APART-GSK Selection

Selection process

The selection process takes about 7-8 months.

The fellowship committee consists of scholars and scientists who work at a university or a non-university research institution in Austria and abroad and are nominated by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The committee is reconstituted every year.

In the first selection round, the committee members draw up a shortlist of applications that will be reviewed internationally. For each application that is included in the shortlist, at least two reviews are obtained. In the case of interdisciplinary proposals that cover several research areas, the number can be increased.

A review consists of a written statement and a formal assessment of the scientific quality of the project on a scale of 1-10 (1-2 = inadequate, 9-10 = excellent). The following criteria are taken into account:

• Originality, innovativeness and relevance of the project in the field
• Reception of the current state of research
• Clarity of research questions (hypotheses)
• Appropriateness of the methodology (incl. work plan and schedule)

Finally, the reviewers are asked to make a summary recommendation as to whether the application should be funded (with priority) or should be rejected in its present form.

If the written statement is not conclusive, a further expert opinion will be obtained. The reviewers are asked to disclose possible reasons for bias. If bias is found retrospectively, the expert report will not be evaluated.

In preparation for the committee meeting, the committee members prepare a reasoned ranking of the applications assigned to them; the applications are assessed on the basis of the reviews and the scientific qualifications of the applicants and assigned to one of the following categories:

A = recommended for funding with priority, i.e. rated unrestrictedly excellent in all aspects

B = recommended for funding if sufficient funds are available, i.e. clearly worthy of funding, but points of criticism have been formulated in the reviews and/or the scientific qualification of the applicant is not assessed as unreservedly excellent

C = not recommended for funding in its present form

In the committee meeting, the applications are discussed comparatively; the reviews, but also other criteria relating to the applicant's scientific qualifications, are discussed in detail.

The decision on the awarding of the fellowships is made by the entire committee.

After completion of the selection process, the reviews will be forwarded to all applicants in anonymised form.

It is pointed out that due to budgetary conditions, applications must be rejected despite a positive evaluation.

Legal recourse is excluded.