Extension clause

Training as a clinical specialist

Applicants who have completed a course to become a clinical specialist are also eligible for an extension of the period. Researchers can apply for an extension on ground of a completed course or a course which will end before the expiry date of the start of the Talent programme project. ( 6 months after the written notification of the decision to grant the funding).

The complete list of clinical training courses that fall under the extension regulation is available below. The total accumulated time after the PhD devoted to a training course to become a clinical specialist may be added to the period set for the Veni, Vidi and Vici grants. To be eligible for this extension, the applicant should submit the training plan and evidence of specialist registration (BIG or KNMG) to talent@nwo.nl . If the training and scientific research after obtaining the PhD were realised at the same time, for example when someone combined a postdoc and clinical training, then only the training time counts towards the extension.

Courses for which extension can be requested

Care leave

An appeal based on care responsibilities only applies to candidates for whom there is or was a demonstrable registered period of care leave. In the case of care leave for first-degree blood or other relatives, a formal reduction in the working hours is compensated. The formal reduction in working hours should be demonstrated by means of an overview of the leave registration from the HRM department of your employer. You can apply for this extension by sending the overview of leave registration to talent@nwo.nl

Sick leave

In the case of long-term illness, the formal reduction in working hours is compensated. The formal reduction in working hours should be demonstrated by means of an overview of the leave registration from the HRM department of your employer. You can apply for this extension by sending this overview of leave registration to talent@nwo.nl.

There is a time limit attached to the Talent Scheme which specifies until when researchers can submit a proposal after obtaining their PhD. Until now, the submission deadline had already been extended by 18 months per child for biological mothers. Now the other parent will also receive an extension of 6 months per child.

Extensions for parents will only by granted if the children are part of their own household. The maximum overall extension per parent is five years.

More balanced distribution of parental tasks

NWO regularly deals with researchers who put a great deal of time into the care of their children, yet as a second parent, which is to say the non-biological mother, they are not compensated for it. Until now, they have only been granted the formally registered parental leave that they took. By adjusting the extension rule, NWO is conforming to prevailing social views on how to distribute parenting tasks. NWO hopes that this will also encourage a better division of work and care tasks between parents, in order to ease the burden that caring for a child puts on the career of the biological mother.

Overall extension of 5 years

The Talent Scheme has three funding instruments – the Veni, Vidi and Vici – tailored to various phases in researchers’ academic careers. Researchers have to submit their proposals within 3, 8 or 15 years, respectively, after obtaining their PhD. The extension of eighteen months per child remains unchanged for biological mothers. Extensions for parents will only by granted if the children are part of their own household. The maximum overall extension per parent is five years.

A claim to the extension clause will be considered in case the applicant has been on maternity leave, parental care leave, care leave, extended sick leave or has been attending a course leading to qualification as a Clinical Specialist. Please contact the program coordinator only if the period that has elapsed since the award of your doctorate exceeds one year. In all cases, the maximum extension is one year. Extension under The Rubicon Extension Clause can only be applied for to extend the period in which you can submit a proposal and does not apply to the other conditions mentioned in chapter 3 of the call for proposals.

Before submitting your application, you must contact the programme co-ordinator Rubicon by email rubicon@nwo.nl to request an extension If you have been granted an extension, you must indicate this on your application form.

In case you will be employed by the host institute for more than six months at the time of submitting your application, you can also request an extension on the basis of the conditions mentioned above. The
extension will be calculated in the same way as other requests (see below).

The formulae for calculation will be strictly applied in all cases and the outcome is not open for discussion.

Maternity leave and care responsibilities children

Parents can apply for an extension on the grounds of maternity leave and childcare by sending in a parent-declaration form, in which the declares that the child or children are part of his or her household. The form can be obtained through the programme co-ordinator Rubicon by email rubicon@nwo.nl. Please include the documents needed (see below).

Maternity leave

• Biological mothers who have given birth to one or more  children are granted a standard extension of sixteen weeks per child, i.e. the same as the legal period for maternity
  leave in the Netherlands.
• Other parents (fathers and non-biological mothers) are granted a standard extension of five weeks per child that is part of the applicant's household.

Parental care leave

• In addition to maternity leave, applicants (biological  mothers and other parents), can apply for an extension on the grounds of granted parental care leave. Such an extension will be granted only if you can provide evidence that proves that you have taken care leave in the year after
  obtaining your PhD. The formal reduction in working hours should always be supported by documents from the Personnel Department of your employer. The care must have been provided to a child, not older than 12 years, belonging to the same household. The extension is calculated on the formulae in the table below and applies only to the period after you have obtained your PhD. Where childcare has been provided to more than one child simultaneously, only that pertaining to the youngest child will qualify for this concession.

Calculation:

Example: 2 years' parttime (0.5 fte) care, starting on date of doctoral award, in respect of one or more children aged one to three years: 2 years x 0.5 fte care x 1 fte extension = 1 year extension of maximum period between doctoral award and submission of Rubicon application.

Care leave

An extension on the grounds of care responsibilities (other than for your own children) will be granted only if you can provide documentation that proves that you have taken care leave. In case of care leave
taken in order to care for blood relatives or relatives by marriage in the first degree, compensation will be given for any formal reduction in working hours. The formal reduction in working hours should always be
supported by documents from the Personnel Department of your employer.

Sick leave

In the case of extended sick leave the formal reduction in working hours will be compensated (see for the calculation the table below). The formal reduction in working hours should always be supported by official
documentation from the Personnel Department of your employer.

Calculation:

Training leading to qualification as Clinical Specialist

You can also apply for an extension of the time limit if you have undertaken training in a clinical specialism during the relevant period. For the complete list of clinical specialisms eligible for the extension scheme we kindly refer you to our website. The following rules apply to the determination of the extension: The total (aggregated) time spent in training since the award of a doctorate may be added to the one-year period normally allowed, subject to a maximum of one year. The period during which an application may be submitted is therefore no more than two years. An application for an extension of the submission period on the basis of training in a clinical specialism should always be supported by documents from the Personnel department of the employer that issued the formal reduction in working hours (start date, end date and FTE during this period), along with a final examination of the training or proof of your BIG or KNMG registration.

Calculation: