RESEARCH POLICY

Welcome!

The research policy at VUB is the responsibility of vicerector Prof. dr. Karin Vanderkerken and the department of Research & Data Management.

Research Coordination Unit

Global support of research and research policy is organised by the Research Coordination Unit.
More specifically this unit is responsible for the conceptual, logistic and administrative basis of the research policy. They collect and spread information on funding possibilities for research, prepare, execute and follow-up quality control and the allocation of funds by a.o. the Research Council.

Tasks and responsibilities of the Research Coordination Unit

Monitoring and reporting activities based on research related information

• Systematic monitoring of strategic policy briefs submitted yearly to the VUB Research Council by each department (internal quality control).
• Systematic monitoring of the VUB's research performance in parameters used for the distribution over universities of Flemish government funding for research (via the "Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds" BOF), in particular PhD's and publications in the Web of Science (WoS) and in the Flemish Academic Bibliographic Database for the Social Sciences and Humanities (VABB-SHW).
• Yearly calculations for the VUB Research Council's 'Basic funding for departments' (parameters based on publications and PhD's, calculated per department).
• Submissions and control of research related data as input for analyses coordinated by the Centre for Research & Development Monitoring, ECOOM: Control of VUB-publications identified in the WoS (coordinated by ECOOM KULeuven partner).
• Submissions of research related information as input to various types of assessments and procedures: Calculations for internal evaluation procedures; Data for international rankings and questionnaires; Quantitative simulations for internal research policy; Information about regulations (internal VUB regulations and Flemish government regulations) in internal communications.

Activities specifically related to research evaluations

• Organisation of peer review evaluations of candidates for fellowships, of applications for long term research programme funding and for research infrastructure, and of teams belonging to a same discipline.
• Organisation of periodic and ad hoc research management evaluations.
• Follow up of international scientific developments in bibliometric indicators and scientometrics, in particular in an evaluative context.

Research related representation activities

• Representations of the VUB in various committees and working groups, interuniversity or other, general or topic-related.

Research Council

Competence

The research branch is directed by an academical advisory commission; the Research Council. The mission of this board consists mainly of formulating advice on policy and determining a long-term vision on scientific research at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The Research Council (RC) also watches over the quality of research, coördinates funding and stimulates new research initiatives. 

Composition

The RC is composed of a representative amount of members of independent academical staff which is chosen by the Education Council (EC). The chosen members meet the requirements of competence-related indicators as enlisted in the ZAP-competentieprofielen (Indepent Academic Staff-performance profiles) and approved by approved by the EC (quality requirements). The RC also has to show a maximum of 2/3 of staff to share the same sex, including the Vice-Rector (gender equality). Each of the faculties presents three or four effective members and two or three substitutes in an order of priority and not all of the same sex. Considering these requirements including gender equality and quality policies, the Vice-Rector Research Policy presents per faculty 2 effective members and 2 substitutes to the EC. In case of deviations of priority of a faculty a motivation is required. 

• Chairman, Vice-Rector Research Council
• 2 effective and 2 substituting members per faculty (meeting the requirements of gender equality)
• 1 effective and 1 substituting member, not of the same sex, appointed by the School of Arts concerning the Association
  • Government Commissioner
  • Representative of finance
  • CEO of the VUB
  • 5 spectators, appointed by the Education Board
  • Vice-Rector Innovation & Valorisation policy
  • Representative of the UMC-commission