Purpose of the Call for Proposals
Grants intended to fund contracts for initial training in health sciences and technologies through the completion of a doctoral dissertation within the National Health System.
The purpose of these hires is to:
— To promote the start of a professional career by bringing young researchers into the Spanish System of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
— Encourage the participation of research staff who provide patient care within the Spanish National Health System (SNS).
— To promote patient- and population-oriented research through knowledge transfer activities, as part of a specific and innovative project.
Requirements
Requirements for applicants:
The institutions listed below may be eligible to receive funding under the PFIS Contracts category, provided they are the institutions where researchers who obtained funding as principal investigators of individual projects or as coordinators of coordinated or multicenter projects in the 2025 AES call for proposals —under the R&DD+I in Health, as well as International Collaboration Projects.
Principal Investigator (PI) Requirements:
Principal Investigators (PIs) in the AES 2025 call for proposals must apply as group leaders.
Each group leader may present a maximum of one candidate for the completion of his or her doctoral thesis.
For projects funded through AES 2025 with two Principal Investigators, only one of them may nominate a candidate for the project.
All proposals submitted for this type of contract must fall into one of the following categories of research groups:
- Groups led by researchers born in 1981 or later, with a track record of scientific output that suggests they have the potential to become highly competitive groups, must submit proposals for distinctive and innovative research initiatives that do not involve the breakup of preexisting groups.
- The usual groups of this modality, which must comply with the general conditions established in the different sections, without any other specific conditions.
Individuals who are currently supervising the work of PFIS and i-PFIS pre-doctoral researchers under active contracts awarded through the 2023, 2024, and 2025 calls for proposals from the AES, nor may group leaders who are currently carrying out a Río Hortega or Sara Borrell contract.
Applications submitted by the same group to the two AES predoctoral modalities (PFIS and i-PFIS) will not be eligible.
A minimum of 10% of the contracts to be awarded will be reserved for applications whose group leaders are active Miguel Servet and Juan Rodés contractors, provided that they obtain a favorable evaluation of their application.
The civil servant, statutory or labor relationship of the group leaders with the applicant entity must be maintained at least until the publication of the final award decision.
Applicants must be enrolled in an officially accredited doctoral program for the 2024–2025 academic year or have been admitted or provisionally admitted to a doctoral program for the 2026–2027 academic year, at a Spanish university; proof of this may be provided after the application is submitted and up until the end of the appeal period.
The following are not eligible to be candidates:
- Have begun their pre-doctoral training with funding from other grants for pre-doctoral training through the development of a doctoral thesis that has been awarded under the State Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation or any of the previous State Plans.
- Hold a doctorate degree from any Spanish or foreign university.
- To have enjoyed, prior to the presentation of the application, a pre-doctoral contract for a period of more than twelve months.
Application
Applications and all other required documentation must be submitted exclusively through the ISCIII’s online portal.
The application forms will only require the signature of the legal representative of the applicant entity, who will collect the signatures of the rest of the interested persons (candidates and principal investigators), taking responsibility for their custody and veracity.
Applications must be accompanied by the following documentation:
They form an integral part of the application and may not be upgraded retrospectively:
- Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (CVA) in Spanish or English, automatically generated from the FECYT curriculum editor of the group leader and the candidate.
- Proposal report, in Spanish or English, using the standard template for AES 2026.
In addition, the applications must be accompanied by (documentation that can be corrected):
- Copy of valid passport, only in the case of foreign citizens not residing in Spanish territory.
- Document accrediting enrollment and payment, admission or pre-admission to a doctoral program at a Spanish university, issued by the unit responsible for that program, or by the doctoral or graduate school, if applicable.
- Responsible declaration signed by the candidate, in a standardized model, which accredits:
- Not having benefited, prior to the submission of the application, from a grant awarded under the PEICTI 2024-2027 or any of the previous State Plans for pre-doctoral training through the development of a doctoral thesis.
- He is not in possession of a doctorate degree.
- Not having held a pre-doctoral contract for more than twelve months prior to joining the program.
- Document signed by the director of the IIS certifying the membership of the research group, when applicable.
- In the case of having completed a Specialized Health Training Program (hereinafter referred to as ESF) abroad, an ESF diploma approved or recognized by the competent body.
- Supporting documentation of the selected publications if they are not open access.
Call for Applications Guidelines
The complete terms and conditions of the call for applications can be viewed by clicking here.