference shall be made to the case law of the concerned funding agencies.