PRCs are a type of Centers that are newly introduced at IBS HQ　in 2018 to nurture young and emerging Chief Investigators (CIs). Unlike other existing Centers, PRCs will focus on recruiting emerging CIs with great potential to pioneer new areas in basic science and supporting their challenging, independent research.

Each PRC will be comprised of research groups led by approximately five CIs. Each CI holds the rights over his or her research group’s staffing, research details, and budget allocations. CIs are allowed to freely staff their research groups with research fellows, researchers, student research assistants, and support staff. Important matters of PRCs’ operation will be decided by negotiations among CIs. Managing CIs may attend the Directors Council Meeting representing their PRCs. CIs may rotate to assume the managing CI position in accordance with their agreement.

Yes. PRCs will be established and operated only as HQ Centers. CI positions will be taken only by emerging scholars who will conduct challenging, independent research at PRC(s).

Yes. However, the evaluation standards may be different as to fulfil the goal of nurturing young CIs.

CI applicants should take into consideration the research theme and characteristics of their planned research to request an appropriate size of budget for their own research groups accordingly. During the evaluation process, the Selection and Evaluation Committee (SEC) and Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) may provide review opinions of the requested budgets. CI research groups' annual budgets will be finalized, within the budgets requested when submitting applications, through deliberation and approval by the RRC.

An appropriate budget size of CI research group should include the five-year average operational costs, such as labor costs, research conducting costs (direct costs), group operation support costs (indirect costs/lab safety expenses, IP management expenses, etc.), excluding start-up expenses that will be provided for the first two years. Budget of each CI research group shall not exceed KRW 1.5 billion, which is calculated assuming when organization of a CI group has been completed, excluding start-up expenses. Applicants should indicate start-up expenses, which are needed to purchase and construct large-scale facilities and equipment, separately from the required CI group budgets. Such facilities and equipment will be constructed as core facilities of IBS HQ and may be shared with other CIs.

CIs may be appointed as tenured researchers or tenure-track research fellows at IBS HQ based on their selection and evaluation results. If appointed as tenure-track research fellows, CIs may undergo tenure reviews to be appointed as tenured researchers five years after their initial appointment in conjunction with their performance reviews. Although CI is counted a type of co-director position at HQ Centers, unlike (co-)directors at HQ Centers, CIs are allowed to retain their employment status with their previous affiliations (upon the approval by the affiliations), even after their appointment at IBS, by taking a leave of absence from the previous institutions of employment. There is no limit in place on how long CIs are allowed to retain their employment status with their previous affiliations, however, those who retain such employment status shall not be given tenured positions at IBS.

The retirement age is 65, same as (co-)directors at HQ Centers.

Labor costs (salaries)　for IBS CIs will be determined in the negotiation between the CI and the IBS president, which will be held after the selection of CIs is complete.

CI research group staff may include CI, research fellows, researchers, student research assistants and support staff, all of whom are required to collaborate at the same research location. In principle, research staff will be employed by CI via a special recruitment process, and support staff will be hired via an open recruitment process in accordance with the internal procedures of IBS.