Guidelines Governing Election of Research Fellows

Research Fellows can be appointed by the Centre for European Security (CES) if a proposal is made to CES by a full member of the Centre, usually accompanied by a CV detailing the scholarly activities of the proposed Research Fellow.  

Criteria for Election

A Research Fellow will be selected on the basis of three broad categories: a.) a sound academic profile, which would usually include the successful completion of a PhD or equivalent higher degree and/or at least one single-authored research monograph or book, and a sufficient number of academic articles in peer-reviewed and/or edited collections/yearbooks; b.) a research profile which is relevant to the academic disciplines and research clusters to be found in CES; c.) a significant contribution to the activities of CES as a result of collaboration by an individual, a partner organisation or institution (represented by, for example, a museum or archive director), either locally, nationally or internationally.  

Election Procedure

The election of the Research Fellow is made by the Centre and is dependent upon the fulfilment of the following pre-requisites: a.) the candidate has delivered a paper within the last 24 months at the University of Salford (or another form of research activity at/for Salford University/CES), in order that CES members have been provided with the opportunity of getting to know the proposed Research Fellow in order to be able to make a judgement as to his/her scholarly/research merits; b.) the candidate is proposed by a full member of CES whose specific reasons for making the proposal to the Centre are communicated to the membership; c.) the proposal is accompanied by a CV which makes plain the scholarly or research-relevant qualifications of the candidate and/or contribution to the research activities of CES.  

The following points should be noted in relation to the above:

• existing Research Fellows cannot make proposals for new Research Fellows to the Centre;
• upon election, the Research Fellow will be informed by letter of his/her election; at the same time, the Centre will assume that the candidate has consented to a biographical sketch with an accompanying list of publications and/or other relevant career details being posted on the CES website;
• there is no stipulation that the Research Fellow hold a full-time university post.

Length of Research Fellowship and Re-election

Research Fellows are elected for a period of four years. After the period of four years has elapsed, a Research Fellow may: a.) apply for re-election as a Research Fellow; b.) inform the Board that they do not wish to re-apply for a Research Fellowship. If the Board has not heard from the Research Fellow within three months of the Research Fellowship lapsing, it will assume that he/she does not wish to re-apply.

In order to consider an application for re-election, an up-to-date CV must be presented to the ESRI Board, together with an accompanying letter outlining what activities the Research Fellow has conducted for – or in collaboration with – CES. In deciding whether to re-elect a Research Fellow, the Centre membership must be convinced that some contribution has been made to the activities of CES and its precursor organisation (ESRI) during the four years of the Research Fellowship (eg., the presentation of a paper, the publication of an ESRI or CES Working Paper, collaboration on a conference or project with a member or members of CES).

For those Research Fellows who were elected prior to the publication of the ESRI 2008 guidelines, the period of four years will commence on the date of the new regulations, unless the Research Fellow wishes to be considered for re-election earlier, ie. four years after the date of their original election. For new Research Fellows, the date of election is taken to be the date of the CES meeting at which the Research Fellow was elected.  

The Centre for European Security would also like to emphasise the following points in relation to Research Fellowships:

• It is current CES policy that the total number of Research Fellows should not exceed the number of full members of the Centre.
• In appointing Research Fellows, the Centre will take into account the need to represent the range of research disciplines to be found in CES.
• The maximum period a Research Fellowship can be held is eight years (including those originally elected by the Board of the European Studies Research Institute).

Changes or alterations to these guidelines must be agreed upon by the Centre for European Security.    

Agreed by the inaugural meeting of the Centre for European Security, University of Salford, 14 January 2010.