4.2 Choices made in advance
In drawing up the spending plans, a number of general and more specific starting points were formulated. For the education spending plan, a number of themes were identified on which the resources will be deployed. In the research spending plan, the contact between researcher and supervisor or manager forms the basis for arriving at targeted measures in case of delays. These principles and themes are still valid. For the sake of completeness, they are repeated in the following paragraphs.
Education Spending Plan
The Education Spending Plan sets out the themes and actions on which Tilburg University spends the available NPO resources. In doing so, the following principles, which have been coordinated with the participation body, are used:
General principles:
The measures are in line with the framework of the NPO Administrative Agreement on Education.
The measures are ambitious, offer customization, and are feasible.
They are elaborated in a specific and focused way as much as possible.
The measures are consistent with the regular processes in the institution and are embedded in the regular annual rhythm of education.
The measures address the identified bottlenecks in the themes of the Administrative Agreement.
Tilburg specific principles:
Measures are chosen that are consistent with existing initiatives within the university.
To the extent possible, the measures chosen will have a sustainable and developmental impact that extends beyond the horizon of the Administrative Agreement.
They support the lecturers and/or support staff in the work they do within the context of education and directly or indirectly tangible by students.
They can be implemented quickly, given the horizon of the Administrative Agreement.
A limited number (clusters) of measures are chosen, ensuring focus and efficiency.
The conclusion of the Administrative Agreement on Education has given Tilburg University the opportunity to solve the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the best possible way. To this end, Tilburg University receives earmarked funds for the following themes:
Theme 1: Intake and transfer
Theme 2: Student well-being and bond with the program
Theme 5: Teacher training programs
Additional theme: additional assistance in the classroom
In particular, the effort is focused on the following points:
providing support to students to catch up—i.e., working on to individual study plans, providing additional internship opportunities, and commitment to person development and socialization;
preventing backlogs in the near future by focusing on flexibility and digitalization;
reinforcing students' bond with the university and the city;
providing support to students struggling with mental health issues and ensuring a good commitment to prevention and early detection;
unburdening our lecturers by strengthening the support structure so that the aforementioned measures do not increase workload.
Research Spending Plan
The Research Spending Plan explains how Tilburg University tries to solve problems related to research delays. To arrive at a good assessment of how delays can be avoided or minimized, it is very important that researchers maintain close contact with their managers, supervisors, or
(co-)supervisors to discuss the situation and possibilities together. Preference is given to solutions that look at flexibility within the project and within the duration of the employment contract.
If there are no possibilities of adjusting the research within the stipulated duration of the employment contract or performance indicators (criteria), the possibility of extending the researcher's temporary employment contract is examined. For this purpose it is important a) that the temporary extension of the employment contract is legally possible, b) clarity regarding how long the employment contract will be extended, and c) clarity regarding how the extension will be financed. Initially for funding, resources within the researcher's project that have not yet materialized are considered, such as travel and accommodation and other additional resources that the external grant provider may make available to complete the research. If funding for the extension of temporary employment cannot be covered from these funds, it may be covered for PhD researchers, post-doctoral researchers, and tenure trackers by using NWO and NPO funds. These are explicitly made available for researchers in the final phase of temporary research.
