Eurac Research: Federal Scholar in Residence 2019

The Federal Scholar in Residence addresses experts who wish to present and discuss questions of federalism and regionalism that are of importance to legislators, civil servants and the international academic community. 

The Institute for Comparative Federalism has established the yearly Federal Scholar in Residence Program in order to enhance the comparative study of federalism and regionalism by providing an opportunity for exchange among scholars in the field so as to inspire and develop new project ideas.

Each edition’s winner is granted a research stay of up to three weeks at Eurac Research in Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol, Italy and gets the opportunity to discuss and present their research on issues related to comparative federalism, regionalism and/or intergovernmental relations with international experts in the field.

The Federal Scholar in Residence addresses experts who wish to present and discuss questions of federalism and regionalism that are of importance to legislators, civil servants and the international academic community. It promotes comparative research at Eurac Research and aims to interconnect experts and their networks in order to advance comparative federal and regional studies.

The program welcomes applications from scholars and practitioners who study and work in the fields of federalism, regionalism and intergovernmental relations. It was set up in honor of the works of Sergio Ortino, the founder of Federal Studies in South Tyrol.

Applicants must hand in a not yet published manuscript and be ready to present their findings in English in seminars both at Eurac Research and at neighboring partner universities.

The winner of the Federal Scholar in Residence program is granted a research stay of up to 3 weeks at the Institute for Comparative Federalism.

Although the winner can flexibly plan their stay, the month of February would represent a particular opportunity to develop new ideas while profiting from the international research environment of the renowned Winter School on Federalism and Governance.

The program comprises:

• The possibility to present and to publish one's work in our online series EDAP or one of our book series, if considered appropriate by the president of the jury
• A work place and free access to the Library, including online library services
• The use of our administrative structures (secretariat and project development service)
• A return ticket economic fare
• Accommodation in a single room in a standard guesthouse or in modern student halls of residence in centrally located areas of Bolzano/Bozen (within walking distance to Eurac Research).

Applications are to be sent directly to the program manager by 01 July 2018, 15:00 CEST. 

Please note:

• an unpublished paper or manuscript can be submitted in English, German, Italian, French and Spanish; in accordance to the program's rules it is compulsory to insert the following declaration as a footnote in the submitted manuscript OR as a separate certification (with your signature): "I hereby confirm that the submitted work (TITLE) is not yet published."
• it has to be sent electronically and without any identifying information in it
• the applicant's knowledge of English must be at working level
• only full papers are accepted, no research plans (there is no rule concerning the length of the submitted work)
• a paper or manuscript can only be re-submitted if substantively revised
• an abstract in English, a short CV and a motivation letter of maximum 2 pages have to be sent in a separate document; in accordance to the Italian Law on personal data handling (decree 196/2003) make sure to attach the following consent to your CV: "I authorize EURAC to use my personal data in accordance to decree 196/2003."
• applications must be submitted via email only

The program manager forwards the unpublished manuscripts to both Professor Francesco Palermo, President of the international jury and Director of the Institute for Comparative Federalism​, and to the yearly jury members.

Depending on the submitted topic and the language of the paper or manuscript, experts and senior scholars are nominated from a pool of outstanding international experts. Their range of expertise covers the whole of comparative federalism, regionalism and intergovernmental research, from legal, political, social and economic perspective. The members of the jury are asked to evaluate the submitted works against the following criteria:

• innovation and creativity (significant originality and initiative)
• content (overall quality, clarity and long term scientific value for comparative federal research)
• practicalusefulness (consequentiality for institutional, political, social and economic reality)
• strategic value (relevance for efficient multilevel governance and institutional reforms)
• reliability (referring to the problem framing and, if applicable, to data collection methods)
• replicability (applying to data and broadly speaking to the entire reasonings)
• methodological effectiveness (clear demonstration on how the work is consonant in its source disciplines/methodologies or on how the work effectively advances the understanding and inquiry of the submitted topic by weaving disciplinary perspectives together and developing novel methodological approaches that are balanced).