D4.7 Performance evaluation: Satisfaction survey of the call for proposals

• Main Authors: Monika Kędra, Agnieszka Beszczynska-Möller
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Zenodo 2020
• Subjects: Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6821511

Two ARICE calls for proposals were opened in the first half of the ARICE project lifetime, the first in 2018 (ARICE 2018) and the second in 2019 (ARICE 2019). The calls offered transnational access to three icebreakers to perform research in any field of marine-based Arctic Science during each call. Information about each call was disseminated through different media. The package of call documents was available from the ARICE website. Proposals requesting ARICE ship time were submitted via online system through a unique entry point. Each proposal was evaluated by at least three external experts, recommended by the Scientific Liaison Panel, and all applicants were informed about the evaluation results. After finalizing both calls, the satisfaction survey was conducted to evaluate the performance of the call system. The main satisfaction survey was addressed to the applicants, while a simplified version of the survey was also distributed among the external reviewers. The satisfaction surveys collected information about different aspects of the call procedure, including dissemination of the call, submission and evaluation process, and information about the calls' outcomes. The main aim was to assess the strong and weak points of the call procedure to improve performance during the potential future calls under follow-up initiatives. The survey was anonymous and consisted of 19 questions in the version for applicants while in a shorter form, addressed to external reviewers, 11 questions were asked. In total, we received 24 responses from the applicants for both calls and 14 responses from external reviewers. Results of both surveys indicated that most of applicants and reviewers was satisfied (very or moderately satisfied) with the submission and evaluation process while in the open comments they provided some specific remarks and improvement suggestions for different steps of the call process. Since nearly the half of applicants plans to apply for the ship-time if similar calls are open in future, the feedback about ...