Regulations for the Programme for Research Fellowships in the Arts
The regulations were adopted by the Steering Committee on 8 September 2008
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Regulations (080908) |
§ 1 Objective of the Research Fellowship Programme
The national Programme for Research Fellowships in the Arts shall qualify participants for work in the arts and for other work in the community that requires a high degree of artistic competence and insight.
The objective of the programme shall be to produce an independent work of art at a high international level. The research fellow shall also study theory and method in depth in order to acquire greater depth and breadth of knowledge in his/her own field, while at the same time putting the discipline in a broader context. Through the programme, the research fellow shall also receive training in communicating and teaching at a high level in his/her field. The programme shall build new networks for the development of knowledge and competence as well as promoting qualified and critical debate at art education institutions and in society at large.
The programme shall be open to applicants from all subject areas in education in the creative and practising arts.
Completion of the programme with a satisfactory result confers associate professor competence on the basis of the artistic qualifications for appointment to teaching and research positions at Norwegian universities and university colleges.
§ 2 Admission
§ 2.1 The applicant's formal qualifications
In order to be admitted to the programme the applicant must meet the requirements for assistant professors in art subjects.
These requirements have been stipulated as:
- Documented, recognised artistic work/ development work of a certain scope;
- Education at the highest level in the chosen artistic field, from Norway or equivalent education from abroad, or corresponding documented knowledge.
If such qualifications have not been formally confirmed when the application is sent, an assessment of whether an applicant meets the qualification requirements shall be included in the assessment of the application. The applicant is responsible for ensuring that the application contains sufficient documentation of his/her artistic work for an assessment of his/her qualifications to be made.
Applicants may be required to take particular courses and/or pass particular examinations before admission.
§ 2.2 Requirements for applications
Applications for admission must contain a plan for completion of the programme. The plan must include:
- A project description
- Documentation of relevant artistic activity demonstrating the applicant's professional qualifications for completion of the project.
- Documentation of formal academic qualifications – and/or material to establish the same, cf. § 2.1;
- Study schedule;
- Funding plan;
- Proposed supervisors, if applicable.
The project description shall describe the topic, the problems addressed and choice of method and presentation form. The description should state a progress plan for the different parts of the work, and indicate what forms of documentation may be relevant to the final appraisal.
In order to be admitted to the programme the applicant must have established contact with one of the Norwegian institutions offering education in one or more of the creative and/or practising arts. The application should be drafted in consultation with the institution.
Applications recommended by the institution should be submitted collectively to the steering committee by the institution. Together with the application, the institution in question must submit a separate appendix stating:
- That the institution will support the application in question;
- How the research fellow will be advised during the implementation of the programme, cf. § 3.
- How significant the project/applicant is to the internal artistic research environment within the subject area.
If more than one application is submitted from the same institution, the institution shall not rank the applications in order of priority.
§ 2.3 Conditions for admission to the programme
The decision on admission will be based on an overall assessment of the project description, the applicant's qualifications and the plan for completion of the programme, including a time schedule, funding plan, supervisors and the applicant's access to other necessary academic and material resources at the institution to which the applicant in question will be attached.
Applicants must understand and agree to some communication being held in English and that the abstract of the revised project description must be in English.
§ 2.4 Admission procedures
Applications for admission must be sent to the operator for the Research Fellowship Programme. The steering committee will issue more detailed rules for the assessment of applicants, including the appointment of expert consultants.
The steering committee decides admission to the programme on the basis of expert assessments.
Decisions may be dependent on satisfying specific requirements and/or clarification of specific parts of the project, cf. also § 3 concerning the sharing of responsibility and § 4 on agreements. The steering committee may set a deadline for when such requirements must be met, in order for the admission to be upheld.
§ 3 Sharing of Responsibility Between the Research Fellowship Programme and the Employing Institution
§ 3.1 Research fellows
The research fellowship programme's steering committee decides who is to be admitted to the programme on the basis of the evaluated applications and the number of research fellowships allocated/available, cf. § 2.4. The steering committee shall notify the Ministry of its decision, and the Ministry in turn shall transfer the research fellowship positions to the respective institutions.
Institutions which are assigned a research fellow will have employer responsibility for the research fellow.
The institution employs the research fellow in accordance with normal employment procedures. The person so employed is an ordinary state employee and is covered by § 6-4 of the University and University College Act, as well as the Employment Regulations for positions as post-doctor, research fellow, scientific assistant and specialist candidate. When professional assessment is required, cf. § 2.1 of the regulations, this will be done by the steering committee. The employment procedure shall include recommendation as well as employment. This will be carried out by the institution.
Institutions which are assigned a research fellow will be responsible for the research fellow and his/her project within the framework of these regulations and established signed agreements.
The research fellowship shall revert to the programme once the research fellowship period expires, see however § 4.
The steering committee may decide to admit applicants who have obtained funding on their own initiative or through the institution to which the person in question is attached. The provisions of this paragraph therefore apply insofar as appropriate.
§ 3.2 Working conditions, supervision, final appraisal etc.
The institution is responsible for organising a working situation for the research fellow to enable him or her to complete the programme, cf. § 2.2, second last paragraph. The institution also has employer responsibility with respect to supervision, cf. § 5.5 and for a final appraisal of the research fellow, cf. § 8. The academic community at the individual institution employing the research fellow must therefore assess supervision requirements, evaluation and final appraisal etc.
The institution assigns supervisors to the research fellow, cf. § 5.5, after consultation with the steering committee. Supervisors must be approved by the steering committee before appointment. The institution is responsible for establishing supervisor contracts. The steering committee may issue guidelines for how the supervision should be carried out.
The institution appoints an expert appraisal committee for the final appraisal, cf. § 8, after consultation with the steering committee. Members of the appraisal committee must be approved by the steering committee prior to appointment. The institution is responsible for establishing employment contracts with the members.
§ 4 Agreements
Admission to the Research Fellowship Programme will be formalised in a written agreement which is based on these regulations and which stipulates the parties' mutual rights and obligations. The agreement will be between the research fellow, the institution to which the research fellow will be attached and the Research Fellowship Programme. The agreement stipulates the project theme, contractual period, funding, supervision, working conditions and participation in the mandatory part of the programme.
In addition to the above-mentioned agreement, separate agreements shall be established between the institution and the Programme for Research Fellowships in the Arts concerning supervision and final appraisal. In order to develop the supervisor role, supervisors are required to participate in seminars and other activities. The research fellow shall be consulted before the agreement on supervision is signed.
The steering committee will issue a template for the agreements. The programme operator is authorised to sign the agreements on behalf of the Programme for Research Fellowships in the Arts.
Any material changes to the conditions described in the agreements must be approved by all parties.
The participation of a research fellow in the programme may be terminated at the decision of the steering committee if the progress of the project is unsatisfactory, cf. § 5.5. The steering committee can terminate a research fellow's participation in the programme if the institution fails to comply with the regulations governing delegated work responsibilities, cf. § 3. In such cases, the research fellowship shall revert to the programme three months after the institution has received notice of the steering committee’s decision.
§ 5 Professional Content
§ 5.1 The artistic project
The artistic project must be an independent work of art on a high international level with respect to originality, expression, consistency, relevance, presentation and communication of results. The work must contribute to producing new insight, knowledge and/or experience.
The work of art must be free-standing, or consist of several parts, or be a collection of pieces that together make up a whole. Normally, only work produced during the programme period will be included, but an exception may be made to allow inclusion in the documentation of work produced before admission if this was an assumption in the project description.
Part of a joint work of art – or the artistic part of a joint work that is a combination of artistic and scientific work – may be accepted for appraisal provided that it represents an independent contribution that can be identified to the extent necessary for appraisal. In such cases, declarations must be obtained from the other contributors and others who have followed the work to enable the research fellow's contribution to be identified.
The work of art shall be presented in public as part of the final appraisal of the research fellow. If the project is presented in public in the form of concert(s), exhibition(s), performance(s) or similar presentation of a non-permanent nature, documentation of a durable nature must be produced, such as audio/video recordings, photographic documentation, instructions for reconstruction (for instance of exhibitions) etc. One copy must be made available to the steering committee.
The forms of presentation and documentation to be employed shall be indicated in the project description, see however the regulations, § 6, second paragraph and § 2.4, final paragraph.
§ 5.2 Critical reflection
With regard to the artistic result of the work, the candidate must justify:
- Personal professional perspective/work in relation to chosen subject area nationally and internationally.
- How the project contributes to professional development of the subject area.
- Critical reflection on process (artistic choices and turning points, theory applied, dialogue with various networks and the professional environment etc.).
- Critical reflection on results (self-evaluation of the revised project description).
The results of the critical reflection shall be available to the public and durable in character. The research fellow shall choose the appropriate medium and form. One copy must be made available to the steering committee.
§ 5.3 Supplementary documentation
The candidate is required to present documentation of possible professional invention within technology, work process, material skills etc. available to the public.
Results from documentation of such professional invention shall be accessible to the public and durable in character. The research fellow chooses the appropriate medium and form. One copy must be made available to the steering committee.
§ 5.4 The mandatory part of the programme
The mandatory part of the programme shall contain such academic and theoretical training as is desirable with respect to the work on the artistic project. This part of the programme aims to stimulate participants to engage in artistic self-reflection and insight, to train their communicative skills and to encourage critical debate on artistic issues. In each project, the mandatory programme shall contribute to focus on a broader context and to guide the project towards relevant professional discourse. Throughout the mandatory programme, emphasis shall be placed on adopting an interdisciplinary artistic approach and placing artistic research in a broader context.
The study content offered in the mandatory part shall be decided/approved by the steering committee. Tuition can be partly in the form of regular lectures seminars, partly in the form of short, intensive sessions or in other appropriate forms. Individual adaptations may be approved as part of the programme.
During the programme period the research fellow shall present his/her project work for discussion at project seminars.
As part of the mandatory programme, the research fellow shall arrange seminars or teach/lecture on topics related to his/her own project and in this way train for academic communication.
Everyone who is admitted to the programme must complete the mandatory parts. Documentation is required that the research fellow has acquired the necessary professional knowledge.
§ 5.5 Supervision
The work on the artistic project shall be carried out under individual supervision; normally two supervisors at minimum level of associate professor. Main supervisor shall be a specialist in the relevant field. One supervisor shall be under the employ of the relevant institution.
The supervisors are required to work closely together and it is required that the research fellow is familiar with the delegated work responsibilities between the supervisors.
Every year, the research fellow and the supervisors must submit separate reports to the institution and steering committee on the work progress.
§ 6 Standard Duration
The programme shall be organised so that it is possible to complete within a three-year period of full-time work. Approximately one sixth of this period shall be reserved for an organised, mandatory part of the programme. Normally, the mandatory part shall be completed within the first two years of the programme, and it must always be completed before final documentation can be submitted for approval.
During the first six months of the programme period, the research fellow shall – under supervision – limit and refine the project description (revised project description). Before the end of this period, the supervisors shall submit a written report on progress, including an evaluation of the research fellow's potential for completing the project as planned. The report will be sent simultaneously to the steering committee and the institution, with one copy given to the research fellow. The revised project description as well as any future adjustments of significance must be approved by the steering committee.
The first six months of employment constitute a probationary period for the research fellow.
§ 7 Appraisal
Approval of the completion of the programme shall be based on:
a) Artistic result according to § 5.1;
b) Critical reflection according to § 5.2;
c) Documentation according to § 5.3;
d) The Viva Voce – verbal discourse on the project between the candidate and appraisal committee.
The steering committee establishes regulations for registration procedures and guidelines for appraisals in the folder Procedures for final appraisal.
Applications to present oneself for appraisal shall be addressed to the steering committee no later than six months before the appraisal is to take place. The requirements for the application are stated in Procedures for final appraisal.
§ 8 Appointment of an Appraisal Committee
An expert appraisal committee consisting of at least three members shall be appointed, cf. § 3.2. No more than one of the committee members may be attached to the institution at which the research fellow is employed. One of the committee members should, if possible, be from a relevant foreign artistic institution. If possible, both genders should be represented. Members must have qualifications corresponding to associate professorship level, or equivalent. One committee member is appointed chair. The institution shall also appoint a coordinator/secretary to the committee.
The committee members are restricted by the rules in paragraphs 6 ff. of the Public Administration Act concerning impartiality, cf. § 10. Neither members of the steering committee nor the appointed supervisor may be a member of the appraisal committee.
The research fellow shall be informed of the members of the appraisal committee.
§ 9 The Committee's Recommendation and Recommendation Procedure
Procedures for final appraisal, guidelines for the appraisal committee and the recommendation’s format are regulated by Procedures for final appraisal. The committee’s recommendation must conclude whether the entire project is considered Approved or Not Approved.
The appraisal committee’s recommendation shall be addressed to the institution and without delay relayed to the candidate. The candidate is then given a deadline of minimum one week for any written comments on the recommendation.
If the candidate’s remarks are significant to whether the project can be approved or not, such remarks should be presented to the appraisal committee before presenting the case to the steering committee.
The steering committee shall – based on the appraisal committee's final recommendation – request that the institution approves or does not approve the project. The steering committee can request that the appraisal committee provides an extensive evaluation before it makes its recommendation, or require a new appraisal committee to be established.
The institution makes the final decision on approval. Approval can not be granted contrary to the steering committee’s recommendation. The research fellow and steering committee shall be notified of the institution’s decision as soon as possible.
With non-approved projects, the candidate can apply to present him/herself for reappraisal no sooner than six months after non-approval. Only one reappraisal is permitted, and final deadline for application is within two years of the candidate’s original non-approval.
§ 10 Complaint
The Ministry has established a separate procedure for which decisions are eligible for complaints as well as the appropriate body to complain to.
§ 11 Enquiries
All enquiries to the Programme for Research Fellowships in the Arts from applicants, research fellows, supervisors, participating institutions etc. must be addressed to the operator, Bergen National Academy of the Arts (KHiB).
§ 12 Supplementary Provisions
The steering committee may issue provisions supplementing these regulations.
Siri Meyer (sign.)
Chairperson of the Steering committee
Johan A. Haarberg
Director General, KHiB