"BELSPO supports activities which are of overall importance on the national and international level, including the stimulation of international mobility of researchers. The following 2 mobility schemes have been developed over the years, in concordance with political changes and the implementation of the European Research Area (ERA): A. Post-doc fellowships to non-EU researchers: initiated in 1991, with the objective to provide opportunities for highly-qualified foreign scientists to have a stay in Belgian research, in order to have access to "european" infrastructure capacities and to build lasting cooperation links. So far 673 fellowships were granted for a total of about 10.5 million EUR (budget 2009 :750.000 EUR), distributed over 41 countries of origin. B. Return grants: initiated in 2002, in the frame of the ERA, the scheme aims to reintegrate talented Belgian researchers performing a post-doc stay in a foreign country with the prospect to valorise their expertise gained abroad and to continue their carreer in a Belgian environment. Annual budget : 1.240.000 EUR, up to now 100 mandates have been granted for a total of about 8.7 million EUR. The present project would allow BELSPO not only to increase the number of fellowships and return grants but also to ameliorate some modalities: - for the non-EU postdoc fellowships the targeted countries would be enlarged by adding f.i. Asian countries such as China; also it appears that a post-doc stay of maximum 1 year, as currently offered, is becoming less attractive (effective) as well for the fellow as for the host unit so that the period would be prolongated to maximum 2 years; - for the return grants the criterion of “Belgian nationality” would be omitted and replaced by "having spent a certain period (minimum 3 years) in Belgium for higher education or research purposes" allowing to attract a broader category of excellent scientists willing to pursue their carreer in Belgium."