Ad summary

A call is now open for 1 (one) Research Fellowship (call reference: APPsyCI/008/BI/2023) in the scope of the research-related activities in Psychology of the R&D Unit Applied Psychology Research Center Capabilities & Inclusion – APPsyCi (UIDB/05299/2020) at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) – FCT, I.P./MCTES, through national funds (PIDDAC).

1.Scientific Field: Psychology

2.Funding Source: Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) – FCT, I.P./MCTES, through national funds (PIDDAC), via the Multiannual Funding of R&D Units 2020-2023 –core funding (reference: UIDB/05299/2020).

3. Applicant’s Profile

Mandatory requirements:

Master´s degree in psychology

Excellent communication skills in Portuguese (fluent or mother tongue).

Preferred factors:

Prior experience in bereavement, palliative care, or relevant clinical areas

Previous experience in research activities, including publications

Knowledge of research methodologies and data analysis software (e.g., SPSS, Excel, R, AMOS)

4. Requirements for admission to the competition

The following documents must be submitted:

1. Master’s degree certificate with the final classification.
2. Detailed Curriculum Vitae;
3. Motivation Letter.

Only applicants who supply proof to have completed the study cycle leading to a Master’s degree by the end of the application deadline will be admitted. If applicants do not yet have the certificate of completion, a declaration of honor will be accepted stating that they have completed the qualifications required for the call and that the Master’s diploma/certificate will be dated within the application period. The fellowship award is always contingent upon the presentation of the mandatory proof of academic qualifications.

If the academic degree has been conferred by a foreign higher education institution, it must be recognized by a Portuguese higher education institution, and the final classification must be converted into the Portuguese evaluation scale, under the terms of the provisions of Decree-Law no. 66/2018, of August 16th, which approves the legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of Higher Education, attributed by foreign higher education institutions, and of paragraph e) of no. 2 of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of August 3rd.

If the candidate has already requested but is waiting on the recognition of the academic degree conferred by a foreign higher education institution to be issued, he/she can submit a declaration of honor clarifying that the recognition was requested and will be dated within the application period.

The recognition of foreign academic degrees and diplomas and the conversion of the final classification to the Portuguese classification scale may be requested in any Portuguese public higher education institution or at the Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES, for automatic recognition only). Please consult the DGES portal for details: http://www.dges.gov.pt.

5. Requirements for signing the fellowship agreement.

The candidate must be enrolled in a PhD degree, or enrolled in a course that does not award an academic degree, in a Portuguese higher education institution. This registration must be completed until the time of contracting the research fellowship.

In the case of diplomas issued by foreign higher education institutions, the recognition of these academic degrees must be presented until the time of contracting the research fellowships and the date of recognition must fall within the application period (as indicated in 4.).

For the purposes of signing the contract, a form with personal information, Science ID, a copy of the identification document, and a declaration on exclusive functions exercise might also be requested.

False declarations are reason to cancel the candidacy without prejudice to the application of other sanction measures.

6. Work plan

The project “Preventing prolonged grief: Effectiveness and predictors of outcome in a palliative care selective intervention”, consists of the evaluation of a preventive psychological intervention for prolonged grief (Empower). Clients are randomly assigned to the Empower intervention and care-as-usual and assessed at various times throughout the intervention. The purpose of the study is to assess intervention effectiveness and predictors of adherence and change.

As such, the research fellow will perform the following functions:

- support for project management, with administrative and execution tasks.

- management and monitoring of users throughout the evaluation.

- collection of data from the participants at the indicated evaluation times.

- support for literature review.

7. Applicable legislation

Law No. 40/2004, of August 18th, as amended by the Decree-Law No. 123/2019, of August 28th, in its current wording (Research Fellowship Holder Statute/Estatuto do Bolseiro de Investigação - EBI);

Regulation No. 950/2019, of November 29th, published in Diário da República, No. 241, Series II, of December 16th (FCT’s Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships/Regulamento de Bolsas de Investigação da FCT - RBI);

Decree-Law No. 66/2018, of August 16th (Legal regime of recognition of academic degrees and diplomas of higher education awarded by foreign higher education institutions);

Regulation for Scientific Research Fellowships of Ispa – Instituto Universitário; and other applicable legislation.

8. Workplace and scientific supervision

The research fellowship contract will be signed with ISPA, CRL (contracting entity). The place of work is located at («Centro de Investigação em Psicologia Aplicada Capacidades e Inclusão (APPsyCI), located at Ispa – Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, 34, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal and/or other locations necessary for the implementation of the planned activities, under the scientific supervision of Dr. David Neto.

9. Duration of fellowship

The fellowship will have a duration about 8 months, eventually renewable for periods not exceeding the eligible period of the project, conditioned by the project's budget, and in accordance with the maximum period for research fellowships as indicated in points 4 and 5 of Article 6 of FCT’s Regulation for Research Studentships and Fellowships.

The fellowship is expected to start in May 2023.

10. Remuneration and other components

The monthly stipend is €1199.64, in accordance to the table of monthly maintenance stipend in Portugal set by FCT for activities in exclusive dedication regime (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/bolsas/docs/Tabela_de_Valores_SMM_2023.pdf), subject to any updates that may apply, to be paid monthly through bank transfer. The fellow is also entitled to the applicable voluntary social security system (Seguro Social Voluntário, Decree-Law No. 40/89, of February 1st; EBI – art. 10º), and a personal accidents insurance.

11. Submission of applications

The call is open from 05 April to April 20, 2023, by 17:00 (Lisbon time). Only applications received within the specified application period will be considered.

Applications must be formalized by sending the following mandatory documents:

1. Master’s degree certificate with the final classification.
2. Detailed Curriculum Vitae; and
3. Motivation Letter.

Applications should clearly state the call reference APPsyCI/008/BI/2023,in the subject field and be sent via e-mail to candidaturas.investigadores@ispa.pt,  and cc to appsyci@ispa.pt, or via post mail directed to Ispa – Instituto Universitário – Departamento de Recursos Humanos – Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041 Lisboa.

All documents must be submitted in PDF format.

The non-compliance with these requirements may determine the rejection of the application.

12. Evaluation and selection criteria

The evaluation process will consist of two stages: 1) Stage 1 – curriculum evaluation, and 2) Stage 2 - interview.

Stage 1: Curriculum Evaluation

Candidates will be evaluated and ranked by their curriculum according to the following (weighted) criteria:

a) Master's or integrated master's with the final classification (20%).

b) Previous experience in bereavement, palliative care or relevant clinical areas, according to the candidate's CV (20%);

c) Previous experience in research activities, including publications, in research methodologies and data analysis software, according to the candidate's CV (30%)

d) Motivation and interest in the area, according to the candidate's letter of motivation (30%).

Applications will be evaluated, and candidates ranked, on a 0,00 – 20,00 scale. The final classification of Stage 1 will result from the formula:

Stage 1 = (Criterion A x 20%) + (Criterion B x 20%) + (Criterion C x 30%) + (Criterion C x 30%)

Stage 2: Interview

Candidates ranked in the first 3 positions of Stage 1, that is, with the highest score in descending order, will be interviewed. Candidates tied in the first 3 positions will be interviewed.

In the Interview, the Evaluation Panel will assess: The motivation of the candidate; the candidate’s knowledge relative to the information indicated in the motivation letter and CV, especially theoretical and methodological knowledge of the topic of the project/work plan; skills of statistical analysis and research design; communication skills, including English proficiency; and other dimensions, such as professional attitude and prosocial behavior.

Each criterion will be evaluated on a 0,00 – 20,00 scale.

The final classification of applications admitted to Stage 2 will result from the formula:

Final Classification = (Stage 1 x 60%) + (Stage 2 x 40%)

For tie-breaking purposes, the ranking of the candidates will be based on the classifications assigned to each of the evaluation criteria in the following order of precedence: Phase 2 – Interview; Phase 1 – (c) Prior experience in research activities, including publications, research methodologies and data analysis software, as per the candidate's CV; (a) Master's or integrated master's final classification; (b) Prior experience in bereavement, palliative care or relevant clinical areas as per the candidate's CV; (d) Motivation and interest in the area, according to the candidate's letter of motivation.

In the event that none of the candidates has a suitable profile for the indicated work plan, despite fulfilling all the requirements for admission, the jury reserves the right not to award the fellowship(s).

13.Evaluation Panel

The evaluation panel will consist of:

Doctor David Neto (Assistant Professor at ISPA- University Institute and Integrated researcher at APPsyCI Research Center, President)

Doutor Alexandra Coelho, (Assistant Professor at ISPA- University Institute and Integrated researcher at APPsyCI Research Center, President, Effective member)

Doctor Ana Nunes da Silva, (Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Psychology at University of Lisbon, Effective member)

Doutor Sara Albuquerque (Assistant Professor invited from psychology school of Lusófona University, Substitute member), and,

Doctor Mariana Miranda (Assistant Professor at ISPA- University Institute and Integrated researcher at APPsyCI Research Center, Substitute member)

14. Communication of results

The results will be notified no later than 90 working days after the closing date for submission of applications to the e-mail address provided by the applicants.

15. Deadlines and procedures for preliminary hearing, complaint, and appeal

After communicating the provisional list of the results, applicants who want to dispute the results have a period of 10 working days to request a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Articles 121 and following of the Administrative Procedure Code (CPA). The final decision will be communicated after the examination of the arguments presented at the preliminary hearing. After this communication, the selected candidate has 10 working days to accept, in written, the awarded fellowship. Otherwise, withdrawal or renouncement of the fellowship will be considered, unless a proper justification is presented.

After the final decision, a complaint may be placed within 15 working days or, alternatively, an appeal within 30 working days, both counting from the notification date. Applicants who wish to submit a complaint or an appeal should address their complaint to the Board of the funding agency.

In case the selected candidate renounces or withdraws from the fellowship, the Evaluation Panel can notify and attribute the fellowship to the candidate(s) in the subsequent position(s), if applicable, and according to the final ranking list.

Templates for the research fellowship contract and for the final reports by the fellow and by the supervisor

The template for the research fellowship contract as well we the template and timings for the final reports to be created by the fellow and by the supervisor, and concomitant evaluation criteria, can be found in the Ispa – Instituto Universitário’s Regulation for Scientific Research Fellowships (Appendices 2, 3, and 4) at:

https://intranet.ispa.pt/sites/default/files/users/10008/rg102_bols_invest_cient_2023.pdf