The Scientific Programme Indonesia-Netherlands (SPIN) is a programme for bilateral scientific research cooperation between Indonesia and the Netherlands, executed by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNWA), which has been running successfully since 2000. the aim of SPIN is to stimulate and fund long-term scientific cooperation between researchers and research consortia from Indonesia and the Netherlands, through integrated bilateral research programmes and supporting activities, based on the principles of reciprocity and mutual benefit, granting Netherlands’ and Indonesian researchers access to scientific resources and research areas.

For the period 2005-2011, the KNAW launched a new SPIN subsidy instrument for post-doctoral research in Indonesia to stimulate young talented Indonesia PhD’s to develop further as researchers and to improve the scientific environment in Indonesia.

The KNAW invites Indonesia and Netherlands researchers to submit proposals for the fourth round of the SPIN Postdoc Programme.

Deadline for submission: Wednesday 15 October 2008

SPIN Postdoc Programme

Set-up
SPIN consists of several cooperation programmes, one of which is a programme for Indonesia postdoctoral research to which is Call for Proposals pertains. The overall objective of the SPIN Postdoc Programme is to create opportunities for Indonesian postdocs to establish themselves in Indonesia’s science system by providing postdoc positions for outstanding Indonesian PhD-graduates based at Indonesian universities or research institutes. With the SPIN Postdoc Programme KNAW anticipates on the development of these researchers and their institutes into steady research partners for present and future Indonesian-Netherlands scientific cooperation.

The SPIN Postdoc Programme is open to all fields of science.

The primary dimensions of capacity building that this programme aims to address include:

• Creation of scientific career opportunities; 
• Strengthening of emergent and existing scientific excellence;
• Fostering of scientific curiosity and an academic culture in Indonesia;
• Promotion of (inter)national scientific networking;
• Taking-up of an international research tradition;
• Utilisation of international funding.

The KNAW has earmarked € 1.500.000 for the SPIN Postdoc Programme for the period 2005-2011 (with a yearly budget of € 300.000,-). Each year, during five consecutive selection years, at least six postdoc projects will be awarded. Grants are awarded for a period of two years with a mid term evaluation moment at which the grant can be withdrawn. The first three groups of postdocs were selected in 2006, 2007 and 2008 following Calls for Proposals in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Financial constraints
The contribution to a postdoc project will be maximum € 25.000 per year. The KNAW Postdoc Grant will cover:

• maintenance costs of the Indonesian postdoc candidate in Indonesia (minimum 9 months per 12 months);
• maintenance costs of the Indonesian postdoc candidate while visiting the Netherlands (maximum 3 months per 12 months);
• research expenses;
• scientific training courses (e.g. courses of English scientific writing and proposal writing);
• travel expenses, including accommodation/subsistence expenses for the Indonesian and Netherlands supervisors to visit their postdoc in the Netherlands or in Indonesia.

Cooperation
SPIN seeks not only to consolidate bilateral cooperation between Indonesian and Netherlands institutions, but also encourages the expansion of the cooperation, including other (international) partners. The Indonesian postdoc should therefore be encouraged to establish research cooperation with at least one other Indonesian postdoc or senior researcher based at another Indonesian institution. Cooperation with a postdoc or senior researcher form a third country will be a point of advantage in the selection procedure.

Selection procedure

KNAW will invite applications of Indonesian Postdoc Projects on a yearly basis. All applications will be assessed by expert referees. The SPIN Programme Committee will evaluate and rank the applications. The selection is the result of a process of comparative competition. Scientific merit/quality, feasibility of the research proposal and the possibility for success will be the main criteria for assessment. When a choice needs to be made between proposals of equal/comparative quality the Programme Committee will consider an equal spread over research areas.

Time schedule:

July 2008 Call for Proposals
15 October 2008  Submission deadline Call for Proposals
November 2008 – January 2009 Peer review procedure
January 2009 Opportunity for applicants to respond to referee reports
February/March 2009 Final selection by SPIN Programme Committee
February/March 2009 Announcement of successful Postdoc Projects

Successful applicants are expected to start their project in the course of 2009.

Please click here for  Application Form and  Guidelines.

Important:
The proposal should be supported by a Netherlands and an Indonesian institutional partner (through senior researchers). Signed letters of support and commitment by both partners should be attached (see paragraph 4 of the Guidelines).

SPIN Mobility Programme

Another subsidy scheme within the Scientific Programma Indonesia-Netherlands (SPIN) is the Mobility Programme. The Mobility Programme (running from 2005-2011) seeks to contribute to te maintenance and construction of existing and future Indonesian-Netherlands scientific relations and (multilateral) networks in disciplines offering potentioal for scuccessful cooperation. You can download the running Calls from the  KNAW website. Applications can be submitted either for Scientific Training and Exchange Activities or Multilateral Network Building Activities.

For the coming period it has bedecided to earmark half of the available yearly budget, i.e. € 75.000 to scientific theme ‘Biobased Economy’, targetting specifically proposals within this area. Biobased economy proposals can be mono- or multidisciplinary in nature. No scientifc area is excluded from the theme ‘Biobased Economy’. The Mobility Programme has a running call without yearly deadlines.

What is Biobased Economy?

Societies and economies have a growing need for sustainable solutions to societal problems, like battling poverty, protection ofh uman rights, pollution, energy shortages and food security. The necessity grows that the various scientific fields (e.g. judicial, social, economic, technical, and the natural sciences) come together to battle the challenges of the future by finding structural and sustainable answers to complex questions, so that – gradually – societies can be organized in such a way that they become more sensible, efficient and ultimatly ‘biobased’.

More information about both programmes can be found on  www.knaw.nl/indonesia.