Call for applications for a grant to hire a junior researcher

The ASISA Foundation announces a financial aid to co-finance the hiring by the Avedis Donabedian Foundation for the improvement of the quality of care (hereinafter, FAD) of a junior researcher who wishes to carry out his doctoral thesis in the field of the improvement of the quality of care.

1. Object
The purpose of the grant is to support doctoral training through partial funding of an employment contract, in order for the researcher to carry out a doctoral thesis associated with a research project within the framework of the current research priorities of the Avedis Donabedian University Institute.

2. Characteristics of the grant
The grant has a duration of three (3) years and is implemented through an employment contract between the FAD and the trainee researcher. It also includes an additional endowment to finance the tuition fees for doctoral studies.

• The annual grant for financing the contract will be 5,000 euros per year and will be used to co-finance the researcher's salary and employer's social security contributions. The FAD will assume any contracting costs that exceed the aid granted.

• In relation to the additional endowment, a maximum amount of 1,500.-euros per year will be authorized, which may be used to finance the researcher's tuition expenses derived from doctoral studies in a Spanish university, public or private, corresponding to the courses in which he/she is enrolled during the validity of the aid for the hiring, as well as the expenses generated by the use of the resources necessary to carry out his/her training activities.

• Given the partial financing nature of this aid, the beneficiary may resort to other financing funds that allow him/her to cover the expenses derived from the hiring of the researcher, which exceed the aid received from the ASISA Foundation.

3. Requirements for applicants
Applicants may be all those persons who meet the following circumstances:

• Are enrolled or have been admitted to a doctoral program for the 2016/2017 academic year.
• Hold a bachelor's degree.
• Have completed a master's degree or equivalent between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016.
• Have not obtained a PhD degree, neither from a Spanish nor a foreign university.

• Can prove that the average grade of their academic record of their undergraduate studies is equal to or higher than 7, on a scale of 0 to 10. In the event that the grade was based on another scale, the equivalent calculation will be made.

• Present, together with the documentation accrediting compliance with the above points, a doctoral thesis project, which should deal with the improvement of the quality of care within the framework of the research priorities of the FAD: effectiveness of quality systems, person-centered care and support and involvement of professionals. The project may be presented in Spanish, Catalan or English.

4. Selection process
The FAD will be responsible for selecting the candidate it considers most suitable following its standard personnel selection procedure and submitting him/her, for approval, to a joint committee between the FAD and the ASISA Foundation, whose decision cannot be appealed.

If, for any reason, the employment relationship between the FAD and the selected researcher ends, the FAD may select a new candidate to replace the previous one, for the duration of this grant, presenting him/her again for the approval of the joint committee.

5. Obligations of the doctoral candidate
The researcher whose remuneration is co-funded by this grant must:

• Request the annual renewal of the grant provided that the evaluation of their research work has been positive during the previous year.
• Commit to the reading of their doctoral thesis within a period of 5 years from the start of the grant.
• Submit an annual report on the progress of their doctoral work to the ASISA Foundation and the FAD.
• To state this aid in their external communication documents related to this aid.

During the first year from the start of the grant, changes of thesis director or details of content will only be accepted for reasons of force majeure.

6. Characteristics of the contract
The beneficiary of the grant will be the FAD, who:

• Will be solely responsible for the contractual relationship with the selected candidate, in accordance with current labor legislation.
• Will provide the research personnel with the necessary support and will facilitate the use of the facilities, equipment and material, training or any other type of means that may be necessary for the adequate development of their activity.
• Will designate a thesis supervisor for the conduct of all the researcher's tasks, who must be a member of the civil servant staff or linked to a Spanish university and may only be presented as such in one application.
• Will oversee the proper development of the doctoral program.

7. Payment of the aid
The amount of the aid, both the aid for the co-financing of the contract and the additional aid, shall be paid in advance in favor of the FAD in the first month of the calendar year, by bank transfer to the current account indicated by the beneficiary.

The payment will be formalized as a donation from the ASISA Foundation to the FAD, who will issue the corresponding certificate of receipt.

8. Deadline for submission
The deadline for submission of applications by interested researchers is December 18, 2016. These should be addressed in electronic format to:
Nuria Hidalgo (nhidalgo@fadq.org)