Operationalising Telecouplings for Solving Sustainability Challenges for Land Use

This project receives funding from the European Union’s

Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under

Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 765408.

ITN - Best PracticesITN 2019 Coordinators’ Info Day

Brussels, 22 November 2019

Jonas Østergaard NielsenCOUPLED Coordinator

Humboldt University Berlin

Presentation Outline

Institutional Unit Costs

Recruitment

Supervision

Training

Outreach

Project objectives

Consortium

Management structure

Consortium Agreement

Project objectives

• ENV-Panel (Environmental and Geo-Sciences): Geography and Land System Science

• Production and consumption of land-based products increasingly decoupled

• Understanding processes and actors influencing the use of land in a globalized world

• Developing new and enhanced governance measures that can shape land-use couplings to deliver more sustainable outcomes

ConsortiumConsortium

10 Beneficiaries 9 Partner Organisations

Management structure

SUPERVISORY BOARD Beneficiaries‘ representatives and two ESR representatives

AD

VIS

OR

Y B

OA

RD

NETWORK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

CoordinatorProject

Manager

Director of

Training

Director of

Research

NETWORK ASSEMBLYAll participants and ESRs

Ombuds-

person

Consortium Agreement (CA)

• Paid via a redistribution of Beneficiaries’ Management Costs per ESR and person months (50% for daily management, training, workshops, speakers etc.) - A common budget

• Beneficiaries have different rules re. Management Costs

• 75% employment – this is adequate

• Experienced with project management, EU mechanisms and language

• Main contact point between Project Officer (PO) and Consortium

• Close coordination with Coordinator

CONSORTIUM AGREEMENT• Outlines the role and responsibilities of both Beneficiaries and

Partners in COUPLED• Based upon the DESCA Model Consortium Agreement

Project Manager

• Secondment Agreement with Partners part of ConsortiumAgreement – specify rules, expectations and work plan

• Not required, but a good idea

• Templates ‚out there‘

Secondments

KEY INSIGHTS

Institutional Unit Costs: Annex to CA

Institutional Unit Costs (IUC)

• Agree within consortium

• To whom do they belong and how to use them

• Make a ‘cost note’ on this

• Distribute to ESRs

• Transparency is key!

• Avoid discrepancies between the beneficiaries!

COUPLED COST NOTE IUC• Guideline for the use of the different cost categories

• Overview of which costs the IUC may/may not cover – moving, travel, visas, insurances, equipment etc.

• Guidance regarding what falls under Mobility Allowance and what falls under Institutional Unit Costs

• Help for financial planning

Recruitment process

• Follow the European Charter forResearchers / Code of Conduct for theRecruitment of Researchers

• Framework for researchers and employers to act responsibly and professional within their working environment

• Open, transparent, competitive, non-discrimanatory procedure

• Gender equality

Recruitment process

• Jointly advertised on different channels

• Online Application Guide and Form on COUPLED Website, including automatic check of eligibility criteria

• Information available for applicants in one place

• Possibility to apply for up to three ESR positions, ranked in preferences

Advertisementcentralised

• Recruitment Guideline for Selection Committee

• Initial screening for MSCA eligibility criteria by Project Manager

• Remaining candidates ranked by supervisors according to a point system (scientific background and merits, motivation, innovative nature of the draft proposal)

• Overview of gender and geographical spread

• Five candidates identified and interviewed via Skype

• Inform the exact/approximated net wages during the interviews because stated wages is not one-to-one with reality

• Common ESR start date, or as close as possible

• Visa issues

• Overview of less ‘attractive’ ESR positions – quick relaunch of call

Selectiontransparent

Start early –hire early

Recruitment process

Numbers

• 498 applications for the 15 positions

• All positions filled by Sep 2018 (COUPLED started Jan 2018)

6

57,4%

40,0%42,6%

60,0%

0,0%

20,0%

40,0%

60,0%

80,0%

Total applications Selected candidates

Recruitment's gender ratio for COUPLED

male female

286

212

9

11 nationalities

INFO NOTE FORSELECTION COMMITTEE

- Eligibility criteria

- Ranking system

- ESR Salary - Net estimate!

- Interview guideline (whom to involve, example and required questions)

- Request to keepInterview Records

Supervision

First Assembly Meeting combined with supervision training of the supervisors

• ESRs compare and contrast

• Established an understanding of practices, differences and best practices within our consortium

• Establish common ground

Bi-annual supervision talks

• Coordinator, PM, Director of training, Director of Research, Ombudsperson• Questionnaire

• Stimulate ESRs to reflect upon work-life balance, working conditions, supervision, progress, concerns

• Identify problems early

• PM identify ESRs based on questionnaire and subsequent talks

• Listen to the ESR, suggests ways forward, BUT do not supervise on content

• If issues pertaining supervision and/or institutional support is identified the Coordinator speaks to the supervisor

Training

6

Summer School

•Two weeks

•Place early – common start date

•Whole consortium present including partners

•Content, rules and regulations, rights and obligations, outreach strategies, ethics, planned activities, expectations

•Coaches for how to gel as a group, games, networking skills, intercultural communications skills

•Create a project and group identity and a social space for learning

World Café

Games

Retreat

Training

Advanced Training Courses

• 10 courses – five content, five transferable skill

• Group together – save travel and time

• Use external expects/consultants for transferable training

Training

Training Evaluation - Feedback „More active and

hands-on

sessions, please!

„Thanks for providing us

with an encouraging

environment to develop

ideas and connect with

each other.“

„Enough time and open

attitudes to facilitate

interdisciplinary

discussion.“

„Would have liked to see

more small group exercises

where we apply ideas

learned to our projects.“

63,50%

30,10%

6,90% 2,70% 0,00%0,00%

20,00%

40,00%

60,00%

80,00%

Very high High Medium Low Very low

My overall satisfaction with the Summer School and the ATCs is …

Outreach

• Get professional help designing logo, website, colour schemes etc.

• Do this early so Website is ready before official launch of project – also for centralised application process

• Plan for public engagement (school visits, etc)

• Make an outreach strategy early, and with the ESRs (they are so much better at it) -keep the outreach channels alive– Results, Conferences, Blog posts, Fieldwork,…

• Make the ESRs responsible but Coordinator, PM and consortium members need to stay active too

Challenges

Clear communication on the IUC

• To whom do they belong and how to use them

• Cost note

Flexibility regarding secondments

• Timing, not length

• Place

• Addition of new partners

• Make sense for the ESR project

Ethics

• Start early

• Identify projects

• Keep an open line of communication with PO

ESRs take on a big task

• Move

• New country

• New institution

• ITNs larger than their project: time management

Enjoy it!!!

Thank you!

Our website: www.coupled-itn.eu

This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 765408.