1 Eligibility check

Incomplete and/or ineligible applications will be discarded at this stage. The results of the eligibility check will be notified to the non-eligible applicants around 2 weeks after the application deadline. Applications which are deemed eligible will receive confirmation that they have passed the eligibility check and whether their application will go out for an in-depth review.

2 Evaluation and selection

All eligible applications will undergo independent and international peer review. Each proposal will be evaluated by three external referees, two international experts and one including a representative of Fundación Madri+d. Applications will be scored and ranked according to the IDEAL assessment criteria. All applicants will receive a short report detailing their final score, ranking, and feedback summary from the assessors. They will be informed by e-mail within a maximum of 2 months after the application deadline.

The set of top ranked applicants from each topic will move to the next phase – the interview. During the interview (~1h) the applicant will be asked to give a brief 10-minute presentation on their research proposal.

A maximum of 7 fellowships will be available in each call, offered to the top ranked applicants above the threshold. Those who score equal to or greater than the threshold but not high enough to be selected will be placed on a reserve list.

3 Redress process

Upon reception of the information letter to the candidates with the outcome of the selection process, fellows may request a redress procedure (during ten working days), if there is any indication that there has been a shortcoming in the evaluation process or eligibility check. The procedure will not call into question the scientific or technical judgement of appropriately qualified experts. Information on the redress procedure will be outlined in the information letter sent to applicants.

4 Appointment phase

It is expected that successful candidates will start the fellowship at their earliest convenience considering any periods required to get permission to work in Spain. Given that mobility is a key feature of the programme, an additional time may be required to allow fellows to complete their previous activities before moving to Spain and obtain their visas, if required. Consequently, a starting date for each fellow will be negotiated on an individual basis (please note in Call 2 all Fellows would be expected to start by 1st February 2023.