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* Extracted from the COBISS.SI system. ** Calculated on the basis of data on applicants received in accordance herewith. (2) Quantitative scores for individual assessment elements and scientific disciplines shall be obtained by the Agency. For the calculation of quantitative scores, the Agency shall use the data entered in the SICRIS system on the date of expiry of the deadline for submitting applications to the call or invitation, unless specified otherwise in these Rules or in a call or invitation. (3) Quantitative data shall be used individually for a five-year or ten-year period in the case of evidencing citations, or they may also be used for a one-year period if a group of researchers is assessed. The scoring of scientific success shall take into account the differences in the manner of publication between scientific disciplines. The nature of publishing scientific works, which is closely linked to professional work in many aspects, shall also be taken into account. (4) Unless specified otherwise in the call or invitation, the Agency shall assess researchers with regard to their scientific and research fields stated by the applicant in the application. Article 41 (A1 and A3 limit values) (1) The score for the A1 and A3 indicators is determined below the limit value in a linear manner between 0 and 7 or 10. The limit values are defined in the methodology. The limit value for A1 is defined for each scientific discipline separately. (2) Researchers whose A1 score exceeds the limit value shall receive a score of 7 and researchers whose A3 score exceeds the limit value shall receive a score of 10. (3) The limit values for A1 and A3 have been defined in such a manner that they are close to the highest values of Slovenian researchers. Article 42 (Above-average scientific success) (1) The A'' quantitative score (exceptional achievements in the five-year assessment period) shall be equal to the SICRIS points, which are based on the following assessment elements specified in Appendix 1 hereof:
(2) The A' quantitative score(high-quality achievements in the five-year assessment period) shall be equal to the SICRIS points, which are based on the following assessment elements:
(3) The A½ quantitative score (important achievements in the five-year assessment period) shall be equal to the SICRIS points, which is based on the following assessment elements:
(4) The Agency shall specify the method of accounting for above-average scientific success (A', A" and A½) in the framework of the methodology. (5) The method of quantitative assessment (scoring) for A'', A' and A scores is specified in Appendix 1 hereof. (6) In the SCI-Expanded and SSCI collections the JCR database shall be used with regard to the impact factor, whereas in the Scopus collection the SNIP database shall be used. Scopus (d) represents the categories of the social sciences in the SNIP database, whereas Scopus (h) represents the categories of the arts. Article 43 (Most important achievements) (1) The applicant shall state at his or her own discretion up to five of the most important achievements in the field of research for a project and from five to ten of the most important achievements in the fields of economics and social and cultural activities in the last ten years. (2) For projects and research programmes (co)financed from the national budget, the Agency shall publish in the SICRIS system the basic data on the application, a summary of the application contents and its importance for the development of science and the Republic of Slovenia as stated by the applicant in the application. (3) With regard to exceptional research achievements, the applicant may state in the application any bibliographic units with a greater number of citations that have an incomplete bibliographic record in the WoS. Article 44 (Assessment by reviewers) The method of assessing applications by reviewers is laid down in the sections hereof that further specify individual types of applications. 2. CONTRACT Article 45 (Concluding a contract) In order to implement the subject matter of the call or invitation accepted for (co)financing, the Agency shall conclude a contract on implementation and (co)financing with the applicant. The contract shall be signed at the latest within three months from the adoption of the decision of the Director referred to in Article 25 hereof, unless specified otherwise herein. Article 46 (Signing a contract) (1) The Agency shall prepare the contract on the implementation and (co)financing of research activities referred to in Article 1 hereof (hereinafter: the research) and send it to the applicant (hereinafter: the Other Party) for signing. (2) Other Parties shall return signed contracts and enclose the completed forms of contractual documents by the deadline set by the Agency. Article 47 (Deficiencies in contractual documents) (1) If the Official determines that any of the contractual documents must be supplemented, he or she shall inform the Other Party of the deficiencies in the contractual documents and call upon the Other Party to supplement them. (2) If the Other Party fails to respond within the deadline for supplementing the contractual documents, which shall not be less than 14 days from being called upon to do so, it shall be deemed that the application for funding has been withdrawn. Article 48 (Contractual elements) (1) Mandatory contractual elements shall include:
(2) In the contract, the Director shall designate an Agency employee to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the contract. 5. MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RESEARCH Article 49 (Monitoring and supervision) (1) Together with the expert bodies, the Agency shall monitor and supervise the implementation of research according to the procedure laid down in the Rules and in the contract on the implementation and (co)financing of research. (2) Monitoring and supervision shall be carried out primarily by means of interim and final reports (final reports on the work implemented with regard to research and reports on the expenditure of funds) in accordance herewith. The Agency may also supervise research by means of on-site visits to research implementers. For supervision of research implementers, the Agency may appoint certified auditors to examine the expenditure of funds on behalf of the Agency. Article 50 (Reports) (1) The leader of research and the legal representative or the competent person (hereinafter: legal representative) of the Other Party shall be responsible for reporting regularly on the implementation and (co)financing of research in accordance with the contract. (2) Interim reports and the final report on the work implemented with regard to research shall include substantive reports and evidence on compliance with the assumed contractual obligations. (3) Reports on the annual distribution of effective hours of research work shall be submitted on standardised forms and shall include the workloads of the programme or project group members. (4) The contents of such reports are further specified in subsequent sections hereof. (5) The leaders of research programmes and basic, applied and postdoctoral projects, and mentors of young researchers who fail to submit the required reports within the set deadlines shall be ineligible to participate in the next call or invitation as leaders or mentors. Article 51 (Financial report) The Other Parties shall submit a financial report for every year of performing research, which shall, in accordance with regulations, contain an overview of the expenditure of funds according to the cost groups of such research. Article 52 (Signing reports) (1) The substantive report shall be signed by the legal representative of the Other Party and the leader of research. The financial report shall be signed by the legal representative of the Other Party and the responsible accountant. (2) The reports shall be submitted electronically. The reports may only be submitted in electronic form if signed with a qualified digital certificate by the leader of research and the legal representative of the Other Party. Reports not signed with a qualified digital certificate shall be signed and submitted in printed form. (3) Financial reports in electronic form shall be signed with a qualified digital certificate by the legal representative of the Other Party and the responsible accountant. (4) The financial report shall be submitted together with the interim or final report referred to in Article 50 hereof or, if so determined by the Agency, separately. Article 53 (Suspension of (co)financing) Within the deadline set in the contract, the Other Party must inform the Agency of all circumstances affecting the successful implementation of the research. If the Official finds that altered circumstances prevent the further unhindered progress of the implementation of the research, he or she shall propose that the Director suspend the (co)financing of the research. Article 54 (Termination of research) (1) If it is ascertained that it is not possible to successfully complete the research due to objective circumstances, further research shall be discontinued and the Other Party shall be under no obligation to return the funds already disbursed. (2) If it is ascertained that the Other Party will not successfully complete the research due to the default of contractual obligations, the Agency shall terminate the contract and require the repayment of all disbursed funds, inclusive of legal default interest, unless specified otherwise herein. (3) If during the performance of research it is ascertained that the funds were not used for the intended purpose or not used in their entirety and that the unused share has not been allocated in accordance with the regulations of the government governing norms and standards for allocating resources for the implementation of research financed from the national budget (hereinafter: the Regulation on Norms and Standards), the Agency shall reduce the amount of (co)financing for the unused share or the share not used for the intended purpose. (4) If after the conclusion of research it is ascertained that the funds were not used for the intended purpose or not used in their entirety and the unused share has not been allocated in accordance with the Regulation on Norms and Standards, the Agency shall require the repayment of the unused share or the share not used for the intended purpose, inclusive of legal default interest from the date of receipt of the funds in the recipient’s current account until the date of the reimbursement of the funds. (5) If during or after the implementation of research the RO does not provide access to the requested documents, it shall be deemed that the funds were not used for the intended purpose and the Agency shall act in accordance with the third or fourth paragraph of this Article. 6. INFORMING THE PUBLIC AND USERS Article 55 (Method of informing the public) The Agency shall inform the public and the users of (co)financed research through its website, internal publications, the media and at public panels and conferences organised or co-organised by the Agency. Article 56 (The White Paper of the Agency – online publication of the Agency’s data on (co)financing) The Agency shall publish on its website all data on the (co)financing of research from the national budget in the form of an online White Paper. In the online White Paper, the data shall be classified by programme content, individual scientific discipline, and the research implementers (ROs and private researchers) that are recipients of public funding within the framework of calls and invitations, types of research implementers (state, higher education, business, private non-profit, foreign and other) and the leaders of research. The online data on the (co)financing of research shall be updated at least monthly. The export of data in a computer-readable form shall be enabled. Article 57 (Online publication of research results) (1) Researchers shall be obliged to ensure the up-to-date entry of data on bibliographic results in the COBISS system, which shall be carried out by competent librarians. (2) In cooperation with the ISI, the Agency shall be obliged to provide systemic links between data or databases on ROs, research groups, researchers, research programmes and research projects, and the SICRIS system, when the necessary linkable data on the subjects referred to above are available and sorted according to the rules for managing Register of ROs. (3) The reports on research programmes and projects shall be published in the prescribed format in the Digital Library of Slovenia – dLib.si (the National and University Library), the contents of which are linked to the SICRIS and other online systems. Article 58 (Publication of implementers’ research results) (1) When publishing the results of their work and in any other form of public presentation, implementers (ROs) shall be obliged to state that the research results were achieved within the framework of tasks (co)financed from the national budget in accordance with contracts concluded between the Agency and the implementer, and upon the Agency’s request they shall be obliged to participate in informing the public as organised by the Agency. Implementers shall follow the principles of open access to scientific information in accordance with the National Strategy of Open Access to Scientific Publications and Research Data in Slovenia. (2) The leader of research shall be responsible for accurate reporting of the research results achieved within the framework of activities (co)financed by the Agency. 7. SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUAL CALLS 7.1. Research and infrastructure programmes Article 59 (Public service) The Agency shall finance public service in the field of research in accordance with contracts concluded between the Agency and the PRO or CRO. The PRO or CRO shall provide public service in the field of research in the form of research programmes by programme groups and in the form of infrastructure programmes by infrastructure groups. Article 60 (Composition of programme groups) (1) Research programmes shall be implemented by programme groups at PROs (i.e. public research institutes, and universities and independent higher education institutions established by the Republic of Slovenia), and at CROs. Programme groups shall operate within the framework of at least one PRO or one CRO. (2) A programme group shall be led by the leader of the group, who may lead only one group. A programme group shall consist of the leader of the group, at least three researchers with a doctoral degree, and expert and technical assistants from one or several PROs or CROs. If the programme is implemented at several PROs or CROs, each PRO or CRO shall have at least one researcher with a doctoral degree in its programme group. (3) Programme group members may be involved in only one research programme. Researchers and technical assistants shall be employed at the PRO or CRO implementing the research programme. The number or share of expert and technical assistants participating in the implementation of a research programme shall comply with the Regulation on Norms and Standards. Young researchers, doctoral students, leaders of postdoctoral projects who are financed from other sources and are employed at the RO, and retired researchers may participate in the programme group. (4) The programme group implementing the research programme must comply with at least one of the following quantitative conditions, which applies to all scientific disciplines:
(5) The programme group’s compliance with the conditions referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be verified when signing the contract for a new period of research programme funding, whereby the composition of the programme group stated in the application shall be taken into account, and every year after the submission of the report on the annual distribution of effective hours of research work. When examining the condition regarding the composition of the programme group, expert and technical assistants, young researchers and doctoral students who participate in the research programme shall not be considered to be part of the quota. Article 61 (Conditions for programme group members) (1) Researchers must have a doctoral degree, evidence of research and development results in the last five years and titles in accordance with the applicable regulations. (2) The values of quantitative scores referred to in Article 35 hereof and that must be met by the leader of a programme group and researchers are specified in the methodology. (3) (Deleted). (4) (Deleted). Article 62 (Composition of infrastructure groups) (1) Each PRO or CRO may have only one infrastructure programme, which must be structurally (in terms of organisation, activities and human resources) and financially divided if implemented in more than one organisational unit of the PRO or CRO. In such case, the PRO or CRO shall submit the structure to the Agency on an annual basis or upon changing it. (2) The infrastructure programme shall be implemented by the infrastructure group, consisting of the leader of the infrastructure group, researchers and expert and technical assistants from the PRO or CRO at which they are employed. Article 63 (Changes in the composition of groups and changes in the price category of a research or infrastructure programme) (1) During the implementation of a research or infrastructure programme, the RO may change, increase or reduce the group's composition, whereby financing remains the same, by submitting a substantiated request to the Agency. The request shall be signed by the leader of the research or infrastructure programme and the legal representative of the RO. The reason for changing, increasing or reducing the programme or research group’s composition shall also be substantiated in the interim report. (2) Before the leader of a research programme retires, the home RO may, in agreement with other research programme implementers and the leader of the research programme, propose a replacement for the leader of the research programme. The home RO may, in agreement with the other research programme implementers, propose a replacement for the leader of the research programme also due to the termination of his or her employment or other reasons substantiated in writing. In the case of replacement due to other substantiated reasons, the leader of the research programme must agree with the replacement. The Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide on the replacement of the leader of the research programme by adopting a decision. The proposed new leader of the research programme must comply with the requirements for the leader of the research programme in accordance with the regulations applicable at the time of such replacement. (3) Before the leader of an infrastructure programme retires, the RO may, in agreement with the leader of the infrastructure programme propose a replacement for the leader of the infrastructure programme. The RO may propose a replacement for the leader of the infrastructure programme also due to the termination of his or her employment or for other reasons substantiated in writing. In the case of replacement due to other substantiated reasons, the leader of the infrastructure programme must agree with the replacement. The Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide on the replacement of the leader of the infrastructure programme by adopting a decision. The proposed new leader of the infrastructure programme must comply with the requirements for the leader of an infrastructure programme in accordance with the regulations applicable at the time of such replacement. (4) The home RO may, in agreement with other research programme implementers, request that the Agency change the price category of a research programme. The Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide on the change of the price category in accordance with the Regulation on Norms and Standards by adopting a decision. Article 64 (Responsibilities and powers of the leader of a programme group or an infrastructure group) The leader of a programme group or an infrastructure group, in cooperation with the legal representative of the PRO or CRO and the expert body of the PRO, shall be responsible for preparing the content of and implementing the research and infrastructure programme. The leader of a programme group or an infrastructure group shall also be responsible for and competent to:
Article 65 (Eligibility for financing) The PRO or CRO shall prove eligibility for budgetary funds for financing a research or infrastructure programme with regard to the actual and intended use of funds, in accordance with the Regulation on Norms and Standards. Article 66 (The period and minimum amount of financing) (1) The Agency shall finance research and infrastructure programmes for a period of six years. (2) The minimum annual amount of financing for a programme group operating at only the PRO level shall be 2.5 FTE of price category A for effective hours of research work, whereas in other PROs or CROs it shall be 1 FTE of price category A for effective hours of research work. (3) The minimum annual amount of financing for an infrastructure group shall be 1 salary share of the FTE. (4) When several PROs or CROs participate in the implementation of a research programme, the minimum amount of annual financing for individual PROs or CROs shall be 170 effective hours of research work annually. (5) The amount of financing for an infrastructure group shall be determined in the salary share of the FTE for the entire period of implementation of the infrastructure programme, whereas the amount of (co)financing for the direct costs of materials and services and depreciation and amortisation (hereinafter: the MSA) shall be determined at the annual level, i.e. on the basis of the submitted annual budgets of the PROs or CROs. When calculating the MSA, the expert committee appointed by the Director shall take into account the amount of the MSA in the previous year (for new infrastructure programmes, not more than the average value of the MSA with regard to the amount of the salary share of all infrastructure programmes in the previous year), participation in ESFRI international structures, additional needs due to extraordinary events, the assessment of the interim or final report and the available amount of funds, whereas the detailed calculation method is specified in the methodology. The Agency may, on the basis of a substantiated proposal by the PRO or CRO, allocate a part of funds intended for the material costs of the infrastructure programme to the salary share during the period pending the completion of the entire financing period. (6) Payment of the salary share of the FTE is linked with the employment of researchers or expert and technical assistants at the PRO or CRO. Article 67 (Promotion of excellence) (1) In accordance with budgetary capabilities, the Agency may increase the financing of research programmes on the basis of an invitation. (2) The increase in the financing of research programmes shall be based on an evaluation of the programme groups. Two criteria referred to in Article 33 hereof shall be used for the evaluation of programme groups, i.e.:
(3) Evaluation according to the scientific criterion shall apply the following indicators specified in Appendix 2 hereof:
(4) Evaluation according to the relevance criterion shall apply the following indicator specified in Appendix 2 hereof:
(5) The indicator evaluation period is specified in the methodology. (6) Funds that are monitored with indicators 1.10. and 2.1. shall be evaluated relative to the funds for the financing of individual programme groups. Funds from other sources, in their nominal value, shall be evaluated by three yardsticks according to the source, i.e.:
(7) The Agency shall calculate the average values of yardsticks for every scientific discipline in the Republic of Slovenia. Only programme groups that rank above average in the Republic of Slovenia in relation to the scientific discipline in which they operate shall be eligible for an increase in funds. A research programme shall be assigned an A, B or C score for each individual yardstick. The range of yardstick values is specified in the methodology. Programme groups assigned the A score according to at least one scientific criterion and at least one relevance criterion shall be eligible for financing in accordance with this Article during the period pending the expiry of the research programme financing. If the programme group is assigned an A score according to the yardstick for the evaluation of indicator 1.10. referred to in the third paragraph of this Article, the funds may be increased up to the average value of this indicator, but not by more than 50% of the contractual value in the current year. On the basis of the yardstick for the evaluation of indicator 1.9.referred to in the third paragraph of this Article, the funds may be increased by up to 10% of the contractual value in the current year. If the programme group is assigned the A score for both yardsticks of the scientific criterion, the calculation for the increase of funds shall apply the most favourable method for the group. (8) An infrastructure group may receive additional funds if funds are provided within the framework of an international research infrastructure. (9) The Agency shall prepare a proposal of scores for the research programme for the SCA. The decision on the amount of additional financing for individual research programmes of the PRO shall be adopted by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. The decision on additional funding for the CRO shall be adopted by the minister responsible for science upon the proposal of the SCA, in accordance with the provisions of the secondary legislation governing concessions for implementing a public service in the field of research. The allocated funds shall be deemed to be funds for the financing of research programmes. (10) If increased financing on the basis of an invitation begins on 1 January of the next year, the data gained in applications for research programmes with a financing period that expires at the end of the current year shall be used in the procedure referred to in Article 69 hereof. In such case, a decision on the scope of the research programme in the new financing period shall be adopted, whereas a decision on increasing funds in accordance with this Article shall not be adopted. Article 68 (Calls and invitations) (1) Calls and invitations for the submission of applications for the financing of research and infrastructure programmes shall be published on the basis of the decision referred to in Article 11 hereof in the year when financing expires. (2) The decision referred to in the preceding paragraph shall specify the number of research programmes that individual applicants may apply for. The decision adopted by the minister responsible for science regarding calls for the granting of a concession, which shall also determine the number of research programmes that individual CROs may apply for, shall also be taken into account. (3) In an invitation or call for the assessment of research programmes, the applicant may propose the redesign (merging, demerging or other methods of redesign) of research programmes, whereby a redesigned research programme shall not be deemed to be a new research programme in accordance herewith. Redesign methods are further specified in the methodology. (4) An RO that does not yet have a research or infrastructure programme may apply for a new research or infrastructure programme only if the Agency is cofinancing at least one research project of this RO at the time of the application. The bilateral project referred to in the sixth paragraph of Article 4 hereof shall not be taken into account. (5) In the five years before the publication of the invitation or call, the proposed members of the programme group for the new research programme must have acquired the minimum amount of funds for the implementation of research projects financed by the Agency. The application of a new research programme shall be included in the assessment only if in the last five years (five calendar years before the publication of the invitation or call shall be taken into account) the members of the new programme group operating only at the PRO level have acquired the minimum amount of funds, which on average is equal to at least 1.25 FTE annually, converted into funds of category A , whereas the members of the new programme group operating in other ROs have acquired on average at least 0.5 FTE annually, converted into funds of price category A. Funds acquired in the framework of the applicant and implementers of the new research programme shall be deemed to be funds acquired within the framework of the Agency’s calls for research projects. An application of a PRO that does not comply with the condition referred to in this paragraph shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, be rejected by a decision of the Director, or, in the case of other ROs, by a decision of the minister responsible for science. The composition of the programme group may not change in the first year of financing of a research programme for which an application has been newly submitted. (6) If in an individual year the financing for less than ten research programmes expires, the Agency shall carry out an invitation or call and the application assessment procedure in the year before the financing expires, whereas the decision on the selection of applications shall be adopted in the year when the financing expires. Article 69 (Expert assessment body and reviewers) (1) In order to carry out the assessment of applications, the SCA shall appoint an expert body for the assessment of research programmes. If a great number of applications are submitted for individual scientific disciplines, the SCA may appoint a subdivision of the expert body. The members of the subdivision comprise members of the temporary expert body for the scientific discipline that the subdivision is appointed for as well as additional members appointed by the SCA from among researchers. (2) If the RO or the CRO submits an application for a new research programme, the achievements of the members stated in the application by the applicant shall be assessed. (3) Each research programme application shall be assessed by at least two foreign reviewers. The reviewer shall assess the application according to individual assessment criteria by filling out the assessment form containing numerical scores sorted by the individual criteria referred to in Article 76 hereof. In addition to a numerical score, the reviewer shall provide a descriptive assessment for each criterion, in which he or she shall state the reasons for the assigned score. Reviewers shall reach a consensus regarding the assessment of individual research programme applications. They shall harmonise the application assessment by providing harmonised numerical scores and descriptive assessments for each criterion and the sum of these scores shall represent the overall score of the application. (4) If the Agency does not acquire the reviewers’ consensus report within the set deadline, the expert body shall designate a third reviewer. The overall score of the application shall be the average of the two closest scores of reviewers. If one of the three scores is equal to the average of all three scores, that score shall constitute the overall score of the application. (5) In order to assess research programmes on the basis of the reviewers’ assessments, the expert body shall adopt a Draft Applications Priority List of research programmes to be considered by the SCA. Article 70 (Minimum overall score of an application) A research programme application that receives an overall score higher than 14.0 points in the application evaluation procedure may be included in the procedure for determining the amount of financing that is carried out by the SCA. An application that does not receive an overall score higher than 14.0 points in the application assessment procedure shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, be rejected by a decision of the Director or, in the case of the CRI, by a decision of the minister responsible for science. Article 71 (Evaluating research programmes) (1) The aim of evaluation shall be to assign scores (A, B and C) for research programmes according to the criteria and indicators referred to in Article 67 hereof for the purpose of determining the annual amount of financing. (2) Evaluation shall be carried out for all research programmes of all ROs, regardless of whether the ROs participate in an invitation or call, except regarding applications for new research programmes. (3) The results of an evaluation shall be the scores of research programmes (A, B and C) and information on the possible annual amount of funds or an increase or decrease in the scope of a research programme. The method of determining the annual scope of a research programme is further specified in the methodology. Article 72 (Developing a common scale) (1) In accordance with the second paragraph of Article 25 hereof and on the basis of the proposal of the expert body for the assessment of research programmes and the results of the evaluation of research programmes for each PRO, the SCA shall prepare a common scale of research programme applications, in the framework of which it shall sort research programme applications into at most four groups, i.e.:
(2) As determined in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the CSA shall consider the research programmes of the CROs that submitted an application for more than one research programme. (3) The SCA shall sort the research programmes of the CROs that submitted an application for one research programme according to scientific discipline, by the points of the overall application score. (4) The applications of new research programmes in the fourth group shall be ranked according to the overall score in descending order. Article 73 (Determining the scope of research programmes – Step1) (1) As a general rule, the overall financing of the PRO or CRO for all research programmes in the framework of individual ROs or CROs shall not change. (2) In the procedure for determining the amount of financing for research programmes of individual ROs, the SCA shall first determine the amount of funds of research programmes in the assessment procedure (available funds). (3) The amount of financing of research programmes in the third group according to the overall scale shall be reduced by at least 3% and up to 20%. If the difference with regard to the average value of the yardstick for indicator 1.10.referred to in Article 67 hereof is smaller, the scope of the research programme shall be reduced by this difference. If this would reduce the scope of the research programme below the minimum amount of financing referred to in Article 66 hereof, the SCA shall propose the minimum amount of financing. (4) Research programmes in the fourth group according to the common scale shall be considered with regard to the number of research hours stated in the application, which shall not be less than the minimum amount determined in the second paragraph of Article 66 hereof. (5) When a research programme application is rejected on the basis of Article 70 hereof or the amount of financing of one of the research programmes is reduced, the SCA shall determine if these funds could be allocated to the research programmes of the ROs in the fourth group according to the overall scale. The SCA shall then adopt a draft decision on the selection of applications (hereinafter: The SCA Decision after Step 1), which shall also include the annual amount of financing in effective hours of research work for all individual research programmes proposed to be included in the selection for financing. (6) (Deleted). (7) (Deleted). Article 74 (Determining the scope of research programmes – Step2) (1) If, on the basis of the SCA Decision after Step 1 referred to in Article 73 hereof, the RO has unallocated funds and more than one research programme, the Agency shall inform thereof the applicant and other implementers of rejected programmes or programmes with a reduced scope. The Agency shall call upon the RO to propose other research programmes of the RO, the scope of which could be increased, in order to reallocate funds. In addition to the Call, the Agency shall also send to the RO a list of its research programmes whose scope could be increased, and the maximum scope of increase for individual research programmes calculated according to the criteria and indicators referred to in Article 67 hereof. The Agency shall not inform the ROs that do not have a research programme whose scope could be increased, or that have only one research programme whose scope could be increased, of the unallocated funds. (2) If the RO cannot reallocate the funds referred to in the fifth paragraph of this Article or if the programme with a reduced scope is the only programme of the RO, the funds of the RO shall be decreased regardless of the provision of the first paragraph of Article 73 hereof. (3) The Agency shall set the deadline for submitting a proposal for the reallocation of funds, which shall not be less than ten working days from the date of issuing the call. If the RO does not submit the proposal for the reallocation of funds in time, it shall no longer be eligible for such funds. (4) The SCA shall consider the timely proposals of the ROs on the reallocation of funds due to a reduced amount of financing or rejected research programme applications referred to in Article 70 hereof and adopt a draft decision on the reallocation of funds (hereinafter: a SCA Decision after Step 2). (5) Based upon an SCA Decision after Step 1 and an SCA Decision after Step 2, the Director shall adopt a decision on the selection of applications for research programmes implemented by PROs. Based upon the SCA Decision after Step 1 and the SCA Decision after Step 2, the minister responsible for science shall adopt decisions on granting concessions for implementing a public service in the field of research to CROs, in accordance with the provisions of the secondary legislation governing concessions for implementing a public service in the field of research. With regard to applications for research programmes implemented by PROs and CROs, the Director shall adopt a decision selecting research programme applications following the service of a decision granting a concession for implementing a public service in the field of research. (6) If a research programme is implemented by several ROs, the allocated funds referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be valid for the entire period of research programme implementation and the research programme implementers may not reallocate them from one RO to another. Article 75 (Conducting the procedure for infrastructure programmes) (1) In order to carry out an assessment of infrastructure programme applications submitted to an invitation or call, the SCA shall appoint an expert body for the assessment of infrastructure programmes. The leader of an infrastructure programme may not be a member of the expert body. (2) Each infrastructure programme application shall be assessed by at least two reviewers. The reviewer shall assess applications according to individual assessment criteria by filling out the assessment form, which contains numerical scores sorted by the individual criteria referred to in Article 77 hereof. In addition to a numerical score, the reviewer shall provide a descriptive score for each criterion, in which he or she shall state reasons for the assigned score. The reviewers shall reach a consensus regarding the assessment of individual infrastructure programme applications. They shall harmonise the application assessment by providing harmonised numerical scores and descriptive scores for each criterion and the sum of these scores shall represent the overall score of the application. (3) If the Agency does not acquire the reviewers’ consensus report within the set deadline, the expert body shall designate an additional reviewer. The overall score of application shall be the average of the two closest scores of the reviewers. If one of three scores is equal to the average of all three scores, that score shall constitute the overall score of the application. (4) The expert body shall sort individual infrastructure programmes according to their quality in three groups (A, B and C), where an A programme represents the programme of highest quality, for every form of support for research referred to in the seventh paragraph of Article 4 hereof. The result of consideration by the expert body for the assessment of infrastructure programmes shall be the Draft Applications Priority List of infrastructure programmes, including the annual scope of effective hours of research work sorted by the forms of support referred to in the seventh paragraph of Article 4 hereof. (5) The SCA shall consider the Draft Applications Priority List referred to in the preceding paragraph of this Article and adopt a draft priority list of infrastructure programmes to be financed and a draft list of rejected infrastructure programmes. (6) The financing period of newly adopted infrastructure programmes within the financing cycle of existing programmes shall be adapted to the financing cycle of existing infrastructure programmes, where the first period shall be correspondingly shorter. (7) As a general rule, the overall financing of the RO or CRO with regard to infrastructure programmes shall not change. Article 76 (Assessment elements of research programmes) (1) The criteria determined in Table 7.1.1 shall be used for the assessment of research programme applications. Table 7.1.1: Criteria for the assessment of research programmes and the maximum number of points for individual criteria.
(2) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of programme groups according to the criterion of the scientific excellence of the researchers:
(3) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of programme groups according to the criterion of the relevance of the achievements of the researchers:
(4) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of programme groups according to the criterion of the research ability and vitality of the group of researchers:
(5) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of application quality according to the criterion of scientific, technological or innovation excellence:
(6) The following indicators shall be used for assessment according to the criterion of potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the expected results of the research:
Article 77 (Assessment elements of infrastructure programmes) (1) Members of the expert body shall apply the criteria specified in Table 7.1.2 for the assessment of infrastructure programmes. Table 7.1.2: Criteria for the assessment of infrastructure programmes and the maximum number of points for individual criteria.
(2) If a PRO or CRO that has not yet implemented an infrastructure project submits an application for a new infrastructure programme, the application shall be assessed according to criteria 9 and 6 in Table 7.1.2 referred to in the preceding paragraph. (3) The following indicators shall be used for assessment according to the criterion of the quality of the supporting activity implemented:
(4) The following indicators are used for assessment according to the criterion of the quality of the application regarding supporting activities:
(5) The following indicator shall be used for assessment according to the criterion of the quality and efficiency of implementation and management:
Article 78 (Granting a concession) The Agency shall submit the SCA Decision after Step 1 referred to in Article 73 hereof, the SCA Decision after Step 2 referred to in Article 74 hereof, or the decision on the selection of infrastructure programmes referred to in Article 75 hereof, which is implemented by the CRO, for adoption to the minister responsible for science, who shall then issue a relevant decision. Article 79 (Monitoring and supervision) (1) The Agency shall supervise research and infrastructure programmes in accordance with the applicable legislation and these Rules. (2) Together with the science and research councils (hereinafter: SRC), the Agency shall monitor and supervise all phases of implementation of research and infrastructure programmes on the basis of assessment of interim and final reports. When called upon to do so by the Agency, research programme implementers shall submit an interim report in the third year of research programme implementation, whereas infrastructure programme implementers shall submit an interim report every year. The Agency shall monitor and supervise the implementation of research and infrastructure programmes by means of annual reports on the expenditure of funds and the distribution of effective hours of research work. (3) The PRO or CRO shall submit reports on the forms and by the deadlines set by the Agency. (4) The SRC shall consider the interim reports of research and infrastructure programmes on the basis of rules for the monitoring of research or infrastructure programme implementation adopted by the Director. (5) The SRC shall assess interim reports and may provide its own recommendations for improving the implementation of a research programme. The Agency shall inform the PRO or CRO and the leader of the research programme thereof. The RO may submit a reply report to the Agency within 60 days from receiving the recommendations of the SCR. The assessments of interim reports, the recommendations of the SCR and the reply report shall be an integral part of the materials for the assessment of research programmes by the expert body. (6) If during consideration of the appropriate composition of programme groups the SCR finds that the composition does not comply with the fourth paragraph of Article 60 hereof, the Agency shall inform the PRO or CRO and the leader of the research programme thereof. If in the following year the SCR again finds that the composition of the programme group is not appropriate, it shall propose a reduction in the scope of the research programme by 5%, whereby the funds may not be reduced below the minimum amount determined by Article 66 hereof. The decision on the reduction in financing for the PRO shall be adopted by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. The decision on the reduction in financing for the CRO shall be adopted by the minister responsible for science upon the proposal of the SCA, in accordance with the provisions of the secondary legislation governing concessions for implementing a public service in the field of research. (7) In accordance with the criteria and indicators referred to in Article 77 hereof, the SCR shall assess the operation of an infrastructure programme in two parts, whereby, on the basis of interim reports on infrastructure programmes, it shall:
(8) If the SRC negatively assesses an interim report on an infrastructure programme, it may provide its own recommendations for improving implementation of the infrastructure programme. The Agency shall inform the PRO or CRO and the leader of the infrastructure programme thereof. The RO may submit a reply report to the Agency within 30 days of receiving the recommendations of the SCR. (9) If the SRC assesses that the MSA amount of an infrastructure programme is too high, it shall substantiate its assessment and may propose a reduction in the financing of the infrastructure programme. The funds shall be reduced by up to 20%, whereby the FTE funds may not be reduced below the minimum amount determined in Article 66 hereof. The Agency shall inform the PRO or CRO and the leader of the infrastructure programme thereof. The decision on the reduction in financing for the MSA shall be adopted by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. For a PRO, the decision on the reduction of financing for the FTE shall be adopted by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA, whereas for a CRO the decision shall be adopted upon the proposal of the SCA by the minister responsible for science, in accordance with the provisions of the secondary legislation governing concessions for implementing a public service in the field of research. (10) The report on the results of a research or infrastructure programme, which is an integral part of an application to an invitation or call referred to in Article 68 hereof, shall be deemed to be a submitted final report. The SCR shall not assess the report on the results of a research programme because it is the subject of an assessment procedure for the next financing period. Article 80 (Workload of researchers) (1) By means of the report referred to in Article 79 hereof or following a written call to do so, the Agency shall obtain from the legal representative of the PRO or CRO also the data and report on the state of the financial engagement and workload of individual researchers and expert and technical assistants with regard to the national budget within the framework of the programme and infrastructure group for the current and following years of financing. (2) In order to implement a research programme, the leader of a research programme and members of a project group must have available capacity with regard to effective hours of research work (the maximum permitted capacity for full-time employment is 1,700 effective research hours annually or 1 FTE) and shall be employed at the RO implementing the research programme, except for retired researchers. Both conditions shall be verified when signing the contract on the implementation and financing of a research programme and in the report on the annual distribution of effective hours of research work. The leader of a programme shall have at least 0.1 FTE annually. Each member of a programme group (except for young researchers, doctoral students financed from other sources, retired researchers, leaders of postdoctoral projects and directors of the PRO, who may participate in the programme with just 0 FTE) shall have at least 0.01 FTE annually. Article 81 (Establishing a new programme) In accordance with budgetary capabilities, the Agency may call upon the PRO every year to propose new research or infrastructure programmes that constitute public service in the field of research. For such purpose, the Agency shall carry out an assessment procedure in accordance herewith. Article 82 (Publication of research programme results) In their reports, the publication of results or all other public presentations of research achievements, the members of a programme group must state their affiliation with the RO, the number of the programme and the title of the cofinancing institution, i.e. the Slovenian Research Agency. 7.2. Basic, applied and postdoctoral research projects Article 83 (Types of projects) (1) The Agency shall publish calls for (co)financing basic and applied projects. The Agency may (co)finance the following projects from the national budget:
(2) Applications for large projects or basic projects may be submitted. Applied projects must include at least three ROs of a different type (with regard to their status, i.e. research institution, university or independent higher education institution, and company) and shall provide evidence of (co)financing. Basic projects must include at least two Slovenian ROs of a different type (with regard to their status, i.e. research institution, university or independent higher education institution, or company). (3) Basic, applied and postdoctoral projects may be thematically focused on research topics specified in the call. (4) A postdoctoral project may be a basic or applied project carried out in order for the researcher to obtain additional research experience and knowledge after receiving a doctoral degree, and shall also enable additional training of researchers. The scope of a basic postdoctoral project shall be 1,700 annual effective research hours (1 FTE), whereas the scope of an applied postdoctoral project shall be 1,275 annual effective research hours (0.75 FTE) of price category B. The call may also envisage a smaller scope of postdoctoral projects for applicants with teaching obligations. (5) The duration of projects shall be determined in the call. The call may specify that projects or a part thereof shall be implemented as mobility projects. (6) If a candidate for a postdoctoral project has used his or her parental leave, where one year per child shall be taken into account, the period from defending the doctoral thesis shall be extended beyond three years. The same applies to documented absences due to sick or injury leave, other types of absence provided for in the regulations on health insurance, and employment outside research longer than three months. Article 84 (Composition of a project group) (1) A project is implemented by a project group consisting of the project leader, researchers and expert and technical assistants. The leader of a project must be employed in at least a 40% full-time capacity at an RO in the Republic of Slovenia that is implementing a research project. For young researchers and doctoral students who are financed from other sources, zero effective hours of research work shall be recorded within the framework of a project. (2) A project may only be managed by a researcher who complies with the conditions laid down in the Research and Development Activity Act and in the Rules on the criteria for establishing compliance with the conditions for being the leader of a research project (hereinafter: the Rules on the Conditions for the Leader of a Project). The values of quantitative assessments referred to in Article 35 hereof that the leader of a programme group must achieve are specified in the methodology. The call may also lay down more detailed criteria on the basis of the criteria referred to in Article 33 hereof that the leader of a project group must comply with, and the method of demonstrating compliance with these criteria. Article 85 (Changing the composition of a project group, including other research organisations and changing the price category of a research project) (1) During the implementation of a project, the applicant or implementer may, in agreement with the leader of the project, change, increase or reduce the composition of a project group, whereby the objective and (co)financing shall remain the same, by submitting a substantiated request to the Agency. The reason for the change shall also be substantiated in the interim report, whereas in the final report it shall only be substantiated if the change occurred after the submission of the interim report. (2) Other research organisations may be included on the basis of a request by an existing research organisation only if one of the existing participating research organisations cannot carry out its tasks in accordance with the objectives laid down in the project documents after the approval of the project due to objective reasons. Possible objective reasons include the cessation of operations, considerable changes in the organisational structure or the termination of the employment of key researchers from the participating RO. The inclusion of other ROs shall be decided on by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA, whereby the inclusion shall be possible from the date of the submission of the application. (3) Before the leader of a project retires, the applicant may, in agreement with the leader of the project, propose a replacement for the leader of the project. The applicant may propose a replacement for the leader of a project also due to the termination of his or her employment or for other reasons substantiated in writing. In the case of replacement due to other substantiated reasons, the leader of the research project must agree with the replacement. The Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide on the replacement of the leader of a project by adopting a decision. The new leader of the project must comply with the conditions for the leader of a project laid down in the Rules on the Conditions for the Leader of a Project. (4) If during the implementation of a project the employment of the leader of a project with the applicant terminates, an RO that the leader of the project signs a new employment contract with and that is listed in the Register of ROs shall become, upon the proposal of the leader of the project, the new participating RO in the implementation of the project, with the number of effective research hours of the leader of the project and the number of effective research hours of the members of the project group who concluded an employment contract in the participating organisation. (5) If after submitting an application to the call, the employment of the leader of a project as a researcher at the applicant terminates, the RO that the leader of a project concluded a new employment contract with and that is listed in the Register of ROs shall become, upon the proposal of the leader of the project, the participating RO in the implementation of the project, with up to half the number of effective research hours for the entire project. The home RO shall remain the applicant. (6) The Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide on the proposal for the leader of a project of a new organisation participating in the implementation of a project referred to in the third and fourth paragraphs of this Article by adopting a decision. The leader of a project must enclose a document (contract) with the proposal, in which the applicant and the participating organisation agree on the division of work and resources and the rights, obligations and responsibilities of both parties and the leader of the project within the framework of the project. Before the SCA adopts a draft decision, it shall verify if the new participating organisation complies with the conditions regarding the access to research infrastructure required to implement the project. In agreement with other implementers of the research programme, the home RO may request that the Agency change the price category of the research programme. The Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide on the change of price category in accordance with the Regulation on Norms and Standards by adopting a decision. Article 86 (Available research capacities) In order to implement projects, the leader of a project and members of a project group must have available capacities with regard to effective hours of research work (the maximum permitted capacity for full-time employment is 1,700 effective research hours annually or 1 FTE) and shall be employed at the RO implementing the project or have the status of a private researcher. Both conditions shall be verified when signing the contract. The leader of a project shall have at least 170 research hours (0.1 FTE) available annually upon signing the contract. A member of a project group (except for young researchers, doctoral students financed from other sources, retired researchers and directors of the PRO, who may participate in the programme with just 0 FTE) shall participate with at least 17 effective research hours (0.01 FTE) available annually upon signing the contract. Article 87 ((Co)financing) (1) The Agency shall finance up to 100% of the substantiated project costs of basic projects. (2) The Agency shall (co)finance up to 75% of the substantiated project costs of applied projects. The applicant of an applied project shall ensure that at least 25% of the substantiated project costs are financed by other interested users. Before signing the contract with the Agency, the applicant of an applied project shall submit evidence on the (co)financing of the project (contract) for the entire period of project implementation with regard to the value of the price of the effective research hours at the beginning of financing. (3) If a company submits an application for an applied project, it shall not need evidence of the (co)financing of the project by other interested users, it shall, however, state its envisaged share of (co)financing upon submitting an application for the project and demonstrate it in a manner determined by the Agency. (4) When other interested users reduce the (co)financing of a project during its implementation, the Director shall, upon the proposal of the SCA, decide if the Agency will continue to (co)finance the project. (5) Projects may not be (co)financed by the ROs listed in the Register of ROs, except for companies. Article 88 (Substantiated project costs) The basis for determining the amount of funds for implementing projects is defined in the Regulation on Norms and Standards, taking into account the limitations referred to in Article 87 hereof. Article 89 (Call conditions) (1) A legal entity or natural person listed in the Register of ROs that complies with the conditions laid down in the Act regulating research and development activities, these Rules and the Rules on the Conditions for the Leader of a Project may apply to the call. In an individual call, a researcher may compete with only one project proposal in the role of the leader of a project. (2) Only researchers who a year after the date for submitting an application for the first phase of a call are the leader of not more than one project may apply to a call as the leader of a project (target research programmes (TRP), the projects referred to in Article 139 and 146 hereof and new projects shall not be taken into consideration, and also the projects referred to in Article 145 hereof (co)financed in an amount that equals less than €50,000 annually shall not be taken into consideration). (3) A researcher whose project was given a lower number of points than the amount defined as the overall threshold for the sum of all scores, as specified in Article 99 or 100 hereof, in the first phase of assessment in a previous call may not apply to a call as the leader of a project. The threshold is specified in the methodology and the call. (4) A researcher who received a negative assessment of the final report of a project in the last three years before the beginning of the call may not apply to the call as the leader of a project. (5) A researcher who has already carried out a postdoctoral project may not submit an application for another postdoctoral project. (6) A candidate for young doctor shall be a researcher who completed his or her first doctoral dissertation no more than ten years before the date of the deadline for submitting applications to an invitation. A researcher who has already carried out a project as a young doctor may not submit an application for another project as a young doctor. Article 90 (Application assessment procedure) (1) As a general rule, the application assessment procedure is carried out in two phases. Applicants submit a short application upon applying to the call. When the number of applications with regard to the available funds and number of reviewers required for the assessment of extended applications allows for a one-phase assessment procedure, the Director may decide by a decision that the assessment procedure shall be carried out in one phase, in accordance with the provisions of these Rules that apply to the assessment of applications in the second phase. In such case, the Agency shall call upon all the applicants to submit an extended application within a deadline that may not be less than 45 days from being called upon to so. (2) The types of projects for which an application may be submitted shall be defined in the call. Applicants shall state in the application which type of project referred to in Article 83 hereof they are submitting an application for. Article 91 (Conditions for submitting an application for projects of the members of programme groups) (1) Before the publication of a call for (co)financing projects, the Agency shall inform the leaders of research programmes of the possibility of submitting an application for a limited number of project proposals to the call. A limited number of applications may be submitted by the leaders of research projects who are leaders or members of programme groups with one or several projects (basic or applied) whose (co)financing ends within a year from a completed previous call for projects. The period of an extended deadline to implement a project, without additional (co)financing for the purpose of extending the period in which substantiated project costs will be incurred, shall be deemed to be the period of implementation. (2) If members of a research programme as the leaders of projects submit an application to a call for up to one more project compared to the number of basic or applied projects (without taking into account postdoctoral projects) whose(co)financings completed, their applications shall be directly included in the second phase of the two-phase call implementation. The leader and implementers of a research programme shall jointly decide on the applicant and leader of a research project. (3) If the members of a research programme submit a higher number of project applications than specified in the preceding paragraph of this Article and if the call is implemented in two phases, all these applications shall first be assessed in the first phase as applies to all other applications that comply with the call conditions. Article 92 (Expert Body) (1) The assessment shall be conducted by a temporary expert body competent to assess projects and consisting of at least two members for each scientific discipline (hereinafter: the expert body). The expert body shall carry out the function of a reporting entity during the entire assessment phase, in the framework of which it shall carry out the following tasks: – review consensus reports or reviewers’ individual reports when these are inconsistent with regard to non-harmonised scores, and provide a substantiation according to the provisions of the methodology; – report to the panel on consensus reports or on reviewers’ individual reports when these are inconsistent with regard to individual project proposals. (2) The expert body shall appoint reviewers for the assessment of applications. When appointing reviewers, it shall ensure balance as regards appointing reviewers from individual scientific disciplines with regard to the specificities of research within a scientific discipline. Article 93 (Assessment and consensus reports of reviewers) (1) An application with the required call documents shall be submitted to a reviewer for assessment. The minimum score defined with the threshold of the sum of scores that the project must receive is specified in the methodology and the call. Reviewers shall be informed of the minimum score when they receive the application. (2) Reviewers shall assess individual assessment elements by filling in the assessment forms containing numerical and descriptive scores according to individual indicators, i.e. individual reports. (3) A reviewer, i.e. a reporter, coordinates the drawing up of a consensus report. An information system combines individual reports and enables reviewers access to a consolidated working report. A reviewer, i.e. a reporter, shall edit the style and content of the consolidated working report and harmonise the overall score for each criterion. If reviewers reach a consensus, they shall sign a consolidated working report, which shall then become a consensus report. (4) A report shall be deemed a consensus report if consensus is reached by at least two reviewers. (5) If the reviewers do not reach a consensus, the individual reports of the reviewers shall be considered in further procedures. (6) After a consensus report is confirmed, the individual reports of the reviewers shall gain the status of a “working version” document and shall not be a subject of consideration in the further selection procedure in accordance herewith and shall not be a subject of objection procedures in accordance herewith nor judicial proceedings. Article 94 (Panels) (1) In a two-phase procedure, panels for the first and second phase of the assessment procedure shall be established. (2) The panel shall consist of members of the expert body and at least the same number of foreign reviewers. Members of the panel who are foreign reviewers shall be selected according to their qualifications in order to assess applications pertaining to research fields. Members of the panel who are reviewers shall be appointed by the Director upon the proposal of the expert body. A representative of the relevant SCR shall also participate in the panel as an observer and shall be appointed by members of the same council. (3) The operation of the panel shall be regulated by the Agency’s rules. Article 95 (Reclassification of applications) Applications for projects shall be reviewed by a member of the relevant SCR who is responsible for the field stated in the application. If an inappropriate field of scientific discipline is stated in the application, a member of the SCR shall propose the reclassification of the application to another relevant field. In the substantiation, a member of the SCR shall primarily take into account the OECD-defined fields (SCI-Expanded and SSCI) of the publications of the leader of the project and the contents of the application. If a member of the SCR has applied as the leader of a project in the framework of the call at issue or if he or she has a close family relationship with the leader of a project participating in the current call, the proposal for reclassification shall be carried out by another member of the SCR upon the proposal of the chair of the SCR. Only if the member of the SCR responsible for the field of the proposed reclassification agrees with the proposal shall the Agency submit the proposal to the expert body for a decision. Aricle 96 (Assessing applications – first phase) (1) In the first phase of a two-phase procedure, two foreign reviewers shall assess short applications according to the procedure referred to in Article 93 hereof. The expert body shall sort applications for assessment into groups according to the content of the proposal. (2) When appointing reviewers for the interdisciplinary field, the expert body shall take into account that the first of the two reviewers shall cover the primary interdisciplinary field related to the contents of a project proposal, whereas the second reviewer shall cover the secondary field stated in the application. (3) The result of a panel discussion shall be the classification of projects according to the individual types of projects and fields. (4) On the basis of the application review, the reviewers’ consensus report or individual reports in the case of a non-harmonised report, and the discussion, the panel shall decide whether an application is to be included in the second phase of the assessment procedure by sorting applications into two groups: A (the application complies with the criteria for being included in the second phase) and B (the application does not comply with the criteria for being included in the second phase of assessment). The applications classified into group A shall be included in the second phase of the assessment procedure, whereas the applications classified into group B shall be rejected with a short expert substantiation. The substantiation shall be written by a member of the panel, i.e. the reporter. (5) When sorting applications into groups A and B, the panel shall take into account the reviewers’ harmonised score or the panel’s score in the case of a non-harmonised report of reviewers, the financial capacities of the field, and other priorities and mandatory shares of the individual types of projects defined in the call. (6) If the reviewers do not harmonise their scores, the panel shall define the average score as the project’s score. The panel shall specifically discuss project proposals with significantly different scores from reviewers and decide whether the average of both scores actually reflects the quality of the proposed project. If the average of both scores does not reflect the quality of the project, the panel may eliminate one score. The panel shall discuss project proposals with scores differing by more than two points. (7) It is envisaged that, compared to the financial capacities of the field, twice the number of applications pertaining to individual fields shall be included in the second phase of the assessment procedure. In addition to applicants that are directly included in the second phase of a call in accordance with Article 91 hereof, at least another half of the assessed projects pertaining to an individual research field shall be included in the second phase, compared to projects that were directly included in the second phase, and among them there shall be at least one basic and one applied project per field. (8) The SCA shall consider the list of A-group applications proposed by the panel and may supplement it on the basis of criteria and yardsticks defined in the call, taking into account the panel’s recommendations, the ratio of project types pertaining to individual scientific disciplines on the basis of the criteria and yardsticks defined in the call, and the available financial capacities of the field. The SCA shall adopt a decision on the classification of applications for assessment and prepare a list of applications. Aricle 97 (Assessing applications – second phase) (1) After the completion of the first phase of the procedure, the Agency shall call upon the A-group applicants to submit an extended application within a deadline that may not be less than three weeks from being called upon to do so. (2) In the second phase, the application shall be assessed by at least three foreign reviewers according to the procedure referred to in Article 93 hereof. (3) The expert body shall sort applications for assessment into groups according to the content of the proposal. (4) When appointing reviewers for an interdisciplinary field, the expert body shall take into account that two out of three reviewers shall cover the primary interdisciplinary field related to the contents of a project proposal, whereas one reviewer shall cover the secondary field stated in the application. Aricle 98 (Selection of projects by the panel – second phase) (1) In the second phase of a two-phase procedure, three foreign reviewers shall assess an extended application according to the procedure referred to in Article 93 hereof. (2) The Agency shall submit the reviewers’ consensus report, or their individual reports in the case of a non-harmonised report, to the applicants. The applicants may submit a reply to the report. (3) The panel shall consider the reviewers’ consensus report, or their individual reports in the case of a non-harmonised report, and the replies of the applicants. (4) When sorting projects into groups, the panel shall take into account the reviewers’ harmonised score, or the panel’s score in the case of a non-harmonised report of the reviewers, the financial capacities of the field and other priorities and mandatory shares defined in the call. The mandatory shares of selected projects according to scientific disciplines, types of projects and projects for which young researchers submit an application (up to 10 active years after obtaining a doctoral degree) shall be determined by the SCA in the methodology. In the case of an equal number of points of two or more applications, the panel shall adopt a decision taking into account the reviewers’ harmonised scores, project applications and the replies of the applicants. The panel shall substantiate its decision. (5) In the case of a non-harmonised report, the panel shall define the average score as the project’s score. The panel shall specifically discuss project proposals with significantly different scores of reviewers and decide whether the average of the three scores actually reflects the quality of the proposed project. If the average of the three scores does not reflect the quality of the project, the panel may eliminate up to one score and calculate a new average without the eliminated score. The panel shall consider project proposals with one score differing by more than two points compared to the average score. In the case of an equal number of points of two or more applications, the panel shall adopt a decision by taking into account the reviewers’ scores, project applications and the replies of the applicants. The panel shall substantiate its decision. (6) A proposal for the classification of applications for the (co)financing of projects shall be adopted on the basis of a majority decision and shall include a written substantiation of the assessments. (7) With regard to the funds estimated in the call and the priorities determined in the call, the panel shall propose applications to be financed as small projects (€100,000), large projects (€200,000) or reduced-amount projects (€50,000). (8) The result of a panel discussion shall be a draft classification of applications for the (co)financing of projects (hereinafter: the Draft Applications Priority List), which shall be prepared according to scores for every scientific discipline and for projects in the field of interdisciplinary research, sorted by field for each scientific discipline. (9) The panel shall adopt the Draft Applications Priority List on the basis of a majority decision and prepare a report. (10) The SCA shall consider the Draft Applications Priority List adopted by the panel and may supplement it on the basis of criteria and yardsticks defined in the call, taking into account the panel’s recommendations, the ratio of project types pertaining to individual scientific disciplines on the basis of the criteria and yardsticks defined in the call, and the available financial capacities of the field. In the case of large projects, the SCA shall define the minimum permitted score for selection. The SCA shall adopt a draft decision on the selection of applications. Aricle 99 (Assessment elements of research projects) (1) Reviewers shall apply the criteria specified in Table 7.2.1for the assessment of basic projects. Table 7.2.1: Criteria for the assessment of basic projects and the maximum number of points for individual criteria.
(2) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of the leader of a project and the project group according to the criterion of the scientific excellence of the researchers:
(3) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of the scientific quality of the application according to the criterion of scientific, technological or innovation excellence:
(4) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of the application according to the criterion of the quality and efficiency of implementation and management:
(5) If an individual application does not reach the threshold, which for the individual criteria referred to in the first paragraph of this Article equals three points, or the overall threshold of the sum of all three scores, which equals ten points, it may not be included in the second phase of the call or in selection for (co)financing. Aricle 100 (Assessment elements of applied projects) (1) Reviewers shall apply the criteria specified in Table 7.2.2 for the assessment of applied projects. Table 7.2.2: Criteria for the assessment of applied projects and the maximum number of points for individual criteria.
(2) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of a project leader and the project group according to the criterion of the scientific excellence of the researchers:
(3) The following indicators shall be used for the assessment of the research quality of an application according to the criterion of scientific, technological or innovation excellence:
(4) The following indicators shall be used for assessment of the potential impact of the application according to the criterion of potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the expected results of the research:
(5) The following indicators shall be used for assessment of the application according to the criterion of the quality and effectiveness of implementation and management:
(6) If an individual application does not reach the threshold, which equals three points for the individual criteria referred to in the first paragraph of this Article, or the overall threshold for the sum of all four scores, which equals 12 points, it may not be included in the second phase of the call or in the selection for (co)financing. Aricle 101 (Monitoring and supervision) (1) The Agency and the SCR shall monitor and supervise all phases of project implementation on the basis of interim and final reports on the work and reports on the expenditure of funds. The Agency may also supervise project implementation by on-site visits to ROs implementing a project. (2) If the SCR negatively assesses the interim report of a project (basic, applied or postdoctoral), it shall substantiate its assessment. The Agency shall inform the home RO and the project leader thereof. If the SCR negatively assesses the final report of a project and the negative assessment is confirmed by the SCA, the RO shall return 10% of all funds disbursed. The SCA may submit the negatively assessed report to the SCR for re-assessment. The Director shall adopt a substantiated decision on the draft proposal of the SCA. (3) For applied projects, the home RO shall enclose a (co)financer’s assessment, including a substantiation of the impacts of the project results, with the interim and final reports. The Agency may request that the home RO that submitted an application for an applied project submit a (co)financer’s report on the economic and other impacts of the application of the results for five years after the project is completed. Aricle 102 (Contents of interim reports) The interim report on the results of an implemented research project shall, in addition to the title of the project, the name or title and address of the applicant, the name and surname of the project leader, and the contract number, also include a brief substantive report and evidence of compliance with the assumed obligations. The report shall include:
Aricle 103 (Contents of a final report) (1) The final report on the results of an implemented research project shall, in addition to the title of the project, the name or title and address of the applicant, the name and surname of the project leader, and the contract number, also include:
(2) In addition to the final report referred to in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the RO shall also enclose a (co)financer’s report, a summary report and evidence of compliance with the assumed obligations for the entire duration of the project.
Article 104 (Extension of the deadline for completing project implementation) An RO may seek an extension of the deadline for completing project implementation and provide reasons for the delay. The allocated funds for eligible expenditures of project implementation may be used until the end of the extended project implementation period. The RO is not eligible for additional (co)financing in the extended period of project implementation. A decision shall be issued by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. Article 105 (Publication of project results) In their reports, the publication of results, or in any public presentation of the research results, the project group members shall state their RO affiliation, the project number and the title of the cofinancer, the Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia. 7.3 Young researchers Article 106 (Purpose) (1) The Agency shall finance the training of young researchers at an RO in order to:
(2) The Agency shall carry out the training of young researchers by selecting programme groups, which shall be autonomous in their choice of mentors and young researcher candidates. 7.3.1 Mentors Article 107 (Applications to an invitation) The Agency shall publish an invitation for the allocation of mentoring positions to research programmes. Only the base RO of the research programme with the legal form of an institute can apply to such invitation. One application is permitted for one programme group. Article 108 (Number of mentoring positions per programme group) (1) The number of mentoring positions per programme group shall be set with regard to the programme quality assessment, the size of the programme group (annual FTE volume) and the type of RO implementing the research programme, as well as the number of available places per scientific discipline. (2) The research programme quality assessment shall be determined by the overall score of the last research programme assessment. In terms of their quality on the basis of the overall score, research programmes shall be classified into four groups: A, B, C and D. Group A comprises research programmes with the highest overall score. The range of points of the overall score for a group shall be defined in the methodology. (3) For the purpose of assigning mentoring positions, base ROs implementing research programmes shall be classified into two groups, namely:
(4) The number of available mentoring positions per discipline shall be established by the SCA with regard to the extent of the available budgetary funds. (5) The manner of determining the number of mentoring positions per research programme shall be defined in the methodology. A calculation shall be carried out for all research programmes whose base RO has the legal form of an institute. In determining the mentoring positions for the year in question, the temporary expert body shall take into account the rounding up of the number of positions in research areas and the decisions on allocating mentoring positions in programme groups in past years. In considering decisions on allocated mentoring positions to programme groups, research programmes that in past years applied to an invitation and were not allocated a mentoring position, and research programmes that did not apply to an invitation shall be given equal consideration. The temporary expert body shall draw up a proposal as to the number of mentoring positions per programme group for submission to the SCA. (6) The SCA may increase the number of mentoring positions by up to five percent if it has been established in the procedure for allocating mentoring positions to research programmes by research field that the research programmes are equivalent on the basis of the criteria stipulated by these Rules, but the quota per research field does not allow for the allocation of mentoring positions to all the research programmes. Additionally, allocated mentoring positions per research field shall be subtracted from the quota of mentoring positions per research field in the next year. (7) If the research field was granted more mentoring positions than can be allocated to research programmes (due to insufficient applications per research field), a mentoring position or positions shall be allocated to the research fields with the largest rounding down of the number of positions per research field in descending order. (8) The decision on the number of mentoring positions shall be issued by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. Article 109 (Designation of mentors) (1) On the basis of the determined number of mentoring positions per programme group, the Agency shall call on an RO to submit, in cooperation with the leaders of programmes and by the date set in the invitation, the names of mentor candidates who meet the following conditions:
(2) If an RO fails to submit the names of mentor candidates to the Agency by the date stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article, the programme group shall lose the possibility of financing for the training of young researchers. Article 110 (Other conditions) (1) A mentor shall not train more than three young researchers at a time. The quota of young researchers shall not include those persons whose young researcher status has been suspended due to leave arising from parental protection insurance or who while having the status of a young researcher have used leave exceeding six months. The quota of young researchers trained by a mentor shall be verified by the Agency when signing a contract. (2) A researcher shall become a mentor once every second year at most. The share of younger mentors among the mentors in an RO shall not be lower than 25%. (3) A candidate for younger mentor shall be a researcher regarding whom, as of the closing date for the submission of applications to an invitation, no more than ten years have passed since the completion of his or her first doctoral dissertation and no more than fifteen years have passed since his or her graduation from a study programme approved in the Republic of Slovenia prior to 11 June 2004, or since obtaining his or her master’s degree. (4) If a candidate for younger mentor has used leave arising from parental protection insurance exceeding six months, the period after the year of completing his or her first doctoral dissertation or the period after the year of his or her graduation from a study programme approved in the Republic of Slovenia prior to 11 June 2004, or the year after obtaining his or her master’s degree, as stipulated by paragraph 3 of this Article, shall be extended by one year. (5) If an RO cannot propose an adequate number of younger mentors, the decision on the approval of the selected mentors shall be issued by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. (6) If the programme is carried out by more than one RO, the distribution of mentors in the period of the financing of the research programme for an RO must be commensurate with the funds of the programme at the ROs at issue or in accordance with a written agreement signed by the leader of the research programme and the legal representatives of all ROs participating in the implementation of the research programme and that have the legal form of an institute. Article 111 (Transfer of mentoring positions) An RO may, by no later than 30 June of the year in which the mentoring position was allocated, propose the transfer of allocated mentoring positions to research programmes within the scientific discipline. The transfer of mentoring positions may be carried out within an RO or among two ROs. The proposal shall be signed by both the leaders of the research programmes and the legal representative of the RO, or, in the case of a transfer between two ROs, by the legal representatives of both ROs. The decision on the proposal shall be issued by the Director. The Agency shall take the change into consideration at the level of programme groups and research fields at the time of the next invitation in the manner specified in the methodology. 7.3.2 Training of young researchers Article 112 (Calls for young researcher candidates) An RO shall select young researcher candidates in accordance with the regulations governing public sector employment, its internal general acts, the conditions stipulated by these Rules and in agreement with the selected mentors. Article 113 (Conditions for young researcher candidates) (1) Young researcher candidates must fulfil the following conditions:
(2) If at the time of concluding a contract the young researcher candidate is enrolling in the second or third year of a third-cycle study programme, the average grade of graduate studies in a study programme approved in the Republic of Slovenia before 11 June 2004 or the average grade of all examinations and coursework of the first-cycle and second-cycle study programmes shall not be deemed relevant. If a candidate holds a master's degree obtained in a master's degree study programme approved in the Republic of Slovenia before 11 June 2004, the average grade of his or her graduate studies shall not be deemed relevant. (3) If a young researcher candidate uses leave arising from parental protection insurance exceeding six months, taking into account one year for one child, the age limit shall be raised to 28 years. The same applies to documented sick leave exceeding six months. (4) The Agency shall not finance young researcher candidates who at the time of signing a contract are enrolled in an additional year of a third-cycle study programme or who have already used such status, candidates who have already received funding from the Agency in the framework of the young researchers programme and candidates who already hold a doctoral degree. Article 114 (Assessment of young researcher candidates) (1) The assessment criteria and indicators referred to in Article 33 hereof and Appendix 2 shall not apply to the assessment of young researchers. The assessment criteria for young researcher candidates shall be as follows:
(2) Valuation of the criteria shall be determined by the RO. Article 115 (Selection of young researcher candidates) (1) ROs shall carry out the selection of young researcher candidates by the end of August of the current year and report to the Agency the names of the selected young researchers by 1 September. The ROs shall submit to the Agency statements confirming that the candidates were selected in accordance with the provision of Article 112 of these Rules. (2) If the ROs fail to report to the Agency the names of the young researcher candidates by 1 September, the mentors shall lose the possibility of the financing of the training of young researchers obtained on the basis of an invitation. (3) If an RO reports to the Agency the name of a young researcher candidate on time but such candidate withdraws from the position of young researcher prior to the beginning of the training, the RO may subsequently, but no later than by the end of the year in which the mentoring position was allocated, submit the name of anew candidate selected in accordance with the provisions of Article 112 hereof. Article 116 (Financing of training) (1) The Agency shall finance the training of young researchers up to a doctoral degree, namely:
(2) The category of the price of an effective hour of research work for a young researcher shall be set on the basis of the category of the price of an effective hour of research work of the mentor’s programme group. The category of the price of an effective hour of research work set in such manner shall apply for the entire training period. (3) The Agency shall reduce the financing period specified in the first paragraph hereunder by one year if, at the time of signing the contract, the young researcher is enrolled in the second year of a third-cycle study programme or by two years if the young researcher is enrolled in the third year of a third-cycle study programme. (4) An RO shall send evidence of the successful completion of training within one year of the end of the financing or within two years if the young researcher is in the field of medicine and obtains the status of a trainee specialist after the conclusion of the approved period of financing. Article 117 (Training documents) (1) Prior to the signing of the contract, and no later than by 20 September, an RO shall submit to the Agency the following documents:
(2) If a young researcher candidate has not completed a first-cycle or second-cycle study programme or a master's degree study programme in the Republic of Slovenia, the RO shall submit the following before the signing of the contract:
Article 118 (Training programme) (1) The framework research training programme for a young researcher candidate shall consist of the research programme and the study programme. The research programme shall comprise:
(2) The study programme shall comprise:
(3) The framework training programme of the group of researchers shall be signed by the research mentor, the legal representative of the RO and the young researcher. Article 119 (Concluding the contract) (1) The Agency and the RO shall determine the mutual rights and obligations arising from the implementation and financing of the training in a contract. The contract may specify that the RO shall cover certain expenses in the training of the young researcher. (2) The RO shall return a signed contract no later than 15 days after its receipt. (3) Before the beginning of the financing of training, the RO is required to send to the Agency the employment contract of the young researcher, which shall grant the young researcher at least the rights in accordance with the law governing the public sector salary system, and proof of enrolment. Article 120 (Short-term training abroad) (1) Young researchers shall be provided short-term training abroad in the form of study projects at foreign universities or research institutes or enabling the performance of the experimental part of the doctoral thesis, for the purpose of improving the quality of training and postgraduate studies in Slovenia, for a period not exceeding one and a half years. (2) During the period of the short-term training of a young researcher abroad, the RO shall be entitled to the full payment of the funds that the Agency has allocated in accordance with the contract for the training of young researchers even if the young researcher has obtained a foreign scholarship for the period of staying abroad. (3) The RO shall describe the course of the training of the young researcher abroad in the annual report. (4) The contractual period for implementing the programme shall not be extended due to short-term training abroad. The doctoral thesis shall be defended in the Republic of Slovenia. In exception, the doctoral thesis can be defended abroad if a foreign co-mentor participated in its preparation and the decision to do so was adopted with the agreement of all participants. Article 121 (Reporting on training) (1) The RO shall report on the training of the young researcher within the deadlines specified in the contract and submit to the Agency for such purpose the annual report and final report on the forms drawn up by the Agency. (2) If the reports are not submitted by the deadlines specified in the contract, the Agency may suspend payments to the RO under the contract for the period of default. Article 122 (Reporting on changes) (1) The RO shall report to the Agency any change related to the training of the young researcher regarding a change in or the termination of his or her employment at the RO and excused absence exceeding 30 consecutive working days, such as leave arising from parental protection insurance or prolonged sick leave, by the deadline stipulated in the contract. In the case of an excused absence exceeding 30 working days, the Agency shall suspend the status by issuing a decision temporarily terminating the financing and prolonging the training. (2) The Agency shall issue a decision discontinuing payments if the employment of the young researcher is changed or terminated. In the case of changes to the employment of a young researcher, further funding of his or her training shall depend on the positive opinion of the SCA. Article 123 (Replacing a mentor and programme or research group) (1) An RO shall propose the replacement of a mentor due to the termination of employment, retirement, death or the one-year documented absence of the mentor. If the replacement of the mentor does not impact other contractual provisions and the RO guarantees that the proposed mentor is active in the same research field as the initial mentor, the decision on the replacement shall be issued by the Director. (2) If the replacement of the mentor is due to other justified reasons or if the replacement is not regulated in the preceding paragraph of this Article, the decision shall be issued by the Director on the proposal of the SCA. (3) The mentor shall meet the conditions referred to in Article 109 and in first, third and fourth paragraphs of Article 110 hereof. (4) An RO shall propose a change in the programme group or transfer to a research group for a young researcher as a consequence of mentor replacement, changes to organisation units, termination of the implementation of the research programme, etc. The RO shall submit to the Agency a statement ensuring adequate conditions for successful continuation of the work of the young researcher. The decision on the change shall be issued by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. Article 124 (Ensuring the intended use of funds) (1) Agency funds from the national budget may only be used for the purposes and in relationships stipulated by the decree on norms and standards and a contract. (2) The RO shall enable the Agency to inspect the records on the expenditure of funds received on the basis of the contract. Article 125 (Default on a contract) (1) If the training of a young researcher deviates from the training programme, the RO shall immediately notify the Agency. The Agency may temporarily suspend or discontinue financing and terminate the contract. (2) Discontinuing training at the request of the implementer or the young researcher in the first three months of financing shall have no financial effect for the parties to the contract, unless the Agency establishes the misuse of funds. (3) If the Agency terminates the contract for misuse of funds, the RO shall repay the misused funds, including legal default interest, within the deadline set by the Agency. (4) The RO shall be obliged to repay 10%of remitted funds, or 20%of remitted funds if the young researcher has supplementary employment, if:
Article 126 (Bonus payment) If a young researcher successfully concludes the training (with the defence of his or her doctoral thesis) before the expiration of the approved period of financing stipulated in Article 116 hereof, he or she shall be eligible for a bonus payment of 30% of the funds the Agency has allocated for the young researcher's gross salary, for each month remaining before the end of the contractual deadline, up to a maximum of twelve months, provided that the time remaining until the expiration of the approved period of financing is not shorter than one month. 7.4 Research equipment Article 127 (Subject matter of a call) (1) Cofinancing of the purchase of research equipment shall include purchases of research equipment with a preliminary purchase value of at least €50,000 for the natural sciences, at least €20,000 for technical sciences, biotechnology and medicine, and at least €15,000 for the humanities and social sciences. (2) The share of cofinancing by the Agency for the purchase of research equipment shall be set by the call. Article 128 (Application to a call) (1) PROs, universities and other public institutes (hereinafter: applicants) performing public service in research in the form of research programmes or infrastructure programmes on the basis of a concession may apply to a call. (2) Applicants shall enclose the following evidence with the application to a call: provisional invoices for the research equipment that the applicant intends to purchase, letters of intent, and a preliminary contract or contract on cofinancing signed by the cofinancer, which shall specify the amount of cofinancing or a statement on own funding. (3) With regard to the purchase of research equipment, an applicant must adhere to the contractual provisions and the application documentation. The purpose and technological specifications of the acquired research equipment that the applicant stated in the application must be maintained. Due to technological progress, the applicant may purchase newer equipment that does not change the cofinancing of the research equipment provided by the Agency. Article 129 (Exclusioncondition) The expert body may apply as an exclusion condition research equipment of higher value already in place in the Republic of Slovenia (at least €140,000 for the natural sciences, technical sciences, biotechnology and medicine, and at least €40,000 for the humanities and social sciences. The expert body shall use as an aid the list of existing research equipment available in the SICRIS system. The expert body may call upon applicants to additionally substantiate the application with regard to the existing equipment. Article 130 (Assessment of applications) (1) The assessment of applications shall be handled by the expert body. (2) The expert body shall score applications for research equipment on the basis of the criteria set in Table 7.4. Table 7.4: Criteria for assessment of research equipment and the maximum number of points by criterion.
(3) The following criteria shall be used for the quality assessment of the programme or infrastructure group submitting an application for research equipment, under the criterion of the scientific excellence of the researchers specified in the application:
(4) The following indicator shall be used for the assessment of the application under the criterion of the quality of the application regarding support:
(5) The following indicator shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the anticipated research results:
(6) The manner of assessment shall be specified in the methodology. Article 131 (Decision-making by the SCA and adopting decisions) (1) Based on the scoring in accordance with the set criteria, the expert body shall prepare the draft priority list of applications for cofinancing the purchase of research equipment and submit it for discussion to the SCA. (2) If several applications have the same number of points, the decision on the selection of these applications for cofinancing the purchase of research equipment shall be made by the SCA on the basis of a discussion on the significance of the research equipment in supporting the research of the applicant and others included in the research and infrastructure programmes and projects. In its decision, the SCA shall take into consideration the starting points of the research strategy. (3) The selection of applications for cofinancing the purchase of research equipment shall be made by the Director by a decision on the selection of applications upon the proposal of the decision on the selection of applications by the SCA. Article 132 (Disposal of equipment and ensuring the availability thereof) (1) An applicant with whom the Agency concludes a contract on cofinancing the purchase of research equipment (hereinafter: the Other Party) shall ensure the uninterrupted operation of the research equipment and handle the equipment with due diligence. The disposal of the equipment shall be subject to the approval of the founder in accordance with the procedure laid down by the regulations on the acquisition and management of real property of the state and the disposal thereof. (2) The Other Party shall offer the capacity of the research equipment and the related services to all interested ROs under the most favourable conditions if the capacity and services are needed to implement research programmes or projects (co)financed from the national budget. The Other Party shall elaborate and publish tariffs for using the capacity of the research equipment. (3) In determining the price for using research equipment cofinanced by the Agency from the national budget, applicants shall take into account the depreciation cost of the research equipment, the costs of materials and services for the maintenance of the equipment and the pertaining labour costs in accordance with the regulations on the public sector salary system. (4) Applicants shall report to the Agency the price for using the research equipment and the structure of the price for using the research equipment. (5) Applicants shall regularly report to the Agency on the actual use and utilisation of the research equipment and inform the public of the availability of the equipment on their website. (6) The Agency shall adopt regulations on the method of calculating the price for using research equipment capacity for users and on the manner of applicants issuing notice of equipment availability and reporting on the actual use of research equipment and publish these regulations on its website. The regulation shall apply for equipment with a purchase value of at least €50,000 for the natural sciences, at least €20,000 for technical sciences, biotechnology and medicine, and at least €15,000 for the humanities and social sciences. In determining the price for using the research equipment, the applicant shall take into account the depreciation cost of the research equipment, the costs of materials and services for the maintenance of the equipment and the pertaining labour costs in accordance with the regulations on the public sector salary system. Applicants shall present the research equipment on their website and notify the public of its availability (access conditions) and the price for using such. Article 133 (Public records of research equipment) Records of research equipment cofinanced by the Agency from the national budget shall be publicly available in the SICRIS system. Applicants shall submit any data needed for the records in the form and manner determined by the Agency. Article 134 (Contract on cofinancing the purchase of research equipment) (1) A contract on cofinancing the purchase of research equipment may be concluded individually for the purchase of research equipment or for several purchases by an RO with regard to the time of the relevant purchase. (2) The contract on cofinancing the purchase of research equipment shall regulate, in addition to the obligatory contractual elements specified herein, other mutual substantive rights and obligations, such as: utilisation of the research equipment, conditions for the use of the research equipment, reporting on its operation, usefulness and utilisation, and the criteria and elements for determining the price of services using the research equipment. (3) The Other Party shall ensure the inclusion of the research equipment in the implementation of programmes and projects and ensure that research equipment cofinanced in accordance herewith is recorded in bookkeeping entries as a fixed asset of the Other Party. 7.5 International scientific cooperation Article 135 (Subject matter of cofinancing) The Agency may (co)finance the following in the field of international scientific cooperation:
Article 136 (Eligible entities and conditions) (1) The Agency shall (co)finance the international cooperation referred to Article 135 hereof on the basis of a call. The supporting documents that applicants must submit with the application shall be determined in the call. (2) A call for bilateral projects under the first indent of Article 135 hereof may be applied to by ROs and private researchers included in the Register of ROs or the Register of Private Researchers kept by the Agency, and who meet the conditions prescribed by the Act regulating research and development and the Agency's regulations, and implement research programmes or basic or applied projects (co)financed by the Agency or approved international projects (e.g. participation in EU Framework Programmes in the field of research and development) that provide the basic resources of the research. (3) A call for bilateral research projects under first indent of Article 135 hereof may be applied to by ROs and private researchers included in the Register of ROs or the Register of Private Researchers kept by the Agency who meet the conditions prescribed by the Act regulating research and development and the regulations of the Agency. (4) A call referred to in the second indent of Article 135 hereof may be applied to by associations included in the database of associations that operate in the public interest in the field of research. (5) A call referred to in the third indent of Article 135 hereof may be applied to by associations included in the database of associations that operate in the public interest in the field of research and ROs and private researchers included in the Register of ROs or the Register of Private Researchers kept by the Agency and who meet the conditions prescribed by the Act regulating research and development and the regulations of the Agency. (6) A call referred to in the fourth, fifth and sixth indents of Article 135 hereof may be applied to by ROs and private researchers included in the Register of ROs or the Register of Private Researchers kept by the Agency who meet the conditions prescribed by the Act regulating research and development and the regulations of the Agency. (7) The leader of a project for applications referred to in the first, fifth and sixth indents of Article 135 hereof must meet the conditions for a research project leader in accordance with regulations. (8) Applications to a call for bilateral projects referred to in the first indent of Article 135 hereof must, among other participating researchers in the Republic of Slovenia, also include doctoral students and post-doctoral researchers. Article 136.a (Share of selected bilateral projects) (1) For non-reciprocal calls for bilateral projects referred to in the first indent of Article 135 hereof, in the methodology the SCA shall determine the obligatory share of selected bilateral projects whose implementers are researchers who have defended their first doctoral thesis less than five years ago (taking into consideration the year of defending the doctoral thesis), if such have applied. (2) For reciprocal calls for bilateral projects under the first indent of Article 135 hereof, the draft priority list of applications drawn up by the expert committee of the Agency on the basis of assessments must include the obligatory share of bilateral projects whose implementers are researchers who defended their first doctoral thesis less than five years ago (taking into consideration the year of defending the doctoral thesis), if such have applied. The obligatory share of such projects shall be determined by the SCA in the methodology. Article 136.b (Replacement of the leader and members of a project group) (1) Before the retirement of the leader of a project, the applicant or the implementer referred to in the first, fifth and sixth indents of Article 135 hereof may, in agreement with the project leader, propose a replacement for the project leader. The replacement of the project leader may also be proposed upon the termination of the employment of the leader or other written justification. Replacement due to other justifiable reason shall require the agreement of the project leader. The application for the replacement of a project leader referred to in first indent of Article 135 hereof must include the agreement of the leader of a bilateral project of the implementer of the partner state. The decision on the replacement of the project leader for bilateral research projects referred to in the first indent selected on the basis of a non-reciprocal call, and the projects referred to in the fifth and sixth indents of Article 135 hereof, shall be issued by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA, whereas the decision for other projects referred to in the first indent of Article 135 hereof shall be issued by the Director on the basis of notification by the ministry responsible for science. The new leader must meet the requirements for project leaders stipulated in the Rules governing the conditions for project managers. (2) During the implementation of a project referred to in the first, fifth and sixth indents of Article 135 hereof, the applicant or the implementer shall, in agreement with the project leader, submit to the Agency a substantiated request for a change, increase or decrease in the project group composition, with the aim and (co)financing remaining unchanged. Article 137 (Reciprocal and non-reciprocal calls) If an international agreement specifies no obligation of the foreign party to (co)finance international cooperation, the (co)financing of scientific and research cooperation under first indent of Article 135 hereof shall be performed under a unilateral call and otherwise under a bilateral call. Article 138 (Assessment of applications) (1) Applications shall be assessed by an expert committee in accordance with the call, these Rules and the methodology. (2) The assessment of an application to a call referred to in the first indent of Article 135 hereof shall be a quantitative assessment under the criterion “assessment of a researcher or a group of researchers” referred to in Article 33 hereof, namely the quantitative assessment of the scientific success of the project leader of the applicant, which is determined on the basis of the A1 score referred to in Article 35 hereof. The call may stipulate that scientific success is ascertained according to individual scientific discipline. Article 139 (Draft priority list of applications) (1) For calls for bilateral projects that are implemented as non-reciprocal calls, the expert committee shall prepare a draft priority list of applications on the basis of the scores of the applications. The draft priority list of applications shall be reviewed by the SCA. The decision on the selection of applications for cofinancing shall be taken by the Director by issuing a decision on the selection of applications upon the proposal of the SCA on the selection of applications, on the basis of which the applicants shall be issued notification thereof. (2) For calls for bilateral projects that are implemented as reciprocal calls, the expert committee of the Agency shall submit the list of applications with the pertaining assessments referred to in Article 138 hereof to the Slovenian part of the authorised international body for scientific and technological cooperation (the international committee or board for bilateral scientific and technological cooperation). The transnational committee for scientific and technological cooperation shall, during a session, independently review the received and assessed applications of bilateral projects from both countries and, pursuant to the powers conferred upon it and by a joint decision, select an application and determine the rate of cofinancing. On the basis of the decision of the transnational committee for scientific and technological cooperation, the Director of the Agency shall issue a decision on the cofinancing of the applications, which shall serve as the basis for issuing a notification to the applicants. Article 140 (Deleted) Article 141 (Deleted) Article 142 (Deleted) Article 143 (Cofinancing) (1) The international cooperation of foreign researchers visiting the Republic of Slovenia referred to in the first and fourth indents of Article 135 hereof shall be cofinanced by the Agency in the amount of the costs of accommodation and daily allowance set by the applicable regulation on the reimbursement of work-related costs and other income excluded from the tax base, unless stipulated otherwise in the call. Accommodation costs shall be cofinanced in an amount not exceeding the costs of an overnight stay of up to €100 (for stays of up to 14 days) or up to €1,250 a month, unless stipulated otherwise in the call. (2) For non-reciprocal calls for bilateral projects referred to in Article 137 hereof or for reciprocal calls for bilateral projects where the call so provides, the Agency may finance the costs of accommodation and the daily allowance of researchers during their stay abroad as determinedly the regulation governing the reimbursement of costs for work-related travel abroad (hereinafter: the regulation on costs). (3) The Agency shall finance the international cooperation of Slovenian researchers in the bilateral projects referred to in the first indent of Article 135 hereof in the amount of international transportation costs as economically as possible, taking into consideration the cost and time spent, unless stipulated otherwise in the call. (4) For the cofinancing of bilateral research projects, the manner of implementation of cofinancing shall be the same as for all research projects. Article 144 (Framework programme projects) (1) Applicants included in the Register of ROs who entered a project as a coordinator or who participate as a partner in a project for which an application was submitted to the European Commission by a foreign or Slovenian RO and who in the assessment procedure conducted by the European Commission achieved the threshold percentage of the maximum number of points shall be eligible to receive a one-time financial contribution to the costs of the preparation and application of framework programme projects for EU research and innovation. The threshold percentage of the maximum number of points and the amount of the one-time financial contribution shall be determined in the methodology, whereby the amount of the financial contribution shall not exceed €4,000 for applications by applicants who have the role of an international consortium coordinator or €1,000 for applications by applicants included in the project as a participating organisation. (2) If the review of a project application involving an applicant from Slovenia included in the Register of ROs exceeds the threshold for possible cofinancing in an international call, the Agency may cofinance the Slovenian part to the extent decided by the Director on the basis of a proposal by the SCA, in accordance with the available funds in the budget of the Agency. For the cofinancing of the Slovenian part of the research project, the manner of implementation of such cofinancing shall be subject to the same conditions as apply for research projects. Article 145 (Assumption of cofinancing following the lead agency) If a project application involving an applicant included in the Register of ROs in the call of another country or the research funding agency thereof (hereinafter: the lead agency) is proposed for funding, the Agency may cofinance the Slovenian part to the extent decided by the Director on the basis of a proposal by the SCA in accordance with the available funds in the budget of the Agency. For the cofinancing of the Slovenian part of the research project, the manner of implementation of cofinancing shall be subject to the same conditions as apply for research projects. Article 146 (European Research Area Net (ERA-net), Joint Programming Initiatives (JPI) and other ERA instruments) (1) When the Agency cooperates in the European Research Area Net, (ERA-net), Joint Programming Initiatives, (JPI) or other ERA instruments (hereinafter: international cooperation consortia), it shall contribute funds for the cofinancing of selected projects of ROs from the Republic of Slovenia. Cofinancing shall be implemented under the virtual common pot principle. (2) The Agency shall cooperate in international cooperation consortia when a quality assessment procedure with an international panel and reviewers is ensured. (3) If an international call at the level of an international cooperation consortium envisions national eligibility conditions, the Agency shall adopt the mentioned conditions for an RO from the Republic of Slovenian in accordance with the regulations. Within the framework of the national eligibility conditions, the Agency may limit the size of the applied work of the selected project from the Republic of Slovenia. On the basis of notification by the international cooperation consortium regarding the results of the conducted selection procedure and the material for discussion by the competent body of the international cooperation consortium, the Agency shall draw up the material for discussion at the SCA. The decision on the cofinancing of the selected projects of ROs from the Republic of Slovenia shall be made by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. (4) The Agency shall carry out the cofinancing of selected projects on the basis of a concluded contract on cofinancing with an RO from the Republic of Slovenia. (5) The Agency shall monitor and supervise the implementation of the selected projects on the basis of annual financial reports on the funds spent and interim and final reports on the work performed. (6) The RO shall submit financial reports on the funds spent on the forms adopted by the Director. The use of funds shall be subject to regulations equal to those that apply to projects under these Rules. Interim and final reports on the work performed shall be obtained by the Agency from the international cooperation consortium coordinator. If the assessment of projects is conducted within the international cooperation consortium, the SCS shall not assess these reports. (7) If a member of an international cooperation consortium is an RO and requires the Agency’s consent for its cooperation, the RO and the Agency shall settle their mutual rights and obligations by agreement. The RO may participate in the international cooperation consortium on the condition that the cofinancing shall be carried out under the virtual common pot principle. The agreement shall primarily stipulate the following:
Article 147 (Cofinancing the cost of officials in international scientific associations) (1) Slovenian researchers elected chairs, vice-chairs or members of the management bodies or secretaries general of the international scientific associations referred to in the third indent of Article 135 may be (co)financed by the Agency in the amount of the cost of the most economic international transportation and daily allowances as laid down by the regulation on costs, for participation at meetings of management bodies of international scientific associations, but not more than twice a year. The Agency shall not (co)finance participation in meetings of working groups and other ad hoc bodies. (2) For Slovenian researchers, the Agency may (co)finance the fees for professional tasks related to performance of the office of chairs and secretaries general of international scientific associations of up to €900 annually, however an individual Slovenian scientific association cannot receive more than a one-time fee for its officials in international scientific associations each year. Article 148 (Cofinancing of international scientific association membership fees) (1) The Agency may (co)finance international scientific association membership fees in an amount between €200 and €800 annually. The Agency shall provide funding for membership fees on the basis of claims for payment with an enclosed copy of the invoice. (2) The Agency shall not (co)finance the international scientific association membership fees of sections of societies, businesses, institutes or other public legal entities and individuals. Article 149 (Financing the cost of visits by foreign delegations) (1) The Agency shall (co)finance costs incurred in implementing the international scientific cooperation programmes of the Republic of Slovenia by visits of foreign delegations in the Republic of Slovenia or Slovenian delegations abroad. The principle of reciprocity shall apply in ensuring funds. (2) The participation of the Agency’s delegates in intergovernmental bodies and committees of international organisations in which the Republic of Slovenia is a partner shall be financed in full, in the amount laid down by the regulation on costs. Article 149.a (Payment) (1) (Co)financing shall occur on the basis of individual notification, a decision issued by the Director or a contract between the Agency and the applicant. (2) All applicants regarding whom the Agency previously approved funds for international cooperation must within 30 days of the completion of the activity, and by 10 January of the next calendar year for activities completed in December, submit to the Agency a payment claim for the payment of funds, cost accounts and a substantive report on the activities implemented within an activity. The Agency may use the report for promotional purposes. (3) The Agency shall not be obliged to consider payment claims received after the expiration of the deadline stipulated in the preceding paragraph. (4) If a contract has been concluded between the Agency and an applicant, the method of (co)financing shall be stipulated therein. Article 149.b (Supervision) If the Agency establishes the misuse of funds, it shall terminate the payment of funds and request a refund of all funds paid in the actual amount, including legal default interest from the day of the receipt of funds in the current account of the recipient until the day of the refund. 7.6 Established researchers from abroad Article 150 (Purpose) The Agency shall cofinance the cooperation of foreign researchers with ROs in the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter: foreign researchers) for the purpose of their joint research work yielding quality research results publishable with the Slovenian co-authors in at least one international scientific journal in the upper quarter by impact factor in the field. Article 151 (Cofinancing) (1) The Agency shall cofinance the work of foreign researchers on the basis of a call. The decree referred to in Article 11 hereof stipulates the deadline for the submission of applications as an open deadline, which starts on the day of the publication of the call and lasts until the funds envisioned for the year are exhausted, but no later than the date stipulated by the call. (2) If the allocated funds are exhausted before the end of the year, the Agency shall publish the notification for potential applicants on its website. In the same manner, potential applicants shall be notified of the beginning of the deadline for applications in the next year. (3) In addition to the provisions referred to in Article 12 hereof, the call shall also include the minimum score required for inclusion in cofinancing. Regardless of the provision of Article 12 regarding the estimated amount of funds, the call shall specify the amount of funds available for the subject matter of the call. (4) The cofinancing of the cooperation of foreign researchers shall last no less than a month and not more than one year by providing funds for the payment of their research work, reimbursement of the costs of travel from the foreign researcher’s country of residence to the Republic of Slovenia and back, and the costs of staying in the Republic of Slovenia. Article 152 (Applicant) (1) An RO with a proposal of a foreign researcher who would cooperate in research with the group of researchers working within the RO (hereinafter: the applicant's research group) may submit an application to a call. Foreign researchers are foreign citizens living and working abroad or Slovenian citizens living and working abroad for at least five years. (2) The applicant shall, inter alia, submit the following with the application:
Article 153 (Conditions for cofinancing) (1) Cofinancing the participation of foreign researchers in an RO shall be subject to two conditions at the time of submitting the application:
(2) In the application the applicant shall undertake that:
(3) A foreign researcher and applicant’s research group selected in a call for (co)financing established foreign researchers within the last five years shall not be eligible for selection in a call. Article 154 (Opening of applications) The opening of received applications shall be conducted in the order of their receipt. The applications shall be opened in the time intervals specified in the call. An individual opening shall include the applications that have been received by the day of the opening. Article 155 (Incomplete documentation – supplementing applications) (1) Within eight working days of the completion of the opening of applications, the committee shall in writing call upon the applicants with formally incomplete applications to supplement them within the set deadline. Calls for supplementing applications shall be sent in the order in which the applications were received. Article 156 (Assessment of applications) The assessment of applications shall be conducted at the same time for all applications opened on a given date and shall commence each time following the final decisions of the committee referred to in Articles 20 and 21 hereof. Article 157 (Expert body) The assessment of applications meeting the conditions shall be conducted by establishing the minimum score for their inclusion in cofinancing and led by the expert body responsible for the assessment of foreign researchers appointed by the SCA. The expert body shall be composed of the chair and two members. Article 158 (Assessment of researchers) (1) Applications may be assessed by individual members of the expert body as reviewers or external reviewers appointed by the expert body (hereinafter: reviewers). Each reviewer shall if possible assess at least two applications from the same scientific field or discipline. (2) Reviewers shall assess individual assessment elements by filling in the assessment sheet forms with numerical scores for individual indicators and yardsticks. Reviewers shall apply the criteria specified in Table 7.6 for assessment. Table 7.6: Criteria for the assessment of foreign researchers, the maximum number of points by criterion and the minimum score.
(3) The following indicators shall apply to the assessment under the criterion of scientific excellence:
(4) The following indicators shall apply to the assessment under the criterion of the relevance of the achievements of the researchers:
(5) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the anticipated research results:
(6) If the applied foreign researcher is the recipient of a Noble Prize or Fields Medal or the leader of an ongoing ERC project, he or she shall be included in cofinancing without prior assessment. (7) Yardsticks (points) for indicators shall be set in the methodology. Article 159 (Assessment procedure) (1) The assessment of applications shall be conducted in the order of the submission of complete applications. After the scoring and the receipt of the reviewers’ assessment, the expert body shall examine the assessment and may call on the reviewers to provide additional substantiations for the assessment. (2) On the basis of the number of points received, the expert body shall establish the minimum score for cofinancing. As a condition for cofinancing, an application must achieve the threshold for each criterion referred to in the second paragraph of Article 158 hereof. (3) The expert body shall draw up a proposal for the cofinancing of applications by foreign researchers meeting the minimum score for cofinancing, taking into consideration the order of the submitted complete applications and the submission of applications that do not meet the minimum score for cofinancing, and submit them both to the SCA for review. (4) The cofinancing shall include applications by foreign researchers meeting the minimum score for cofinancing and the applications referred to in the sixth paragraph of Article 158 hereof, in the order of the submission of complete applications with regard to the date and hour of submission of a complete application until the annual amount of the call budget is exhausted. (5) Regardless of the amount of the call budget, an application by a foreign researcher approved in the objection proceedings referred to in Article 28 hereof shall be included for cofinancing. (6) The decision on the acceptance of applications for cofinancing by foreign researchers or the rejection of applications shall be issued by the Director upon the proposal of the SCA. (7) Applications received after the funds for the final year of a call have been exhausted and before the expiration of the open deadline shall be rejected by a decision issued by the Director. Article 160 (Contract) The Agency shall regulate the cofinancing of the selected foreign researchers by a contract. 7.7 Scientific meetings Article 161 (Purpose) The Agency shall cofinance meetings for the purpose of enabling the acquisition of new knowledge, the transfer of know-how from abroad, the international exchange of knowledge and the transfer of research results into practice. Article 162 (Subject matter of cofinancing) The Agency shall cofinance the costs of the organisation of scientific meetings, namely the administrative costs of the programme and organisational board, the printing and sending of invitations and correspondence and the printing of abstracts in book or electronic form, an allowance per presenter, the costs of renting the hall and the costs of accommodation for no more than ten invited foreign lecturers or five percent of the active participants (invited lecturers from abroad and persons giving presentations). The Agency shall also cofinance preparatory works for the organisation of large meetings, namely the administrative costs of the programme and organisational board, the printing and sending of invitations and correspondence and the printing of abstracts in book or electronic form. Article 163 (Programme committee) A programme committee shall be set up and shall be responsible for providing quality organisation of the scientific meeting. The head of the scientific meeting must be listed in the Register of ROs as a researcher. Article 164 (Collecting applications) (1) The Agency shall collect applications for the organisation of meetings on the basis of a call. (2) The call shall be open to ROs entered in the Register of ROs and societies of public interest in the field of research. Legal entities of Slovenians from the areas of the Slovenian national minorities in the neighbouring countries and legal entities of Slovenian emigrants (hereinafter: applicants) may also apply. Article 165 (Assessment of applications) (1) The application assessment shall be conducted by the expert body responsible for assessing scientific meeting applications, which shall be appointed by the SCA. (2) Each application shall be assessed by two reviewers. The expert body for scientific meetings (hereinafter: the expert body) shall appoint 14 reviewers, two for each scientific discipline. Within 30 days of receiving the documentation, the expert body shall prepare a financially evaluated draft priority list for cofinancing scientific meetings (hereinafter: the draft). The draft shall be signed by the chair of the expert body. (3) The criteria specified in Table 7.7 shall be used for the assessment of applications. Table 7.7: Criteria for assessing applications for scientific meetings and the maximum number of points by criterion.
(4) The following indicators shall apply for assessment under the criterion of scientific excellence:
(5) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the anticipated research results:
(6) The following indicator shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the quality and efficiency of implementation and management:
(7) The assessment elements shall be specified in detail in the methodology. (8) After the scoring, the expert body shall determine four categories: I, II, III and IV. Only meetings classified under categories I, II and III may be cofinanced. A meeting shall be categorised on the basis of the sum of all scores based on points, separately by field. Article 166 (Minimum number of presentations) The Agency shall cofinance meetings at which at least ten people are anticipated to give presentations for a one-day meeting and at least 20 people giving presentations for a two or multi-day meeting. Article 167 (Norms for calculating funds for cofinancing the cost of organising scientific meetings) The calculation of funds for cofinancing the cost of organising scientific meetings shall take into account the number of participants, the number of persons giving presentations, the number of days, the number of invited lecturers from abroad, and administration, depending on the number of persons giving presentations. The calculation method and financially determined elements are specified in the methodology. 7.8 Promotion and integration of scientific achievements Article 168 (Purpose) The Agency shall cofinance activities related to the promotion and integration of science on the basis of a call for the purpose of:
Article 169 (Applicants) The following can apply to a call of the Agency for cofinancing activities related to the promotion and integration of science for the purpose stipulated in Article 168 hereof:
Article 170 (Assessment of applications) (1) Applications shall be assessed by an expert committee appointed by a decision of the Director. The Director shall determine the number of members of the committee. The members may be external or employed by the Agency. The committee shall consist of the chair and at least two members. If needed, the expert committee may obtain the opinion of members of the expert bodies of the Agency or reviewers in adopting a decision. (2) The expert committee shall assess the applications on the basis of the criteria stipulated in Table 7.8. Table 7.8: Criteria for assessing applications for the promotion and integration of knowledge and the maximum number of points by criterion.
The following indicator shall apply for assessment under the criterion of the scientific excellence of the researchers:
(4) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the anticipated research results:
(5) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the quality and efficiency of implementation and management:
(6) In assessing the applications under second or third indent of Article 168 hereof, the expert committee shall take into consideration the notable work of the applicant over the past several years. Article 171 (Cofinancing) (1) In the framework of activities for the promotion and integration of scientific achievements under the criteria referred to in Article 170 hereof, the Agency shall cofinance:
(2) Applicants shall sign a statement that they do not receive (co)funding from other budgetary funds for the same purpose. Article 172 (Decision-making by the SCA and adopting decisions) Based on scoring in accordance with the set criteria, the expert body shall prepare the draft priority list of applications for the cofinancing of promotion and submit it to the SCA for review. On the basis of the proposal of the SCA on the selection of applications for the cofinancing of promotion, the Director shall issue a reasoned decision on the selection of applications. 7.9 Scientific publication 7.9.1 Domestic scientific periodicals Article 173 (Purpose) (1) Through cofinancing, the Agency shall support the publication of domestic scientific periodicals in printed or electronic form, (hereinafter: scientific publications) on the basis of a call, to enable and promote publications that are:
(2) Scientific publications must comply with all the applicable international bibliographic and technical standards for scientific publications and periodicals. Article 174 (Applicants) A call for the cofinancing of the publication of domestic scientific publications may be applied to by research organisations entered in the Register of ROs, societies entered in the database of societies operating in the public interest in research, and publishers. Legal entities of Slovenians from the areas of the Slovenian national minorities in the neighbouring countries and legal entities of Slovenian emigrants (hereinafter: applicants) may also apply. An applicant may submit only one application for a single scientific publication to a call. Article 175 (Conditions for applicants) Applicants must meet the following conditions:
Article 176 (Assessment of applications) Applications shall be assessed by an expert committee appointed by a decision of the Director. The Director shall determine the number of members of the committee. The members may be external or employed by the Agency. The committee shall consist of the chair and at least two members. If needed, the expert committee may obtain the opinion of members of the expert bodies of the Agency or reviewers in adopting decision. (2) The expert committee shall assess the applications on the basis of the criteria stipulated in Table 7.9.1. Table 7.9.1: Criterion for assessing applications for domestic scientific periodicals and the maximum number of points by criterion.
(3) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the quality of the application regarding support:
(4) The expert committee shall verify the eligibility of the applicants and fulfilment of the terms of the call for participating in the call under Articles 174 and 175 hereof. Article 177 (Cofinancing) (1) The amount of annual cofinancing per publication shall be calculated proportionally to the extent of publishing scientific content and the assessment under the provisions of Article 176 hereof. A more detailed method of calculating the highest possible amount of cofinancing per scientific publication and the largest annual extent of scientific content publishing cofinanced by the Agency shall be determined by the methodology or the call. The amount of cofinancing cannot exceed the requested funds. If the amount of calculated funds for cofinancing exceeds the available financial means, the calculated amounts of cofinancing shall be proportionally harmonised with the extent of the available financial means. (2) In publishing the publication the Agency shall cofinance printing costs, the costs of pre-press activities (the costs of design and typesetting), the costs of dispatching, the preparation of on-line issues, editorial work and proofreading. The Agency shall not cofinance authors’ fees. (3) If the scope of the publication decreases in a year by over 20% of the annual number of16 typed double-spaced pages or 30,000-character sheets, hereinafter: “author folio” submitted by an application, the Agency shall appropriately adjust the cofinancing by recalculating the amount of cofinancing per year in the manner stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article. Article 178 (Decision-making by the SCA and adopting decisions) Based on the scoring in accordance with the set criteria, the expert body shall prepare a draft priority list of applications for the cofinancing of domestic scientific periodicals and submit it to the SCA for consideration and approval. Upon the proposal by the SCA on the selection of applications for the cofinancing of domestic scientific periodicals, the Director shall issue a reasoned decision on the selection of applications. 7.9.2 Domestic popular science periodicals Article 179 (Purpose) (1) The Agency shall cofinance the publication of domestic popular science periodicals in printed or electronic form, (hereinafter: popular science publications) on the basis of a call, in order to enable and promote popular science publications that are:
Article 180 (Applicants) A call may be applied to by organisations entered in the Register of ROs, societies entered in the database of societies operating in the public interest in research, and publishers. Legal entities of Slovenians from the areas of the Slovenian national minorities in the neighbouring countries and legal entities of Slovenian emigrants may also apply. Article 181 (Conditions for applicants) Applicants must meet the following conditions:
Article 182 (Assessment of applications) (1) Applications shall be assessed by a temporary expert body appointed by the SCA. (2) The temporary expert body shall assess the applications on the basis of the criterion stipulated in Table 7.9.2. Table 7.9.2: Criterion for assessing applications for domestic popular science publications and the maximum number of points by criterion.
(3) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the anticipated research results:
(4) The maximum score for a publication shall be 100 points. On the basis of the number of points received, the application shall be classified into one of the three categories, namely:
(5) The calculation of the amount of cofinancing of a popular science publication shall proportionally take into consideration the number of author folios per volume, the circulation, the number of volumes per year, the recognised costs per author folio and the category referred to in the preceding paragraph. The specific manner of calculating the cofinancing for a popular science publication shall be stipulated in the methodology. If the amount of calculated funds for cofinancing exceeds the available financial means, the calculated amount of cofinancing shall be proportionally harmonised with the extent of the available financial means. Article 183 (Cofinancing) The Agency shall cofinance printing costs and the costs of pre-press activities, the preparation of on-line issues, proofreading, typesetting and dispatching, while it shall not cofinance authors’ fees. If the scope of the publication decreases in a year by over 20% of the annual number of author folios submitted by an application, the Agency shall appropriately adjust the cofinancing by recalculating the amount of cofinancing per year in accordance with the calculation stipulated in fifth paragraph of Article 182. Article 184 (Decision-making by the SCA and adopting decisions) Based on the scoring in accordance with the set criteria, the temporary expert body shall prepare a draft priority list of applications for the cofinancing of popular science periodicals and submit it to the SCA for consideration and approval. Upon the proposal of the SCA on the selection of applications for the cofinancing of popular science periodicals, the Director shall issue a reasoned decision on the selection of applications. 7.9.3 Scientific monographs Article 185 (Purpose) By cofinancing, the Agency shall support the issuance of scientific monographs in the fields of the humanities, the social sciences, medicine, biotechnology, technology and the natural science in printed and electronic form on the basis of a call to enable and promote the publication of scientific monographs that are:
Article 186 (Subject matter of cofinancing) (1) In the publication of scientific monographs, the Agency shall cofinance:
(2) The Agency shall not cofinance:
(3) If the calculation of the cofinanced amount exceeds the amount applied for, the amount applied for shall be used. (4) The number of scientific monographs by an author eligible for cofinancing by the Agency shall be stipulated in the call. (5) In the case of the translation of a scientific monograph by the same author in several foreign languages, the Agency shall cofinance a translation into only one foreign language. If the applied translation of the scientific monograph by a Slovenian author was originally written in the foreign language, only the costs of proofreading the translation shall be considered. (6) The Agency shall not cofinance the authors’ fees of authors of scientific monographs. (7) The Agency shall cofinance the publishing costs or the costs of scientific monograph translation incurred by the deadline for the submission of supporting materials. Article 187 (Applicants) (1) A call for cofinancing the publication of scientific monographs may be applied to by:
An applicant may submit only one application for a scientific monograph to a call. Article 188 (Conditions for applicants) (1) Applicants must meet the following conditions:
(2) In the translation of a scientific monograph by a foreign author into Slovenian, published reviews of the work shall be taken into consideration. If a foreign scientific monograph translated into Slovenian does not have published reviews, the applicant shall include at least two scientific reviews. Article 189 (Conditions for scientific monograph reviewers) (1) A scientific monograph reviewer may be a Slovenian or foreign citizen holding a doctoral degree in the scientific discipline of the scientific monograph that an application has been submitted for and habilitation to the title of a lecturer (assistant professor, associate professor or full professor) or a suitable research title (research fellow, senior research fellow or research counsellor). (2) A scientific monograph reviewer shall ascertain if the monograph is a scientific work. (3) The scientific monograph reviewer must not have a conflict of interest with the author of the scientific monograph. (4) The name of the scientific monograph reviewer shall be published. Article 190 (Application) (1) In addition to the application form and the obligatory appendices testifying to fulfilment of the conditions, the application must also include a digital version of the scientific monograph (with all pertaining appendices) in the prescribed medium and format. (2) In scientific translations of foreign authors into Slovenian, the original work by the foreign author and the draft translation together with the data and references of the translator must also be enclosed. If the original work by the foreign author cannot be enclosed, the applicant shall state in the application the personal data of the author, the title and language of the original that is being translated, the year and place of publication and the title of the publisher. (3) In the case of published scientific monographs by Slovenian authors, a copy of the original must be enclosed. For the translation of a Slovenian author into a foreign language, the contract of the author with the foreign publisher or written evidence that the scientific monograph has been accepted in a programme by a foreign publisher (if the work is to be published abroad) must be enclosed. Article 191 (Assessment of applications) Applications shall be assessed by an expert committee appointed by a decision of the Director. The Director shall determine the number of members of the committee. The members may be external or employed by the Agency. The committee shall consist of the chair and at least two members. If needed, the expert committee may obtain the opinion of members of the expert bodies of the Agency or reviewers in adopting a decision. (2) The expert committee shall assess applications on the basis of the criteria stipulated in Table 7.9.3. Table 7.9.3: Criteria for assessing applications for scientific monographs and the maximum number of points by criterion.
The following indicator shall apply for the assessment of scientific monographs under the criterion of the scientific excellence of the researchers (authors):
(4) The following indicator shall apply for the assessment of scientific monographs under the criterion of the scientific excellence of the reviewers:
(5) The references of the scientific excellence of the author on the date of the completion of the call shall be taken into consideration. (6) For foreign authors of scientific monographs translated into Slovenian, the expert committee shall issue its assessment of the scientific excellence of the author and the scientific translation into Slovenian on the basis of the enclosed original by the foreign author, enclosed reviews, the draft translation and three listed scientific works by the author in the field of the stated scientific discipline, except when time, distance or other circumstances make it impossible to obtain other works by the author. (7) Assessment of the scientific excellence of Slovenian authors of scientific monographs who are not included in the Register of ROs shall be issued by the expert committee on the basis of the author's bibliography. (8) Assessment of the scientific excellence of a foreign reviewer of a scientific monograph shall be issued by the expert committee on the basis of the three best scientific works of the reviewer. (9) If the scientific monograph has several authors, the assessment shall take into consideration only the points of the first author demonstrating bibliographic indicators in the SICRIS system. (10) If the scientific monograph is reviewed by several reviewers, assessment of the scientific excellence of the reviewers shall be established by calculating the average number of points of two reviewers demonstrating bibliographic indicators in the SICRIS system. (11) The maximum score for a publication shall be 60 points. Based on its score, the application shall be classified into one of three categories, namely:
Article 192 (Cofinancing) The amount of cofinancing for a scientific monograph shall be calculated on the basis of its circulation, the scope of the scientific monograph (in terms of author folios) and its categorisation under Article 191 hereof. A detailed calculation of the cofinancing of a scientific monograph shall be stipulated in the methodology. If the amount of calculated funds for cofinancing exceeds the available financial means, the calculated amount of cofinancing shall be proportionally harmonised with the extent of the available financial means. Article 193 (Decision-making by the SCA and adopting decisions) Based on the scoring in accordance with the set criteria, the expert body shall prepare a draft priority list of applications for the cofinancing of scientific monographs and submit it to the SCA for consideration and approval. Upon the proposal of the SCA on the selection of applications for the cofinancing of scientific monographs, the Director shall issue a reasoned decision on the selection of applications. 7.10 Purchase of international scientific literature Article 194 (Purpose) The Agency shall cofinance the purchase of international scientific literature in accordance with these Rules for the purpose of ensuring the flow and availability of international scientific and expert information for the needs of research, education and development in the Republic of Slovenia. Article 195 (Expert body) The assessment of applications shall be conducted by the expert body responsible for assessing applications regarding international scientific literature. Article 196 (Applicants) (1) Libraries that are legal entities of public law and institutes entered in the Register of ROs with their own or joint libraries may apply to a call. (2) Libraries and institutes applying to a call must perform information services for a wide range of users in research, education and development. Libraries (the national library, university and higher education libraries and specialised libraries) and institutions may apply individually or as a consortium. Article 197 (Contents of an application) (1) An application must be based on the publisher’s price lists or obtained offers. The anticipated prices of orders must be recorded in the COBISS.SI system. The list for ordering international scientific literature, extracted from the COBISS.SI system, shall be annexed to the application. (2) An applicant may be granted funds up to the amount of the offers referred to in the submitted list. (3) If an applicant negotiates with suppliers lower prices than those submitted in the application and some funds remain unused, the applicant may propose to the Agency the purchase of additional international literature for which the applicant applied in the call but for which it did not receive (full) cofinancing. (4) The proposal referred to in the third paragraph shall be drawn up on the basis of offers enclosed with the proposal. The Director shall issue a decision on the proposal. Article 198 (Assessment of applications) (1) The criteria specified in Table 7.10 shall be used for the assessment of applications. Table 7.10: Criteria for assessing applications for the purchase of international scientific literature and the maximum number of points by criterion.
(2) The following indicators shall apply for assessment under the criterion of the relevance of the support:
(3) The following indicator shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the quality of the application regarding support:
(4) The following indicator shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the potential impact due to the development, dissemination and application of the anticipated research results:
(5) The following indicator shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the quality and efficiency of the implementation of management:
(6) The assessment elements shall be specified in detail in the methodology. Article 199 (Priority in cofinancing) (1) Priority in cofinancing the purchase of international scientific literature shall be given to those applicants whose expedited development is in the public interest of the Republic of Slovenia. Such a method shall enable the expedited development of scientific fields that are in the public interest of the Republic of Slovenia and are an integral part of a young organisation that should be further developed in the public interest or of an established organisation that is rapidly developing a new R&D field. (2) The expert body may grant an applicant referred to in the preceding paragraph priority treatment if increasing the accessibility of international scientific literature represents an integral part of the comprehensive developmental project of an R&D field. The expert body must substantiate its decision. Article 200 (Scope of cofinancing) The expert body shall take into account the following in preparing a proposal for the funding of an applicant:
Article 201 (Distribution of applications) (1) Applications for the cofinancing of international periodicals shall be assessed by the expert body for international literature by scientific discipline. If a member of the expert body has a conflict of interest, he or she shall be removed from the assessment procedure in accordance with the provision of Article 230 hereof. (2) On the basis a score expressed in points, the expert body shall prepare the order of applications for international periodicals by scientific discipline. (3) In determining the amount funds for cofinancing, the expert body shall take as the starting point the available funds, the funds paid to the applicant in the past year and the placement of the applicant within the order of applications. (4) In the priority treatment of an applicant on the basis of the second paragraph of Article 199 hereof, the expert body may disregard the provisions of the preceding paragraph. Such proposal must be additionally substantiated. (5) If the Agency has not yet cofinanced an applicant, the expert body shall draw up a proposal for cofinancing the purchase of international scientific literature in such a manner so as to take into consideration the available funds. The minimum scope of funds for cofinancing must not be less than the funds granted to an applicant receiving the minimum funds in the past year. (6) The expert body shall separately propose the cofinancing of a purchasing consortia of special significance. The consortium shall be considered of special significance if it comprises at least four universities and at least four PROs or the entire scientific field covered by the consortium. Consortia shall have the cost of electronic access to full-text contents cofinanced. The starting point for allocating such funds shall be the available funds and the funds paid to the consortium in the previous year. (7) The expert body shall separately propose the cofinancing of international databases. In addition to basic bibliographic data, the proposed databases shall comprise analytical data that provide additional information about the quality of research findings. The starting point for the proposal on the scope of funds to be allocated shall be the available funds and the funds paid in the previous year. (8) Within 30 days of receiving the documentation, the expert body shall draw up a draft priority list of applications for the cofinancing of international scientific literature. The expert body may request that the SRC provide an opinion on the expert assessment. (9) The selection of applications for the cofinancing of applications shall be made by the Director by issuing a decision on the selection of applications upon the proposal of the decision on the selection of applications by the SCA. 7.11 Central specialised information centres for research (CSIC) Article 202 (Purpose) The purpose of the CSIC shall be to provide operational and advisory work to ensure the quality of the management of bibliographic records of researchers in the COBISS.SI system. Article 203 (Tasks of the CSIC) (1) The CSIC shall carry out the tasks in accordance with Appendix 1 of these Rules. The tasks shall comprise: the processing, organising, evaluating, archiving and forwarding of specialised information and information sources, monitoring and supervising the appropriate classification of the bibliographic records of researchers in the COBISS.SI system. The implementation of the tasks of the CSIC with regard to the records of researchers in the COBISS.SI system shall be coordinated by the ISI. (2) The tasks of the CSIC shall include reviewing possible irregularities with regard to publications and submitting expert opinions to the SRC. Article 204 (Harmonisation) The CSIC shall cooperate with the Agency in the resolution of substantive issues related to Article 203 hereof. Article 205 (Contents of a call) The Agency shall publish in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia a call for cofinancing the tasks referred to in Article 203 hereof for a period of three years according to the following scientific disciplines: the natural sciences, technology, biotechnology, medicine, the social sciences and the humanities. Article 206 (Applicants) Applicants may perform the tasks of the CSIC referred to in Article 203 hereof as an independent legal entity or as organisational units of an applicant if they are engaged in library or other information activities, in application of the COBISS.SI system, in communication established between ROs in the Republic of Slovenia and the international sphere and have performed library and information activities for at least five years. The head of the CSIC or an expert for monitoring, supervision and classification of bibliographic records shall have suitable references. Article 207 (Assessment procedure) The assessment procedure shall be conducted by the expert body appointed by the SCA. The expert body shall prepare a draft priority list of financially evaluated applications and submit it to the SCA for discussion. By a resolution, the SCA shall adopt a proposal on the selection of applications, on the basis of which the Director shall issue a decision on the selection of applications for the cofinancing of the CSIC. Article 208 (Assessment of applications) (1) The expert body shall apply the criteria specified in Table 7.11 for the assessment of applications. Table 7.11: Criterion for assessing applications for the CSIC and the maximum number of points by criterion.
(2) The following indicators shall be used for assessment under the criterion of the quality and efficiency of implementation and management:
(3) The qualifications of the personnel for performing tasks in accordance with Article 204 hereof shall be proven by enclosed references and the educational structure of the personnel of the CSIC. Article 209 (Priority in cofinancing) Priority in cofinancing shall be given to the CSIC with better qualifications for performing the relevant tasks and suitable organisation for performing the relevant tasks. Article 210 (Subject matter of cofinancing) For the period of cofinancing, labour costs and the costs of materials and services regarding the anticipated costs of performing the tasks of the CSIC shall be taken into consideration. 7.11.1 Databases and bibliographic units Article 211 (Lists of bibliographic databases) (1) The Agency shall maintain four types of lists of bibliographic databases:
The lists shall be amended upon the proposal of the CSIC and following the approval of the SRC and SCA in accordance with Article 212 hereof. (3) The lists IBLIO-A, BIBLIO-B, BIBLIO-C and BIBLIO-D shall be kept by the ISI and shall be available on the websites of the ISI and the Agency. (3) In assessing published scientific works (hereinafter: publications), the ISI shall take into consideration the mentioned lists. Article 212 (Updating and amending the lists and the verification and re-categorisation of publications) (1) An initiative to amend the lists (i.e. including or removing an IDB from the BIBLIO-A list, including or removing a journal from the BIBLIO-B list, including or removing a publisher from the BIBLIO-C list, including or removing a corpus from the BIBLIO-D list) may be submitted by the CSIC, an RO or a library. The initiative shall be discussed and evaluated by the responsible CSIC. Within the consideration procedure, the CSIC shall seek the opinion of an SRC member from the appropriate field as well as any additional information necessary. On the basis of the discussion, the CSIC shall draw up a proposal on updating or amending a list and submit it to the responsible SRC for consideration. A representative of the CSIC shall substantiate the CSIC proposal at a meeting of the responsible SRC. If the SRC does not agree with the CSIC proposal, it may request additional clarification by the CSIC or obtain an additional assessment by one or more experts, if needed. The SRC shall draw up a proposal for the discussion by the SCA, which shall adopt a substantiated decision on updating or amending the list. The Agency shall notify the initiator, all CSICs and the ISI of the decision. The revaluation of a publication due to changes in the BIBLIO-A, BIBLIO-B, BIBLIO-C and BIBLIO-D lists shall be carried out by the ISI on the basis of a decision of the SCA for the period starting with the year stipulated in the decision. (2) The CSIC shall be responsible for the annual lists of periodicals for its field within an IDB in the framework of BIBLIO-A, which it shall obtain from foreign providers. If it is established during the year that a periodical was listed in an IDB, the ISS shall immediately place it on the list on the proposal of the CSIC. (3) The CSIC shall monitor and supervise the appropriateness of the categorisation of the bibliographic units of researchers in accordance with the document entitled Typology of documents/works for managing bibliographies in the COBISS.SI system (verification of typology). (4) A change in type or verification of the type of bibliographic units (i.e. changing the type of a work in accordance with the applicable typology) shall be carried out promptly and at the discretion of the CSIC. For typologies of contested content or exceptions regarding any other types, the procedure to be performed shall be the same as for amending the lists stipulated in the first paragraph of this Article. The CSIC shall immediately carry out a revaluation of publications due to re-categorisation on the basis of a decision of the SCA. Article 213 (Reclassification of publications by field) An RO may propose that the Agency reclassify a publication into a different research discipline. The proposal shall be considered by the CSIC in which the publication is currently classified and the CSIC in which the initiator wishes to reclassify the publication. Both bodies shall draw up a joint proposal for discussion at the SRC. Thereafter, the procedure stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 212 shall be carried out. 8 OPERATION OF THE EXPERT BODIES OF THE AGENCY Article 214 (Purpose of expert bodies) (1) Expert bodies of the Agency shall enable expert and independent assessment of applications for the (co)financing of research and the assessment of reports. (2) The following shall also be important tasks of such expert bodies:
(3) By harmonised operation, the expert bodies of the Agency shall enable expert evaluation of the subject matters of assessment. 8.1 Expert bodies Article 215 (Types of expert bodies) (1) In order to perform tasks arising from its competences determined in the Articles of Association of the Agency and the regulations and statute of the Agency, the SCA shall appoint expert bodies. The SCA shall be autonomous in appointing members of expert bodies. (2) The expert bodies of the SCA may be permanent or temporary. (3) Panels, expert committees and individuals (reviewers) shall participate in procedures for the assessment of applications for the (co)financing of the subject matter of research activities. 8.1.1 Permanent and temporary expert bodies
Article 216 (Permanent expert bodies) (1) SRCs shall be permanent expert bodies, namely the following:
(2) SRC members shall be appointed by the SCA for five years in such a manner so as to ensure that their number and scientific expertise cover all classification fields of the Agency. The definition of fields shall be in accordance with the international Fields of Science and Technology Classification (FOS 2007). An SRC shall have from six to twelve members, including the chair. Article 217 (Tasks of SRCs) (1) The tasks of an SRC shall comprise:
Performing other tasks to ensure the harmonious development of scientific disciplines within the competences of the SRC. (2) In performing the tasks of the SRC, its members shall assess interim and final reports and cooperate with the CSIC in reviewing the appropriateness of the classification of scientific works in accordance with the COBISS typology. The SRC shall establish the set of international databases (IDB) in the framework of the BIBLIO-A list, update (add or remove) the list of scientific journals not included in the IDB but taken into consideration in the classification of scientific publications (BIBLIO-B), international publishers (BIBLIO-C) and closed scientific databases (BIBLIO-D) taken into consideration in the categorisation of scientific publications. The ISI shall implement the changes to the BIBLIO-A, B, C and D lists on the basis of decisions adopted by the SRC.
Article 218 (Tasks of the SRC chair) The operation of the SRC shall be managed by its chair or deputy chair. The tasks of the chair or deputy chair shall comprise:
Article 219 (Temporary expert body) (1) The following shall be the temporary expert bodies:
(2) A temporary expert body shall be appointed by the SCA for assessing applications to an invitation or call or for implementing other tasks in accordance with its competences and it shall determine its period of operation and scope of work. Article 220 (Tasks of temporary expert bodies) The tasks of temporary expert bodies shall comprise the following:
Article 221 (Tasks of the chair of a temporary expert body) A temporary expert body shall be led by its chair or deputy chair. The tasks of the chair or deputy chair of a temporary expert body shall comprise:
Article 222 (Appointment of members of permanent and temporary expert bodies) (1) The Agency shall invite researchers in individual disciplines or research fields to submit and coordinate proposals of SRC members by scientific discipline or research field. (2) SRC members shall be appointed by the SCA from among the candidates by scientific discipline. The SRC chair shall be appointed by the SCA upon the proposal of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, which shall submit its proposal within two months of being called upon to do so, otherwise the SCA shall appoint the SRC chair from among the candidates. The SCA shall appoint a deputy chair from among SRC members. The SRC chair cannot be appointed the SRC chair twice consecutively, while an SRC member may be appointed to the SRC twice consecutively. (3) The chair, deputy chair and members of temporary expert bodies shall be appointed by the SCA before the beginning of each assessment procedure or at the beginning of the term following the proposal of the SRC or at its own discretion. (4) The list of the members of permanent and temporary expert bodies shall be published on the website of the Agency after the appointment thereof. Article 223 (Criteria and conditions for the appointment of the members of permanent and temporary expert bodies) (1) Candidates for appointment to the position of chair, deputy chair and member of an expert body must demonstrate scientific or professional excellence by meeting the conditions for basic or applied project leaders, which does not apply to the chair, deputy chair and members of the temporary expert body for international scientific literature and the expert body for the CSIC. For members of permanent and temporary expert bodies, evidence of scientific or professional excellence shall be evaluated under the entry condition specified in the methodology. (2) The chair, deputy chair or a member of a permanent or temporary expert body may not be chancellor or vice-chancellor of a university, a dean of an independent higher education institute or a member of the university, a legal representative of an RO or a member of the administrative board of the Agency or the SCA. The composition of permanent expert bodies shall cover research fields within disciplines and ensure institutional balance and appropriate thematic representation. (3) The composition of a temporary expert body shall cover all the disciplines or scientific fields from which the assessment subject originates, including interdisciplinary subjects. (4) The composition of permanent expert bodies shall ensure the representation of both genders in such a manner so as to ensure at least one-third representation of each gender in all scientific disciplines, except for technical disciplines, where representation shall include at least one fifth of each gender. The composition of temporary expert bodies shall ensure the representation of both genders in such a manner so as to ensure at least one-third representation of each gender. (5) The expert body for international scientific literature shall consist of a chair, deputy chair and one member for each discipline, one ISI representative and one representative of the National and University Library. (6) The SCA shall issue a decision appointing the chair, deputy chair and members of permanent and temporary expert bodies, their tasks, and the duration of their term.
Article 224 (Dismissal of members of permanent and temporary expert bodies) (1) The chair, deputy chair and members of permanent or temporary expert bodies may be dismissed prior to the end of their term. The SCA shall issue a decision dismissing a chair, deputy chair or expert body member if:
(2) Prior to adopting a decision on dismissal, the SCA shall inform the chair, deputy chair or member of a permanent or temporary expert body of the reasons for his or her dismissal and enable him or her to state his or her position thereon. (3) The decision on the dismissal of the chair, deputy chair or member of the permanent or temporary expert body shall be adopted by the SCA together with the decision on the appointment of the new chair, deputy chair or member of the permanent or temporary expert body. 8.1.2 Reviewers, panels and expert committees Article 225 (List and tasks of reviewers) (1) Reviewers may be Slovenian or foreign citizens. (2) The Agency shall acquire a list of reviewers from internationally available collections of exceptional reviewers, on the basis of contracts with foreign research agencies, on the basis of intergovernmental agreements, upon the proposal of ROs, on whom the Agency shall call on behalf of the SCA and on the proposal of researchers. The SRC shall amend the list of reviewers by a proposal annually. Reviewers are typically experts with the title of university professor or are project implementers in their respective ROs. (3) The Agency shall keep the list of reviewers assessing applications by scientific discipline. The SCA shall approve the list once a year. (4) Project applicants shall have the possibility to propose reviewers. A temporary expert body may appoint reviewers for application assessment from the list of proposed reviewers whose references enable them to assess applications in several research fields or disciplines. If the reviewer proposed by the project applicant is selected for the application assessment and it is established during the invitation or call that the project leader or a member of the project group has a conflict of interest with the proposed reviewer during the phase of project assessment, the project application shall be rejected. (5) The list of reviewers participating in assessment in concluded assessment procedures shall be published on the website of the Agency by discipline in alphabetical order. If for any disciplines the number of reviewers is below fifteen, a joint list shall be published. A reviewer’s scope of work shall be confidential. (6) The task of reviewers shall be to elaborate assessment for each assessment subject in accordance with the Agency’s regulations, an invitation or call, and the assessment methodology. Article 226 (Criteria and conditions for appointing reviewers) (1) A candidate for reviewer must demonstrate his or her scientific or professional excellence by meeting the conditions for the leader of a basic or applied project. (2) A foreign reviewer’s compliance with the conditions shall be established qualitatively. In appointing a reviewer, a temporary expert body shall take into consideration the SCA guidelines regarding internationally comparable data, such as: publications in reputable international periodicals; the H-index; citations; the institution in which the reviewer is employed; and the institutions that proposed him or her. (3) A reviewer may not be chancellor or vice-chancellor of a Slovenian university, dean of an independent higher education institute or a university member in the Republic of Slovenia, a legal representative of an RO based in the Republic of Slovenia, or a member of the administrative board of the Agency or the SCA. Article 227 (Replacement of a reviewer) A reviewer selected by a temporary expert body may be replaced if:
Article 228 (Panel and expert committees) (1) A panel may be formed in a call for the assessment of valid applications submitted to a call. The panel shall consist of the members of the temporary expert body and foreign reviewers, who shall be at least the same in number as the members of the expert body. Panel members from the list of reviewers proposed by the temporary expert body shall be appointed by the Director. A representative of the relevant SRC appointed from among the members of such council shall participate in the panel as an observer. (2) For the purpose of the assessment of applications for (co)financing the subject of research, the Director shall appoint expert committees in the cases specified herein. 8.2 Conflict of interest and statement of impartiality Article 229 (Conflict of interest) (1) Under these Rules, conflict of interest occurs when there are circumstances arising from the direct family relationship, employment relationship or research cooperation of a person who may be subject to a conflict of interest with the researcher participating through a subject being assessed in an assessment procedure, as well as in other circumstances which cast doubt on impartiality and objectivity. Persons who may be subject to a conflict of interest shall be a member, chair and deputy chair of the SCA, permanent and temporary expert bodies, expert committees, panel members and reviewers. (2) Spouses, children, adoptees, parents, adoptive parents, siblings and persons living in the same household or in extra-marital partnership with a chair, deputy chair, expert body member, reviewer or a member of a panel or expert committee shall constitute a direct family relationship. (3) Membership in the same research, project or programme group shall constitute a direct employment relationship. (4) A joint scientific product in the past three years shall constitute direct research cooperation, whereby editorship shall not be deemed to constitute a conflict of interest. (5) A person who may be subject to a conflict of interest shall be deemed to have a conflict of interest if he or she is in a direct family relationship with the leader or a member of a research, programme or project group or if he or she is in an employment relationship or cooperates in research with the leader of a research, programme or project group.
Article 230 (Conflict of interest regarding members of the SCA, temporary expert bodies, panels, expert committees, and reviewers) (1) If a person who may be subject to a conflict of interest is in a direct family or employment relationship with the leader or a member of a research, programme or project group or cooperates with such in research or if he or she participates in the subject of assessment in the assessment project as the leader of a research activity, he or she must exclude him- or herself from the assessment procedure and notify thereof the Director of the Agency in writing. (2) If the Agency establishes that the connections referred to in the first paragraph of this Article cannot significantly impact the impartiality of the work of the chair, deputy chair, or member of the temporary expert body, panel, expert committee or a reviewer in the assessment procedure, the Agency shall notify the person in writing within five working days. If the Agency establishes that the connections could impact the impartiality of the person’s work, it shall submit a proposal for his or her replacement to the relevant body. (39 If a member of an expert committee appointed by the Director for the assessment of applications for (co)financing subject of research is an employee of the Agency, he or she may not participate in the consideration of or decision-making on the (co)financing of a subject of research relating to the research organisation in which he or she performs supplementary work. Article 231 (Conflict of interest regarding SRC members) (1) If, in the procedure for assessing reports, the chair, deputy chair or member of a permanent expert body is in a direct family or employment relationship with the leader or members of a research, programme or project group or cooperates with such in research or if he or she participates in the subject of assessment in the assessment procedure as the leader of a research activity, he or she must notify thereof the Director of the Agency in writing. (2) If the SRC or a public employee authorised by the Director establishes a conflict of interest referred to in the first paragraph of this Article, the SRC shall decide that the chair, deputy chair or SRC member with a conflict of interest is to be replaced by the SRC member whose research field is the closest to that of the member replaced due to the conflict of interest. If there is no SRC member for the relevant field, the SRC may authorise for this task a researcher who is not an SRC member but who meets the criteria for SRC membership, is an expert in the field and does not have a conflict of interest. The SRC may establish a list of researchers who are not SRC members for the entire duration of its term. Article 232 (Internal control of conflicts of interest) (1) The Agency shall check for the existence of a conflict of interest by means of an internal audit by establishing a committee for determining conflicts of interest (hereinafter: the committee), which shall be appointed by the Director by a written decision. (2) The Director shall determine the number of members of the committee. The committee shall consist of a chair and at least two members. The chair and at least half of the committee members shall be employees of the Agency. Minutes of committee meetings shall be kept. (3) The committee shall hold meetings as needed given the reports (internal, external, anonymous, etc.) or in the event of the suspicion of a conflict of interest. In the cases it reviews, the committee shall establish the possible existence of a conflict of interest and the consequences for violating the provisions of these Rules.
Article 233 (Statement on handing documentation and impartiality) (1) After their appointment, the chair and members of the SCA, the chair, deputy chair and members of the permanent and temporary expert bodies and reviewers shall sign a statement on handling documentation and a statement on impartiality (hereinafter: the statement), which for members of temporary expert bodies is included in Appendix 3 as an integral part hereof. For the chair and members of the SCA, permanent expert bodies, reviewers, members of the panel and expert committees, the statement shall be suitably amended with regard to conflicts of interest regulated in Articles 230, 231 and 232 hereof. (2) Reviewers shall sign the statement upon each call or invitation in which they assess applications. (3) In the statement, the signatories shall undertake to handle the documents submitted for assessment (applications, reports, etc.) as data whose confidentiality is classified as INTERNAL, for which reproduction or any other dissemination of documentation is prohibited. 8.3 Remuneration and administrative and expert work Article 234 (Remuneration) (1) Performance of tasks under these Rules shall make chairs, their deputies, expert body members and reviewers eligible for appropriate remuneration in the form of attendance fees, travelling expenses and payments under work contracts and contracts for copyrighted work. (2) The amount of remuneration referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be determined on the basis of the internal instrument of the Agency governing remuneration for expert work by reviewers and members of the expert bodies of the Agency. The decision on remuneration shall be issued by the Director. Article 235 (Administrative and expert work) Administrative and expert work for the needs of expert bodies and reviewers
shall be provided by the Agency. Rules on the Procedures for the (Co)financing and Assessment of Research Activities and on Monitoring the Implementation of Research Activities (Official Gazette of the RS, No.52/16) contains the following transitional and final provisions: 9 TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS Article 236 (Annual reports for research programmes) Regardless of the provisions of Article 79 hereof, an RO shall issue annual reports for programmes approved for financing for a period of three or four year by the expiry of the period of financing. Article 237 (Extension of financing for young researchers) (1) The provisions under the second and third indents of the fourth paragraph of Article 125 hereof shall not apply for young researchers whose training the Agency began to fund prior to the implementation of these Rules and who have already made use of the option of an extension. (2) Young researchers whose training the Agency began to fund prior to the implementation of these Rules and who have not yet made use of the extension option shall not be subject to the sanctions referred to in Article 125 hereof if: - the young researcher finishes his or her training within one year of the expiration of the approved period of financing; - a young researcher in the field of medicine who obtains the status of a trainee specialist after the end of the approved period of financing concludes his or her training within two years of the expiration of the approved period of financing. Article 238 (Completion of calls and invitations) Calls and invitations that have not concluded by the time of the implementation of these Rules shall be concluded under the Rules on the Procedures for the (Co)financing and Assessment and Monitoring of Research Activity Implementation (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 4/11, 72/11, 45/12, 96/13, 100/13 and 92/14). 10 FINAL PROVISIONS Article 239 (Expiration of the validity of the previous Rules) On the day these Rules enter into force, the Rules on the Procedures for the (Co)financing and Assessment of Research Activities and on Monitoring the Implementation of Research Activities (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 4/11, 72/11, 45/12, 96/13, 100/13 and 92/14) shall cease to be valid. Article 240 (Entry into force of the Rules) These Rules shall enter into force on the day following their publication in
the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. The Rules Amending the Rules on the Procedures for the (Co)financing and Assessment of Research Activities and on Monitoring the Implementation of Research Activities (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 79/17 contains the following transitional and final provisions: “TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS Article 97 Calls and invitations that have not concluded by the time of the implementation of these Rules shall be concluded under the Rules on the Procedures for the (Co)financing and Assessment of Research Activities and on Monitoring the Implementation of Research Activities (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 52/16). Article 98 The reports on the annual distribution of research work hours for bilateral research projects under the new seventh paragraph of Article 4 hereof shall start to be submitted for calls published after the implementation of these Rules and shall from their submission thereafter be taken into account in the funds acquired from the Agency for the implementation of research projects (indicator 1.10). Article 99 These Rules shall enter into force on the day following their publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.”
Disclaimer: English is not an official language of Slovenia. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
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