The VRWB greatly welcomes the proposal of Minister of Science and Innovation Fientje Moerman to create a number of additional ZAP-mandates in Flemish universities. The Council agrees with the concept of the proposal, where the total government grant in the FWO increases gradually by a certain amount and the percentage of own resources that Flemish universities need to inject falls by a fraction corresponding to that amount. Universities can use these released resources for financing additional ZAP mandates. For this, no third type of ZAP-mandates may be created. Preference is given to BOF-ZAP professors.
For the current measure to have a structural effect, it is desirable to plan a growth path over several years for the new measure. The Council also reminds about the VRWB memorandum in which it was requested to let the net resources of the BOF increase again as an answer to the growing number of excellent research teams.
The VRWB wishes to amend something in the conditions: appointment always needs to be made based on the Research Board's list of recommendations. The Council agrees that these additional ZAP-members also have a limited teaching assignment, besides their main assignment, but does not propose to express the same in percentages, rather in terms of credits.