Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020
Table of contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 5
Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff
Exchange ................................................................................................................................. 18
Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Co-funding of regional, national and
international programmes ..................................................................................................... 24
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Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff
Exchange ................................................................................................................................. 43
Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Co-funding of regional, national and
international programmes ..................................................................................................... 49
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Budget ................................................................................................................. 61
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Introduction
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions (MSCA) contribute to excellent research, boosting jobs,
growth and investment by equipping researchers with the new knowledge, skills and
international and intersectoral exposure to fill the top positions of tomorrow and solve current
and future societal challenges.
The MSCA thrive by being open to all domains of research and innovation addressed under
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These are chosen freely by the
applicants in a fully bottom-up manner.
The MSCA are open to researchers and innovation staff at all stages of their career and
support their research career paths, thereby ensuring good working conditions and work/life
balance. Organisations from both the academic and the non-academic sectors can receive
funding, such as universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses, and
other socio-economic actors from all countries. This includes third countries under the
conditions defined in the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation Regulation No 1290/2013 and
in part A of the General Annexes to the Work Programme.
The interim evaluation of Horizon 2020 found that the MSCA are relevant in addressing
many of the issues associated with ensuring European competitiveness: the need to attract
more highly skilled researchers in the global race for talent; more high-quality training of and
career development for researchers; and increased knowledge transfer and mobility of
researchers between academia and non-academia. Evidence shows that MSCA have a positive
impact on individual researchers, organisations and at system level. The MSCA account for
more than half of all third country participations in Horizon 2020 and one in four MSCA
fellows are researchers attracted to Europe from countries outside the EU Member States or
Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. An estimated 45% of fellows benefit from some form of
cross-sectoral mobility out of or into an academic setting. MSCA continue to have a
pronounced structuring impact on ERA by setting standards for quality training, attractive
working conditions and open recruitment for all EU researchers. There is also strong evidence
of the longer-term scientific value and societal impact of the programme. To date, there have
been 1 114 publications in MSCA projects, of which 740 in peer-reviewed journals. This is
the highest number of all areas in the Framework Programme. The MSCA are also highly
over-subscribed: 80% of all high-quality proposals have not been funded due to a lack of
budget. This MSCA Work Programme implements several recommendations from the interim
evaluation, incl. fostering inter-sectoral collaboration, international cooperation, boosting the
opportunities for career re-start and the need for empowering researchers through more
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flexible part-time work arrangements and equipping them with a broader set of transversal
skills.
Building on the MSCA success story so far, the MSCA in 2018-2020 place further emphasis
on empowering researchers: In addition to their research project, researchers may undertake
supplementary activities in order to maximise their future employability and strengthen their
careers. Both early-stage and experienced researchers may choose to lecture, tutor, and
supervise students, and follow training in order to perform such tasks. Time spent on these
activities should be of a reasonable amount which, in the opinion of both the researcher and
his/her supervisor would not jeopardise the execution of the research project and is considered
to be part of the MSCA action similarly to dissemination and communication activities,
including public outreach. Experienced researchers may opt to work part-time on their MSCA
action in order to pursue supplementary activities. These might include creating a company,
pursuing another research project, or engaging in advanced studies not related to the MSCA
grant.
The MSCA will increase support to providing conducive framework conditions to integrating
researchers displaced by conflict outside the EU and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries into
the European research and innovation landscape on a long-term basis.
The results from the first years of Horizon 2020 implementation reveal the existence of a
research and innovation gap across Europe and discrepancies between European countries in
their ability to attract excellent researchers. Therefore, specific Widening Fellowships in line
with the high quality standards of the MSCA Individual Fellowships will be implemented
through Work Programme part 15 (Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation).
The principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the
Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code) promoting open recruitment and attractive
working and employment conditions are a cornerstone of the MSCA and all funded
participants must apply them in line with the provisions of the grant agreement.
The MSCA pay particular attention to equal opportunities, which includes gender balance and
the inclusion of researchers with disabilities. In line with the Charter and Code, all MSCA
proposals are encouraged to take appropriate measures to facilitate mobility and counter-act
gender-related barriers to it. Beneficiaries could offer dual career services or participate in
regional/national dual career networks, which may provide information and advice on career
1
Commission Staff Working Document, Interim Evaluation of Horizon 2020, Annex 2, p.158
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opportunities, job search and social interaction in the new geographical area for researchers'
spouses/partners.
Equal opportunities are to be ensured also in the implementation of the actions by a balanced
participation of women and men, both at the level of supported researchers and that of
decision-making/supervision/management structure.
In research activities where human beings are involved as subjects or end-users, gender
differences may exist. In these cases, the gender dimension in the research content has to be
addressed as an integral part of the proposal to ensure the highest level of scientific quality.
In order to reduce barriers to mobility and ensure equal treatment of researchers with
disabilities, the MSCA in 2018-20 will provide additional financial support to these
researchers.
Principles of research integrity - as set out, for instance, in the European Code of Conduct for
Research Integrity – will apply throughout all MSCA. They also endorse Open Science and
the Horizon 2020 Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) cross-cutting issue, engaging
society, integrating the gender and ethical dimensions, ensuring the access to research
outcomes and encouraging formal and informal science education. All applicants to MSCA
calls are encouraged to adopt an RRI approach into their proposals. The ethical dimension of
the activities should be analysed and taken into account, including socio-economic
implications. This implies the respect of ethical principles and related legislation during the
implementation. Whenever possible, the activities should also include a better understanding
and handling of the ethical aspects and the promotion of the highest ethical standards in the
field.
Grant beneficiaries under this work programme part will engage in research data sharing by
default, as stipulated under Article 29.3 of the Horizon 2020 Model Grant Agreement
(including the creation of a Data Management Plan). Participants may however opt out of
these arrangements, both before and after the signature of the grant agreement. More
information can be found under General Annex L of the work programme.
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Objective: The Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative,
entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future
challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and
social benefit.
ITN will raise excellence and structure research and doctoral training in Europe, extending
the traditional academic research training setting, incorporating elements of Open Science
and equipping researchers with the right combination of research-related and transferable
competences. It will provide enhanced career perspectives in both the academic and non-
academic sectors through international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility combined
with an innovation-oriented mind-set.
Scope: ITN supports competitively selected joint research training and/or doctoral
programmes, implemented by partnerships of universities, research institutions, research
infrastructures, businesses, SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries
across Europe and beyond.
Partnerships take the form of collaborative European Training Networks (ETN), European
Industrial Doctorates (EID) or European Joint Doctorates (EJD).
Each programme should have a clearly identified supervisory board co-ordinating network-
wide training and establishing active and continuous communication and exchange of best
practice among the participating organisations to maximise the benefits of the partnership.
Training responds to well identified needs in defined research areas, with appropriate
references to inter- and multidisciplinary fields and follows the EU Principles for Innovative
Doctoral Training. It should be primarily focused on scientific and technological knowledge
through research on individual, personalised projects.
In order to increase the employability of the researchers, the research training should be
complemented by the meaningful exposure of each researcher to the non-academic sector.
Secondments of the researcher to other beneficiaries and partner organisations are
encouraged, but should be relevant, feasible, beneficial for the researchers and in line with the
project objectives.
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Substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable skills
common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and
entrepreneurship will be supported.
In order to reflect the new modus operandi of research supporting the development of open
science, training should prepare early-stage researchers for increased research collaborations
and information-sharing made possible by new (digital) technologies (e.g. collaborative tools,
opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR 2 data management, public
engagement and citizen science, etc.).
A Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and each early-
stage researcher recruited by the selected network. In addition to research objectives, this plan
comprises the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills,
teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences.
Attention is paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well as career
guidance. Joint supervision of the researchers is mandatory for EJD and for EID, and
encouraged in ETN. In EID, the joint supervision of the researcher must be ensured by at least
one supervisor from the academic sector and one supervisor from the non-academic sector.
These arrangements will be taken into account during the evaluation of the proposal.
In EID and EJD, fellowships offered to early-stage researchers should lead to a doctoral
degree. EJD result in joint3, double or multiple doctoral degrees4 awarded by institutions from
at least two different countries, primarily within Europe.
In EID and EJD, enrolment in a doctoral programme and the creation of a joint governance
structure - with joint admission (EJD only), selection, supervision, monitoring and assessment
procedures - is mandatory. These arrangements will be taken into account during the
evaluation of the proposal.
Expected Impact:
At researcher level:
Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved
employability and career prospects both in and outside academia (leading in the longer-
term to more successful careers)
Increase in higher impact R&I output and more knowledge and ideas converted into
products and services
2
FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable.
3
Joint degree – a single diploma issued by at least two higher education institutions offering an integrated
programme and recognised officially in the countries where the degree-awarding institutions are established.
4
Double or multiple degree - two or more national diplomas issued by two or more higher education institutions
and recognised officially in the countries where the degree-awarding institutions are established.
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At organisation level:
Enhanced cooperation and better transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines
At system level:
Stronger links between the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher
Education Area (EHEA), notably through supporting the knowledge triangle between
research, innovation and education
Strengthening Europe's human capital base in R&I with a new generation of more
entrepreneurial and highly-skilled early career researchers
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
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2018
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
5
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
All topics of this call Members of consortium are required to conclude a consortium
agreement, in principle prior to the signature of the grant
agreement.
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Objective: The goal of the Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative
potential of experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in
terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.
Scope: Support is foreseen for individual, trans-national fellowships awarded to the best or
most promising researchers of any nationality, for employment in EU Member States or
Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. It is based on an application made jointly by the
researcher and the beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sectors.
Only one proposal per individual researcher per call will be evaluated.
Support to individuals to resume research in Europe after a career break, e.g. after parental
leave or due to recent migration, is ensured via a separate multi-disciplinary career restart
panel of the European Fellowships. To qualify for the career restart panel, researchers must
not have been active in research for a continuous period of at least 12 months within the 18
months immediately prior to the deadline for submission.
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Researchers seeking to work on research and innovation projects in an organisation from the
non-academic sector will be supported via a separate multi-disciplinary society and enterprise
panel of the European Fellowships. The objective of this panel is to facilitate career moves
between the academic and non-academic sectors, to stimulate innovation, and to open
attractive career opportunities for researchers outside academia.
The Widening Fellowships implemented through Work Programme part 15, Spreading
Excellence and Widening Participation, provide specific support to researchers to undertake
their fellowship in a widening country6. This will help spread excellence and close the still
apparent research and innovation gap within Europe.
Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a third country and a mandatory 12 month
return period to a European host. The researcher must comply with the rules of mobility in the
country where the Global Fellowship secondment takes place, not for the country of the return
phase.
A Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and the
researcher. In addition to research or innovation objectives, this plan comprises the
researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching,
planning for publications and participation in conferences.
Researchers participating in the Individual Fellowships may opt to work part-time in order to
pursue supplementary activities. These might include creating a company, or engaging in
advanced studies not related to the MSCA grant. Any supplementary activities carried out
part-time in parallel with the MSCA action must be agreed upon by the researcher and the
beneficiary.
Expected Impact:
At researcher level:
Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved
employability and career prospects both in and outside academia
6
These countries are aligned with Work Programme part 15, Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation.
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Increase in higher impact R&I output, more knowledge and ideas converted into
products and services
At organisation level:
At system level:
Strengthening of Europe's human capital base in R&I with more entrepreneurial and
better trained researchers
Type of Action: Career Restart panel, Reintegration panel, Standard European Fellowships,
Society and Enterprise panel, Global Fellowships
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
2018
7
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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MSCA-IF-2018 (MSCA-IF-EF-RI)
MSCA-IF-2018 (MSCA-IF-EF-ST)
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 10 pages, excluding the
CV of the researcher and the annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
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Objective: The RISE scheme promotes international and cross-sector collaboration through
exchanging research and innovation staff, and sharing knowledge and ideas from research to
market (and vice-versa).
The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and innovation that welcomes and rewards
creativity and entrepreneurship and helps to turn creative ideas into innovative products,
services or processes.
Scope: RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in
particular SMEs), based in Europe (EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated
Countries) and outside Europe (third countries).
Support is provided for the development of partnerships in the form of a joint research and
innovation project. This is aimed at knowledge sharing via international as well as
intersectoral mobility, based on secondments of research and innovation staff (exchanges)
with an in-built return mechanism.
RISE proposals can focus either on one dimension of mobility (intersectoral / international),
or include a combination of both.
Exchanges can be for both early-stage and experienced researchers and can also include
administrative, managerial and technical staff directly involved in the research and innovation
activities of the proposal.
Support for the exchanges between institutions within Europe (EU Member States and
Horizon 2020 Associated Countries) covers only intersectoral secondments.
8
Independence in the meaning of Article 8 of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation.
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Exchanges with institutions from and to third countries can be intersectoral as well as within
the same sector.
Expected Impact:
Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved
employability and career prospects both in and outside academia
Increase in higher impact R&I output, more knowledge and ideas converted into
products and services
At organisation level:
At system level:
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff
Exchange
9
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
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2018
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
All topics of this call Members of consortium are required to conclude a consortium
agreement, in principle prior to the signature of the grant
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agreement.
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This will be achieved by co-funding new or existing regional, national, and international
programmes to open up to, and provide for, international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary
research training, as well as transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all
stages of their career.
Scope: Each proposal funded under the COFUND scheme must have a sole beneficiary that
will be responsible for the availability of the necessary complementary funds to execute the
proposal.
Applicants having benefited from COFUND under previous calls (under the Seventh
Framework Programme or under Horizon 2020) must explain how their proposal adds value
in relation to the excellence and/or the impact award criteria, compared to their previous
grant(s). As an example, added value could take the form of increased networking with
organisations in less represented countries or capacity building measures there to further
structure the European Research Area.
Researchers supported under this scheme shall comply with the mobility rules of the Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions.
Limitations regarding the researchers' origin and destination should be avoided. Support
cannot be awarded to researchers who are already permanently employed by the organisation
hosting them.
Proposed programmes are encouraged to cover all research disciplines ("bottom-up"), but can
also focus on specific disciplines. In this case the range of covered disciplines should allow
reasonable flexibility for the researchers.
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supported. Synergies with the European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF) are
encouraged10.
A) Doctoral programmes
Doctoral programmes address the development and broadening of the research competencies
of early-stage researchers. The training follows the EU Principles on Innovative Doctoral
Training. Substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable
skills common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and
entrepreneurship will be supported. Collaboration with a wider set of partner organisations,
including from the non-academic sector, which may provide hosting or secondment
opportunities or training in research or transferable skills, as well as innovative and
interdisciplinary elements of the proposed programme, will be positively taken into account
during the evaluation.
Each researcher must be enrolled in a doctoral programme. Attention is paid to the quality of
supervision and mentoring arrangements as well as career guidance. The selection procedure
for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent and merit-based. The vacancy notice must
include the minimum gross salary offered to the researcher, as set out in the proposal.
B) Fellowship programmes
Fellowship programmes fund individual research training and career development fellowships
for experienced researchers. The programmes supported should have regular selection rounds
following fixed deadlines or regular cut-off dates, allowing fair competition between the
researchers applying. The selections should be based on open, widely advertised competition
(the vacancy notice must include the minimum gross salary offered to the researcher, as set
out in the proposal), with transparent international peer review and the selection of candidates
on merit. Mobility types supported by fellowship programmes may be similar to the ones
supported under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships. On top of transnational
mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of cross-sectoral mobility and
interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Fellowship programmes should be based on
individual-driven mobility, i.e., researchers should be able to freely choose a research topic
and the appropriate organisation to host them, fitting their individual needs.
Given that the aim of the co-funded fellowship programmes is the support of individual
fellows, research teams will not be funded.
Expected Impact:
At researcher level:
10
https://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/index.cfm?pg=synergies
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Augment and diversify the set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, that
will lead to improved employability and career prospects both in and outside academia
Forge new mind sets and approaches to research and innovation work through
interdisciplinary and intersectoral experience
Enhance networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as with
the general public, that will increase and broaden the research and innovation impact
At organisation level:
At system level:
Aligning of practices and policies in the context of the EU Human Resources Strategy
for Researchers (HRS4R), enhanced implementation of the Charter and Code and the EU
Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training at regional, national or international level
Improvement in the working and employment conditions for researchers in Europe at all
levels of their career, starting from the doctoral stage
Strengthening of Europe's human capital base in research and innovation and structuring
of a stronger European Research Area
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
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Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Co-funding of regional, national and
international programmes
2018
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
11
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
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Objective: The European Researchers' Night aims to bring researchers closer to the general
public and to increase awareness of research and innovation activities, with a view to
supporting the public recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of
researchers' work on citizen’s daily life, and encouraging young people to embark on
research careers.
Scope: The European Researchers' Night takes place yearly, typically starting on the last
Friday of the month of September, and is the occasion for a Europe-wide public and media
event for the promotion of research careers, in particular towards young people and their
families. Supported main events can last up to two full days: they can start on Friday and
continue the following day. Pre-events can also be organised during spring or summer, prior
to the main event in September.
Activities focus on the general public, addressing and attracting people regardless of the level
of their scientific background, with a special focus on pupils and students. Activities can
combine education aspects with entertainment, especially when addressing young audiences.
They can take various forms, e.g. hands-on experiments, science shows, simulations, debates,
games, competitions, quizzes, etc. The European Parliament and the Council designated 2018
as the ‘European Year of Cultural Heritage’. As a consequence, applicants are encouraged to
include activities relating to cultural heritage, where appropriate, in their events.
Each proposal should set up at least one European corner, providing general information
about the European Union and how the EU funds science and education cooperation within
Europe and beyond. Activities should be organised with researchers actively involved and
directly in contact with the public. They should promote the European dimension, gender
balance and inclusion in research and innovation. Involvement of researchers funded by
Horizon 2020, including the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, is highly encouraged.
Participants can be any legal entity in the EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated
Countries, and/or if relevant, constitute a partnership at regional, national or international
level. The maximum duration of support will be two years from the starting date specified in
the grant agreement. Proposals should cover two editions of the NIGHT in successive years,
but single editions will also be considered.
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High-quality applications not retained due to lack of funding may be granted the status of
associated events.
Expected Impact:
Increased awareness among the general public of the importance of research and
innovation and more favourable general attitude towards its public funding
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
2018
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
12
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The conditions are described in General Annexes B
and C of the work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The criteria, scoring and threshold are described in
General Annex H of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The procedure for setting a priority order for proposals with the same
score is given in General Annex H of the work programme. The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
All topics of this call Members of consortium are required to conclude a consortium
agreement, in principle prior to the signature of the grant
agreement.
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Special attention will be given to assess the effectiveness of existing measures in European
and national R&I programmes and to develop recommendations for policy-makers for
effective programmes addressing support to researchers at risk to continue their scientific
career in Europe, to find employment in line with their expertise and to support their
integration in society in Europe.13
The consortium should also build up cooperation with other related networks. It should also
increase visibility of these R&I programmes to potential beneficiaries, especially in the non-
academic sector. Therefore, particular focus should also be given to training schemes for
researchers at risk, in line with the recommendation set out in the Report of the independent
High Level Group on maximising the impact of EU Research & Innovation Programmes14.
This Coordination and Support Action should enable the enablers by facilitating the
establishment of sustainable and long-term support networks in Europe beyond its duration in
order to be prepared with contacts, guidance and support structures to assist researchers at
risk. This Action will support additional collaboration and peer-learning activities of existing
networks and organisations.
The following activities should inter alia be envisaged in order to address these goals:
13
“Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals”. Communication from the Commission to the
European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions COM(2016) 377 final, p. 4-5
14
“LAB – FAB – APP – Investing in the European future we want.” Report of the independent High Level Group
on maximising the impact of EU Research & Innovation Programmes, p.13
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Explore available national and European R&I programmes for researchers at risk and
produce targeted guidance materials,
Training and guidance for the application process for the MSCA and other relevant
support programmes,
Support for career development for researchers at risk, in the academic and non-
academic sector,
The focus throughout these activities should be on topics specific to MSCA in relation to
researchers at risk, in particular scientific excellence, skills and career development,
intersectoral mobility, entrepreneurship, equal opportunities and inclusiveness, attractive
working conditions, work/life balance, and lead to policy recommendations in this thematic
area. It should not duplicate other actions foreseen under Horizon 2020, notably
Science4Refugees. Furthermore, the activities should complement actions in Member States
and Associated Countries.
In order to ensure maximum inclusiveness, the consortium should gather a group of legal
entities from EU Member States and Associated Countries with broad experiences in the field
of supporting and integrating researchers at risk in Europe and beyond. Representatives from
other entities from EU Member States, Associated Countries or third countries from outside
the consortium might however be invited to participate in the CSA's activities (e.g. workshops
and conferences) for exchanging best practices.
The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the order
of EUR 1.5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. The
requested duration of support should not exceed three years from the starting date specified in
the grant agreement. Nevertheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of
proposals requesting other amounts or duration.
Expected Impact:
A more consistent and sustained level of preparedness for supporting researchers at risk
in Europe.
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The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
2018
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The conditions are described in General Annexes B
and C of the work programme. The following exceptions apply:
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The criteria, scoring and threshold are described in
General Annex H of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The procedure for setting a priority order for proposals with the same
score is given in General Annex H of the work programme.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
15
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
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Consortium agreement:
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Objective: The Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative,
entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future
challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and
social benefit.
ITN will raise excellence and structure research and doctoral training in Europe, extending
the traditional academic research training setting, incorporating elements of Open Science
and equipping researchers with the right combination of research-related and transferable
competences. It will provide enhanced career perspectives in both the academic and non-
academic sectors through international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility combined
with an innovation-oriented mind-set.
Scope: ITN supports competitively selected joint research training and/or doctoral
programmes, implemented by partnerships of universities, research institutions, research
infrastructures, businesses, SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries
across Europe and beyond.
Partnerships take the form of collaborative European Training Networks (ETN), European
Industrial Doctorates (EID) or European Joint Doctorates (EJD).
Each programme should have a clearly identified supervisory board co-ordinating network-
wide training and establishing active and continuous communication and exchange of best
practice among the participating organisations to maximise the benefits of the partnership.
Training responds to well identified needs in defined research areas, with appropriate
references to inter- and multidisciplinary fields and follows the EU Principles for Innovative
Doctoral Training. It should be primarily focused on scientific and technological knowledge
through research on individual, personalised projects.
In order to increase the employability of the researchers, the research training should be
complemented by the meaningful exposure of each researcher to the non-academic sector.
Secondments of the researcher to other beneficiaries and partner organisations are
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encouraged, but should be relevant, feasible, beneficial for the researchers and in line with the
project objectives.
Substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable skills
common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and
entrepreneurship will be supported.
In order to reflect the new modus operandi of research supporting the development of open
science, training should prepare early-stage researchers for increased research collaborations
and information-sharing made possible by new (digital) technologies (e.g. collaborative tools,
opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR 16 data management, public
engagement and citizen science, etc.).
A Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and each early-
stage researcher recruited by the selected network. In addition to research objectives, this plan
comprises the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills,
teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences.
Attention is paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well as career
guidance. Joint supervision of the researchers is mandatory for EJD and for EID, and
encouraged in ETN. In EID, the joint supervision of the researcher must be ensured by at least
one supervisor from the academic sector and one supervisor from the non-academic sector.
These arrangements will be taken into account during the evaluation of the proposal.
In EID and EJD, fellowships offered to early-stage researchers should lead to a doctoral
degree. EJD result in joint17, double or multiple doctoral degrees18 awarded by institutions
from at least two different countries, primarily within Europe.
In EID and EJD, enrolment in a doctoral programme and the creation of a joint governance
structure - with joint admission (EJD only), selection, supervision, monitoring and assessment
procedures - is mandatory. These arrangements will be taken into account during the
evaluation of the proposal.
Expected Impact:
At researcher level:
Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved
employability and career prospects both in and outside academia (leading in the longer-
term to more successful careers)
16
FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable.
17
Joint degree – a single diploma issued by at least two higher education institutions offering an integrated
programme and recognised officially in the countries where the degree-awarding institutions are established.
18
Double or multiple degree - two or more national diplomas issued by two or more higher education institutions
and recognised officially in the countries where the degree-awarding institutions are established.
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Increase in higher impact R&I output and more knowledge and ideas converted into
products and services
At organisation level:
Enhanced cooperation and better transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines
At system level:
Stronger links between the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher
Education Area (EHEA), notably through supporting the knowledge triangle between
research, innovation and education
Strengthening Europe's human capital base in R&I with a new generation of more
entrepreneurial and highly-skilled early career researchers
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
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2019
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
19
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
The budget amounts for the 2019 budget are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the
draft budget for 2019 after the adoption of the budget 2019 by the budgetary authority or, if the budget is not
adopted, as provided for in the system of provisional twelfths.
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All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
All topics of this call Members of consortium are required to conclude a consortium
agreement, in principle prior to the signature of the grant
agreement.
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Objective: The goal of the Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative
potential of experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in
terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.
Scope: Support is foreseen for individual, trans-national fellowships awarded to the best or
most promising researchers of any nationality, for employment in EU Member States or
Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. It is based on an application made jointly by the
researcher and the beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sectors.
Only one proposal per individual researcher per call will be evaluated.
Support to individuals to resume research in Europe after a career break, e.g. after parental
leave or due to recent migration, is ensured via a separate multi-disciplinary career restart
panel of the European Fellowships. To qualify for the career restart panel, researchers must
not have been active in research for a continuous period of at least 12 months within the 18
months immediately prior to the deadline for submission.
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Researchers seeking to work on research and innovation projects in an organisation from the
non-academic sector will be supported via a separate multi-disciplinary society and enterprise
panel of the European Fellowships. The objective of this panel is to facilitate career moves
between the academic and non-academic sectors, to stimulate innovation, and to open
attractive career opportunities for researchers outside academia.
The Widening Fellowships implemented through Work Programme part 15, Spreading
Excellence and Widening Participation, provide specific support to researchers to undertake
their fellowship in a widening country20. This will help spread excellence and close the still
apparent research and innovation gap within Europe.
Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a third country and a mandatory 12 month
return period to a European host. The researcher must comply with the rules of mobility in the
country where the Global Fellowship secondment takes place, not for the country of the return
phase.
A Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and the
researcher. In addition to research or innovation objectives, this plan comprises the
researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching,
planning for publications and participation in conferences.
Researchers participating in the Individual Fellowships may opt to work part-time in order to
pursue supplementary activities. These might include creating a company, or engaging in
advanced studies not related to the MSCA grant. Any supplementary activities carried out
part-time in parallel with the MSCA action must be agreed upon by the researcher and the
beneficiary.
Expected Impact:
At researcher level:
Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved
employability and career prospects both in and outside academia
20
These countries are aligned with Work Programme part 15, Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation.
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Increase in higher impact R&I output, more knowledge and ideas converted into
products and services
At organisation level:
At system level:
Strengthening of Europe's human capital base in R&I with more entrepreneurial and
better trained researchers
Type of Action: Career Restart panel, Reintegration panel, Standard European Fellowships,
Society and Enterprise panel, Global Fellowships
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
2019
21
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
The budget amounts for the 2019 budget are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the
draft budget for 2019 after the adoption of the budget 2019 by the budgetary authority or, if the budget is not
adopted, as provided for in the system of provisional twelfths.
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Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 10 pages, excluding the
CV of the researcher and the annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
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Objective: The RISE scheme promotes international and cross-sector collaboration through
exchanging research and innovation staff, and sharing knowledge and ideas from research to
market (and vice-versa).
The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and innovation that welcomes and rewards
creativity and entrepreneurship and helps to turn creative ideas into innovative products,
services or processes.
Scope: RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in
particular SMEs), based in Europe (EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated
Countries) and outside Europe (third countries).
Support is provided for the development of partnerships in the form of a joint research and
innovation project. This is aimed at knowledge sharing via international as well as
intersectoral mobility, based on secondments of research and innovation staff (exchanges)
with an in-built return mechanism.
RISE proposals can focus either on one dimension of mobility (intersectoral / international),
or include a combination of both.
Exchanges can be for both early-stage and experienced researchers and can also include
administrative, managerial and technical staff directly involved in the research and innovation
activities of the proposal.
Support for the exchanges between institutions within Europe (EU Member States and
Horizon 2020 Associated Countries) covers only intersectoral secondments.
22
Independence in the meaning of Article 8 of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation.
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Exchanges with institutions from and to third countries can be intersectoral as well as within
the same sector.
Expected Impact:
Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, leading to improved
employability and career prospects both in and outside academia
Increase in higher impact R&I output, more knowledge and ideas converted into
products and services
At organisation level:
At system level:
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff
Exchange
23
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
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2019
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
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All topics of this call Members of consortium are required to conclude a consortium
agreement, in principle prior to the signature of the grant
agreement.
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This will be achieved by co-funding new or existing regional, national, and international
programmes to open up to, and provide for, international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary
research training, as well as transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all
stages of their career.
Scope: Each proposal funded under the COFUND scheme must have a sole beneficiary that
will be responsible for the availability of the necessary complementary funds to execute the
proposal.
Applicants having benefited from COFUND under previous calls (under the Seventh
Framework Programme or under Horizon 2020) must explain how their proposal adds value
in relation to the excellence and/or the impact award criteria, compared to their previous
grant(s). As an example, added value could take the form of increased networking with
organisations in less represented countries or capacity building measures there to further
structure the European Research Area.
Researchers supported under this scheme shall comply with the mobility rules of the Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions.
Limitations regarding the researchers' origin and destination should be avoided. Support
cannot be awarded to researchers who are already permanently employed by the organisation
hosting them.
Proposed programmes are encouraged to cover all research disciplines ("bottom-up"), but can
also focus on specific disciplines. In this case the range of covered disciplines should allow
reasonable flexibility for the researchers.
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supported. Synergies with the European Structural & Investment Funds (ESIF) are
encouraged24.
A) Doctoral programmes
Doctoral programmes address the development and broadening of the research competencies
of early-stage researchers. The training follows the EU Principles on Innovative Doctoral
Training. Substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable
skills common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and
entrepreneurship will be supported. Collaboration with a wider set of partner organisations,
including from the non-academic sector, which may provide hosting or secondment
opportunities or training in research or transferable skills, as well as innovative and
interdisciplinary elements of the proposed programme, will be positively taken into account
during the evaluation.
Each researcher must be enrolled in a doctoral programme. Attention is paid to the quality of
supervision and mentoring arrangements as well as career guidance. The selection procedure
for doctoral candidates must be open, transparent and merit-based. The vacancy notice must
include the minimum gross salary offered to the researcher, as set out in the proposal.
B) Fellowship programmes
Fellowship programmes fund individual research training and career development fellowships
for experienced researchers. The programmes supported should have regular selection rounds
following fixed deadlines or regular cut-off dates, allowing fair competition between the
researchers applying. The selections should be based on open, widely advertised competition
(the vacancy notice must include the minimum gross salary offered to the researcher, as set
out in the proposal), with transparent international peer review and the selection of candidates
on merit. Mobility types supported by fellowship programmes may be similar to the ones
supported under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships. On top of transnational
mobility, applicants are encouraged to include elements of cross-sectoral mobility and
interdisciplinarity into their programmes. Fellowship programmes should be based on
individual-driven mobility, i.e., researchers should be able to freely choose a research topic
and the appropriate organisation to host them, fitting their individual needs.
Given that the aim of the co-funded fellowship programmes is the support of individual
fellows, research teams will not be funded.
Expected Impact:
At researcher level:
24
https://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/index.cfm?pg=synergies
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Augment and diversify the set of skills, both research-related and transferable ones, that
will lead to improved employability and career prospects both in and outside academia
Forge new mind sets and approaches to research and innovation work through
interdisciplinary and intersectoral experience
Enhance networking and communication capacities with scientific peers, as well as with
the general public, that will increase and broaden the research and innovation impact
At organisation level:
At system level:
Aligning of practices and policies in the context of the EU Human Resources Strategy
for Researchers (HRS4R), enhanced implementation of the Charter and Code and the EU
Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training at regional, national or international level
Improvement in the working and employment conditions for researchers in Europe at all
levels of their career, starting from the doctoral stage
Strengthening of Europe's human capital base in research and innovation and structuring
of a stronger European Research Area
The conditions related to this topic are provided at the end of this call and in the General
Annexes.
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Conditions for the Call - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Co-funding of regional, national and
international programmes
2019
Information on the outcome of the evaluation: Maximum 5 months from the final date
for submission; and
Indicative date for the signing of grant agreements: Maximum 8 months from the final
date for submission.
Eligibility and admissibility conditions: The admissibility conditions are described in General
Annex B of the work programme. The eligibility conditions for Marie Skłodowska-Curie
actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the
work programme.
Evaluation criteria, scoring and threshold: The selection criteria are described in General
Annex H of the work programme. The award criteria, scoring and threshold for Marie
Skłodowska-Curie actions apply. Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-
Curie part of the work programme.
Evaluation Procedure: The evaluation procedure for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions applies.
Please read the dedicated section in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie part of the work programme.
The following exceptions apply:
25
The Director-General responsible for the call may decide to open the call up to one month prior to or after the
envisaged date(s) of opening.
The Director-General responsible may delay the deadline(s) by up to two months.
All deadlines are at 17.00.00 Brussels local time.
The budget amounts for the 2019 budget are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the
draft budget for 2019 after the adoption of the budget 2019 by the budgetary authority or, if the budget is not
adopted, as provided for in the system of provisional twelfths.
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All topics of this call The maximum length of a proposal is 30 pages, excluding the
annexes.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
Consortium agreement:
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Other actions26
During 2018 and 2019, the Commission will organise several events (conferences and
workshops) dedicated to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, and to contribute to leading
research conferences. Moreover, a dedicated campaign will be organised to ensure the
visibility of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and funded projects to the general public.
Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2018 budget and EUR 0.50 million from the
2019 budget
2. Studies
Studies will be contracted to provide in-depth analysis of various aspects relevant for the
successful implementation of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and for the preparation of
their successor programme.
Indicative budget: EUR 0.20 million from the 2018 budget and EUR 0.20 million from the
2019 budget
3. External expertise
This action will support the use of appointed independent experts for the monitoring of
running actions under Horizon 2020 and FP7 where appropriate. A special allowance of EUR
450/day will be paid to the experts appointed in their personal capacity who act independently
and in the public interest.
26
The budget amounts for the 2019 budget are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the
draft budget for 2019 after the adoption of the budget 2019 by the budgetary authority or, if the budget is not
adopted, as provided for in the system of provisional twelfths.
The budget amounts for the 2020 budget are indicative and will be subject to separate financing decisions to
cover the amounts to be allocated for 2020.
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Indicative budget: EUR 0.80 million from the 2018 budget and EUR 0.90 million from the
2019 budget
4. Presidency conference(s)
A MSCA Presidency conference will be organised by the Austrian Presidency in the second
half of 2018 and by the Romanian Presidency in the first half of 2019. The actions will be
implemented through a grant to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and
Research (BMBWF) and the Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research,
Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI). The conferences will be part of the
official series of Austrian and Romanian Council of the EU Presidency conferences. The
grants will be awarded to the competent Ministry or Agency, which is best placed to organise
such a conference due to its expertise and administrative power27.
Legal entities:
Romanian Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation
Funding (UEFISCDI)
Indicative budget: EUR 0.15 million from the 2018 budget and EUR 0.15 million from the
2019 budget
5. Introductory Training
Optional introductory training for all MSCA fellows will be organised through an online
training module, including explanatory videos. This will enable fellows to receive specific
training in areas that will empower them to become leaders of the new generation of
researchers (such as training in open science, responsible research and innovation) and
provide them with useful information regarding their careers as MSCA researchers (rights and
obligations as fellows, EU support to innovation, possibilities for international collaboration
in research and innovation).
27
These grants will be awarded without call for proposals in line with Article 190(1)(e) of the Rules of applications
of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 966/2012, Regulation No 1268/2012 and Article 11(2) of the Rules for
participation and dissemination in "Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
(2014-2020)", Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013.
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Indicative budget: EUR 0.50 million from the 2018 budget and EUR 0.15 million from the
2019 budget
The MSCA pay particular attention to physical accessibility and inclusion and foresee
financial support for the additional costs entailed by recruited or seconded researchers/staff
members with disabilities whose long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory
impairments28 are as such that their participation in MSCA would not be possible without
extra financial support.
Therefore, in addition to the amounts set out in the table below, beneficiaries will be able to
apply to the Research Executive Agency for a dedicated special needs grant in ITN, IF, RISE
and COFUND. This grant, which takes the form of a Coordination and Support Action (CSA)
will cover the additional costs that researchers/staff members with disabilities face due to the
increased costs of their mobility. It can also be used to ensure necessary assistance by third
persons or for adapting their work environment 29. It cannot cover costs which are already
covered by another source, such as social security or health insurance.
A request for such an allowance can be made by the beneficiary. The request must include an
estimated budget and explain the specific participation need(s) of the researcher/staff member
concerned. The Agency will evaluate the request and decide on the basis of the needs of the
researcher/staff member and budget availability.
The special needs allowance will take the form of a lump sum awarded in the form of a low
value grant to an identified beneficiary and will cover up to 100% of eligible costs30. It will be
limited to a maximum of EUR 60,000 per researcher/staff member and will be available as of
Q1 2019.
Only researchers/staff members with disabilities who are eligible researchers/staff members
under a Horizon 2020 MSCA grant are eligible for the special needs grant.
28
See Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
29
See Article 5 of the Council Directive 2000/78/Ec of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for
equal treatment in employment and occupation
30
This grant will be awarded without call for proposals in line with Article 190(1)(e) of the Rules of applications of
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 966/2012, Regulation No 1268/2012 and Article 11(2) of the Rules for participation
and dissemination in "Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020)",
Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013.
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7. Alumni Services
To further increase the impact of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, networking between
Marie Skłodowska-Curie researchers (current and past) will be enhanced through the
implementation of alumni services. This could be extended to include Marie Skłodowska-
Curie supervisors.
Indicative budget: EUR 1.01 million from the 2018 budget and EUR 1.01 million from the
2019 budget
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H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020
Expected impact:
The Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative,
entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future
challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and
social benefit.
ITN will raise excellence and structure research and doctoral training in Europe, extending the
traditional academic research training setting, incorporating elements of Open Science and
equipping researchers with the right combination of research-related and transferable
competences. It will provide enhanced career perspectives in both the academic and non-
academic sectors through international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility combined
with an innovation-oriented mind-set.
Indicative timetable:
Indicative budget:
Topics:
MSCA-ITN-2020 (MSCA-ITN-ETN)
MSCA-ITN-2020 (MSCA-ITN-EID)
MSCA-ITN-2020 (MSCA-ITN-EJD)
H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
31
The budget amounts for the 2020 budget are indicative and will be subject to a separate financing decision to
cover the amounts to be allocated for 2020.
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Expected impact:
The goal of the Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of
experienced researchers, wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill
acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.
Indicative timetable:
Indicative budget:
Topics:
- MSCA-IF-2020 (MSCA-IF-EF-CAR)
- MSCA-IF-2020 (MSCA-IF-EF-RI)
- MSCA-IF-2020 (MSCA-IF-EF-ST)
- MSCA-IF-2020 (MSCA-IF-EF-SE)
- MSCA-IF-2020 (MSCA-IF-GF)
H2020-MSCA-RISE-2020
Expected impact:
The RISE scheme promotes international and inter-sector collaboration through research and
innovation staff exchanges, and sharing of knowledge and ideas from research to market (and
vice-versa).
The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and innovation that welcomes and rewards
creativity and entrepreneurship and helps to turn creative ideas into innovative products,
services or processes.
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Indicative timetable:
Indicative budget:
Topics
- MSCA-RISE-2020 (MSCA-RISE)
H2020-MSCA-COFUND-2020
Expected impact:
This will be achieved by co-funding new or existing regional, national, and international
programmes to open up to, and provide for, international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary
research training, as well as transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all
stages of their career.
Indicative timetable:
Indicative budget:
Topics:
- MSCA-COFUND-2020 (MSCA-COFUND-DP)
- MSCA-COFUND-2020 (MSCA-COFUND-FP)
H2020-MSCA-NIGHT-2020
Expected impact:
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The European Researchers' Night aims to bring researchers closer to the general public and to
increase awareness of research and innovation activities, with a view to supporting the public
recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of researchers' work on
citizen’s daily life, and encouraging young people to embark on research careers.
Indicative timetable
Indicative budget:
Topics:
- MSCA-NIGHT-2020 (CSA)
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2. External expertise
3. Studies
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Budget32
Calls
H2020-MSCA-ITN- 456.68
2018
from 456.68
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-IF-2018 273.00
from 273.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-RISE- 80.00
2018
from 80.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA- 80.00
COFUND-2018
from 80.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-NIGHT- 12.00
2018
from 12.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-RR- 1.50
2018
from 1.50
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-ITN- 470.00
2019
from 470.00
15.030101
32
The budget figures given in this table are rounded to two decimal places.
The budget amounts for the 2019 budget are subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the
draft budget for 2019 after the adoption of the budget 2019 by the budgetary authority or, if the budget is not
adopted, as provided for in the system of provisional twelfths.
The budget amounts for the 2020 budget are indicative and will be subject to separate financing decisions to
cover the amounts to be allocated for 2020.
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H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 294.49
from 294.49
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-RISE- 80.00
2019
from 80.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA- 90.00
COFUND-2019
from 90.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-ITN- 525.00
2020
from 525.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 324.00
from 324.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-RISE- 80.00
2020
from 80.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA- 100.00
COFUND-2020
from 100.00
15.030101
H2020-MSCA-NIGHT- 8.00
2020
from 8.00
15.030101
Other actions
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15.030101
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Proposal
A proposal will only be considered eligible if it complies with the eligibility conditions set out
in this section, depending on the type of Marie Skłodowska-Curie action. This section also
contains the cost eligibility conditions which apply during action implementation but which
cannot be verified at proposal stage.
Participating organisations
1. MSCA actions must fulfil the minimum conditions concerning participating
organisations:
For IF:
The beneficiary must be a legal entity established33 in an EU Member State or Horizon
2020 Associated Country and must employ and supervise the researcher during the
action. This is a mono-beneficiary action. Only proposals foreseeing one single
beneficiary are eligible.
In addition to the above, for the IF European Fellowship (EF) Society and Enterprise
Panel, the beneficiary must be an entity from the non-academic sector.
For ITN:
For ITN European Training Networks (ETN) and ITN European Joint Doctorates
(EJD): the consortium must be composed of at least three beneficiaries established in
three different EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. All three legal
entities must be independent of each other.
In order to reach the objectives of EJD, at least three beneficiaries must be entitled to
award doctoral degrees34. A beneficiary from the academic sector, which has transferred
the right of awarding a doctoral degree to a consortium/grouping of academic/research
institutions to which it belongs to, is also eligible. Letters of commitment to award the
joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees must be included in the proposal. At least two-
thirds of the supported early-stage researchers within an EJD must be enrolled in a joint,
double or multiple degree within Europe, i.e. between two or more beneficiaries/partner
organisations established in EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries.
The remaining supported researchers must also be enrolled in a programme that results in
a joint, double or multiple degree awarded by at least one European participating
organisation. Applicants must indicate at the proposal level from which institution(s) a
researcher is supposed to receive the degree(s).
33
For international organisations: the term 'established' refers always to the country where the organisation is
located.
34
For EJD, at least two institutions conferring a joint, double or multiple doctoral degree must be established in
an EU Member State and/or Horizon 2020 Associated Country.
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For ITN European Industrial Doctorates (EID): the consortium must be composed of
at least two independent beneficiaries established in two different EU Member States or
Horizon 2020 Associated Countries.
Given the nature of EID, at least one beneficiary must be from the academic sector and at
least one beneficiary must come from the non-academic sector, primarily enterprises.
Should none of the academic beneficiaries be entitled to award a doctoral degree35, a
university or a consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions entitled to award a
doctoral degree must be associated to the project as a partner organisation or as an entity
with a capital or legal link.
For all ITN: all beneficiaries are required to host at their premises and supervise
recruited researchers, or use entities with a legal or capital link to host and supervise
them. For ETN, all beneficiaries must recruit at least one researcher. For EID and EJD,
researchers can either be recruited by a beneficiary and sent to the other beneficiaries,
partner organisations or entities with a legal or capital link for the time foreseen in Annex
1, or they can be recruited separately by each beneficiary for the period of time they
spend there.
The overall EU contribution for ITN actions is limited to a maximum of 540 person-
months. For EID with only two beneficiaries, this limit is set to 180 person-months.
Not more than 40.0% of the requested EU contribution may be allocated to beneficiaries
in the same country or to any one international European interest organisation or
international organisation (except for EID with only two beneficiaries).
For RISE: the consortium must be created by at least three legal entities, independent of
each other and established in at least three different countries. At least two of them must
be beneficiaries established in an EU Member State or Horizon 2020 Associated Country.
If all participating organisations are from the same sector (i.e. either only academic or
only non-academic), there must be at least one partner organisation from a third country.
Above this minimum, the participation of beneficiaries/partner organisations from any
country is possible under the conditions provided by the Horizon 2020 Rules for
Participation Regulation No 1290/2013.
For RISE actions, only legal entities that are established in EU Member States or Horizon
2020 Associated Countries can be beneficiaries; only legal entities that are established in
third countries can be partner organisations.
The overall EU contribution for RISE actions is limited to a maximum 540 person-
months.
For COFUND: the beneficiary must be a legal entity established in an EU Member State
or Horizon 2020 Associated Country that funds or implements doctoral programmes or
fellowship programmes for researchers. This is a mono-beneficiary action. Only
proposals foreseeing one single beneficiary are eligible.
35
Every time the document refers to doctoral degrees, this means that the degrees have to be recognised as such
by the relevant authorities of the country or countries concerned.
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The eligibility criteria formulated in Commission notice Nr 2013/C 205/05 (OJEU C 205
of 19.07.2013, pp. 9-11) apply for all actions under this part of the Work Programme,
including to partner organisations and to third parties that receive financial support under
the action (in accordance with Article 137 of the Financial Regulation No 966/2012),
notably COFUND.
Natural or legal persons, groups or non-State entities which are covered by the Council
sanctions in force are not eligible to participate in EU programmes. (Please see the
consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to EU sanctions, available at:
http://eeas.europa.eu/cfsp/sanctions/consol-list_en.htm.)
Given that the EU does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol,
legal persons established in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the city of Sevastopol
are not eligible to participate in any capacity. This criterion also applies in cases where
the action involves financial support given by grant beneficiaries to third parties
established in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or the city of Sevastopol (in
accordance with Article 137 of the Financial Regulation No 966/2012). Should the illegal
annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol end, this
Work Programme will be revised.
Note:
1. Once the minimum eligibility conditions are fulfilled and provided that the conditions laid
down in this Work Programme are met, any other organisation from any country may
participate – under the conditions set out in Part A of the General Annexes to the Work
Programme.
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'Partner organisations' contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the grant
agreement. Partner organisations may not employ the researchers under the action36.
Partner organisations identified in the proposal must include a letter of commitment 37 (with
the proposal) to ensure their real and active participation in the network. (The contribution of
any partner organisations for which no such evidence of commitment is submitted will not be
taken into account during evaluation).
When partner organisations are involved, beneficiaries are encouraged to sign a partnership
agreement with them (for the internal relationship between participating organisations).
These partnership agreements must comply with the grant agreement.
'Entities with a legal or capital link' are organisations with an established relationship with
the beneficiary (ITN/IF) or the beneficiary or partner organisation (RISE) which is not
limited to the action nor specifically created for its implementation. These entities implement
certain action tasks described in Annex 1 of the grant agreement, i.e. hosting and training of
researchers in ITN and IF and hosting and seconding staff in RISE. Such entities may not
employ the researcher under the action and must fulfil the same conditions for participation
and funding under H2020 as the beneficiary/partner organisation they are linked to. The
involvement of such entities must be clearly described in the proposal and will be assessed as
part of the evaluation.
'Academic sector' means public or private higher education establishments awarding
academic degrees, public or private non-profit research institutes whose primary mission is
to pursue research, and international European interest organisations38.
'Non-academic sector' means any socio-economic actor not included in the academic sector
and fulfilling the requirements of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation. This includes all
fields of future workplaces of researchers, from industry to business, government, civil society
organisations, cultural institutions, hospitals, etc.
36
For COFUND and the IF Global Fellowships outgoing phase, this restriction does not apply: In COFUND,
partner organisations implementing the action can employ the researchers. In IF Global Fellowships, the
outgoing host partner organisation can conclude an additional employment contract with the researcher to ensure
adequate medical/social insurance in the outgoing country.
37
Except in IF for partner organisations established in EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated
Countries.
38
'International European interest organisation' means an international organisation, the majority of whose
members are EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries, and whose principal objective is to
promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe (see Article 2.1(12) of the Horizon 2020 Rules for
Participation Regulation No 1290/2013).
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2. Supported researchers and staff members may be of any nationality. They must move from
one country to another to broaden or deepen their competences.
For IF Global Fellowships (GF) and the European Fellowships (EF) Reintegration Panel: the
researchers must be nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon 2020
Associated Countries. Long-term residence means a period of legal and continuous residence
within EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries of at least 5 consecutive
years. Periods of absence from the territory of the Member State or Horizon 2020 Associated
Country shall be taken into account for the calculation of this period where they are shorter
than 6 consecutive months and do not exceed in total ten months within this period.
Researchers who are refugees in a Member State or Horizon 2020 Associated Country
according to the Geneva Convention39 may also apply to the Reintegration Panel, irrespective
of whether they are long-term residents or not, if they fulfil the other eligibility conditions.
3. For ITN, IF and COFUND: supported researchers must be either early-stage or
experienced researchers, depending on the action:
For ITN and COFUND Doctoral Programmes (DP): researchers must be early-stage
researchers (ESR), i.e. at the date of recruitment (ITN) or at the date of recruitment or the
deadline of the co-funded programme's call (COFUND DP), be in the first four years (full-
time equivalent research experience) of their research careers and have not been awarded a
doctoral degree.
For IF and COFUND Fellowship Programmes (FP): researchers must be experienced
researchers (ER), i.e. at the date of the call deadline (for IF) or at the date of recruitment
or the deadline of the co-funded programme's call (for COFUND FP), be in possession of a
doctoral degree40 or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience.
Note:
'Full-time equivalent research experience' is measured from the date when the researcher
obtained the degree entitling him/her to embark on a doctorate (either in the country in which
the degree was obtained or in the country in which the researcher is recruited or from where
he/she is seconded) – even if a doctorate was never started or envisaged.
For RISE: supported staff members must be (early-stage or experienced) researchers or
administrative, managerial or technical staff supporting the research and innovation activities
under the action. They must be actively engaged in or linked to research and/or innovation
activities for at least one month (full-time equivalent) at the sending institution41, before the
first period of secondment.
39
1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
40
A medical doctor degree will not be accepted by itself as equivalent to a doctoral degree. To be considered as
experienced researchers, medical doctors need to provide the certificates of a doctoral degree or information on
their research experience.
41
If it is necessary to implement the action, the beneficiaries/partner organisations may call upon entities with a
capital or legal link to the beneficiaries/partner organisations, to implement certain action tasks described in
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4. For ITN, IF and COFUND: researchers must comply with the mobility rule42.
Researchers may not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the
country of their host organisation for more than 12 months in the three years immediately
before the reference date: the call deadline (IF), or recruitment (ITN) or at the date of
recruitment or the deadline of the co-funded programme's call (COFUND).
For 'international European interest organisations', 'international organisations', the EU's Joint
Research Centre (JRC) or an 'entity created under Union law', the researchers may not have
spent more than 12 months in the three years immediately before the call
deadline/recruitment, in the same appointing organisation.
For the IF Society and Enterprise Panel, Career Restart Panel, Reintegration Panel and
equivalent activities under COFUND, researchers may not have resided or carried out their
main activity in the country of their host organisation for more than three years in the five
years immediately before the reference date.
Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a
procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention 43 are not taken into
account.
For RISE: secondments are not subject to a mobility rule.
5. The minimum/maximum duration of the funded recruitment (on the basis of full-time
work/secondment) is:
For ITN:
Secondments are possible for up to 30% of the fellowship duration (except for EID and
EJD – where time spent at other beneficiaries [EID] and beneficiaries or partner
organisations [EJD], in line with the proposal description, is not affected by this
limitation). Secondments in ITN of six months or less which require mobility from the
place of residence must be financed using the Research, Training and Networking costs
in order to prevent an unreasonable financial burden for the early-stage researchers.
For ITN EID, researchers must spend at least 50% of their time in the non-academic
sector. Any inter-sectoral mobility between academic and non-academic beneficiaries
must be international (i.e. between beneficiaries established in different countries). The
Annex 1 of the grant agreement (see Article 8 to the Model Grant Agreement). The involvement of such entities
must be clearly described in the proposal and will be assessed as part of the evaluation.
42
Existing programmes applying for COFUND can deviate from this rule if duly justified in the proposal by the
applicant.
43
1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
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For IF:
For all IF, a secondment in Europe is possible. For a fellowship of 18 months or less, the
secondment phase may last up to three months. For a fellowship of more than 18 months,
the secondment phase may last up to six months. Time spent at the beneficiary or a
partner organisation in Europe before the outgoing phase in the Global Fellowships will
be considered a secondment and is limited to a maximum of 3 months.
For RISE:
Secondments may be split into several stays not exceeding 12 months in total and not
going beyond the project duration. The splits must be justified and considered beneficial
for the transfer of knowledge activities.
The exchanged staff members must be guaranteed reintegration into the sending
institution, thus maximising the impact of the action for knowledge sharing and long-term
collaboration.
For COFUND:
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For COFUND: 60 months from the starting date set out in the grant agreement.
For ITN and COFUND, the maximum duration also includes the time that is needed to recruit
or select the researchers.
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Quality, innovative aspects and Enhancing the career prospects and Coherence and effectiveness
credibility of the research employability of researchers and of the work plan, including
programme (including contribution to their skills development appropriateness of the allocation
inter/multidisciplinary, intersectoral of tasks and resources,
and, where appropriate, gender (including awarding of the
aspects) doctoral degrees for EID and
EJD projects)
Quality of the proposed Quality of the proposed measures to Competences, experience and
interaction between the communicate the project activities to complementarity of the
participating organisations different target audiences participating organisations
and their commitment to the
programme
Weighting
1 2 3
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Quality and credibility of the Enhancing the future career Coherence and effectiveness of
research/innovation project; level prospects of the researcher after the the work plan, including
of novelty, appropriate fellowship appropriateness of the allocation
consideration of of tasks and resources
inter/multidisciplinary and gender
aspects
Quality of the supervision and of Quality of the proposed measures to Appropriateness of the
the integration in the communicate the project activities to institutional environment
team/institution different target audiences (infrastructure)
Weighting
1 2 3
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Quality and credibility of the Enhancing the potential and future Coherence and effectiveness
research/innovation project; level career prospects of the staff of the work plan, including
of novelty and appropriate members appropriateness of the allocation
consideration of of tasks and resources
inter/multidisciplinary, intersectoral
and gender aspects
Weighting
1 2 3
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Quality of the selection / Enhancing the potential and future Coherence, effectiveness and
recruitment process for the career prospects of researchers; appropriateness of the work
researchers (transparency, Strengthening human resources on plan
composition and organisation of regional, national or international level
selection committees, evaluation
criteria, equal opportunities)
Quality of career guidance and Quality of the proposed measures to Competence of the participant
training, including supervision exploit and disseminate the results to implement the programme
arrangements, training in
transferable skills
Weighting
1 2 3
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Evaluation procedure
1. In ITN, IF and RISE, proposals will normally be evaluated by one of eight 'main
evaluation panels': Chemistry (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic
Sciences (ECO), Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences
(ENV), Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY).
For ITN European Industrial Doctorates (EID) and European Joint Doctorates (EJD),
proposals will be ranked in specific multidisciplinary panels.
For IF, there are – in addition to the main evaluation panels – three separate multidisciplinary
panels: Society and Enterprise Panel (SE), Career Restart Panel (CAR) and the Reintegration
Panel (RI).
In COFUND, the evaluation will be organised in two different panels: Doctoral programmes
(DP) and Fellowship programmes (FP).
Each panel establishes a ranked list.
The distribution of the indicative budget of the call will be proportional to the number of
eligible proposals received in each panel, except where a specific budget for a
multidisciplinary panel has been fixed in the call. However, there is a higher weighting for the
proposals of the IF Career Restart Panel (CAR) and the IF Reintegration Panel (RI). During
the budget distribution, the CAR eligible proposals will have a weighting of 2 times the
weighting of the eligible proposals in the other panels. The same applies to RI, except the
weighting will be 1.5 times higher than normal. If the budget allocated to any panel exceeds
the requirements of all proposals positively evaluated44 in that panel, the excess budget will be
reallocated to the other panels based on the distribution as above. Equally, if the allocated
funding to a panel is insufficient to fund the highest ranked proposal in that panel, the
necessary budget will be transferred from the other panels based on the distribution as above,
in order to ensure that the highest ranked proposal can be funded. In order to ensure budget
optimisation and an equitable success rate across panels, the excess budget remaining after the
initial allocation of funding to the proposals in the panels may be transferred between panels.
2. Proposals will not be evaluated anonymously.
3. Proposals may be evaluated remotely.
4. In ITN and IF, the consensus score for each award criterion may be the average of the
corresponding scores attributed by the individual expert evaluators.
5. As part of the evaluation by independent experts, a panel review will recommend one or
more ranked lists for the proposals under evaluation, following the scoring systems indicated
in this work programme.
The full evaluation procedure is described in the relevant guide published on the Participant
Portal.
44
Measured as proposals having passed all relevant evaluation thresholds.
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1. ITN / IF / COFUND
The beneficiary (beneficiary or partner organisation in COFUND) must recruit each eligible
researcher under an employment contract or 'equivalent direct contract' with full social
security coverage (including sickness, parental, unemployment and invalidity benefits,
pension rights, benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases) except
where national legislation or the equivalent internal regulations of IEIOs, the EU's Joint
Research Centre (JRC), an 'entity created under Union law' or an international organisation,
prohibit this possibility.
ITN / IF
The yearly reference rates for calculating the living allowance of researchers recruited under
an employment contract/ equivalent direct contract are:
The above amounts include all compulsory deductions under national legislation. Rates for
individual countries are obtained by applying the country correction coefficients of table 2.
The beneficiary must pay to the recruited researchers at least the reference allowances (minus
all compulsory deductions under national legislation in the context of the project). A top-up
may be paid to the researchers in order to complement this contribution.
In addition to the living allowance, the beneficiary must pay a mobility allowance and for
some categories of researchers, a family allowance, as specified in table 1. In this context
family is defined as persons linked to the researcher by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with
equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country or region where
this relationship was formalised; or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained
by the researcher.
45
COMMISSION DECISION amending Decision C(2013)8194 authorising the use of reimbursement on the
basis of unit costs for Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
46
Researcher unit cost in case of COFUND
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Horizon 2020 - Work Programme 2018-2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
The rates from table 1 apply to researchers devoting themselves to their project on a full-time
basis (pro-rata for parts of years). Researchers may, in agreement with the supervisor and
beneficiary and with prior approval by the Research Executive Agency (REA), implement
their project on a part-time basis. Such a request may be introduced during the action
implementation.
Part-time work due to personal or family reasons can be requested for all researchers in
ITN, IF and COFUND;
for researchers recruited under an employment contract: not lower than EUR 2 709 (for
early-stage researchers) and EUR 3 836 (for experienced researchers);
for researchers recruited under a fixed-amount fellowship: not lower than EUR 1 354.50
(for early-stage researchers) and EUR 1 918 (for experienced researchers).
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Horizon 2020 - Work Programme 2018-2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
2. RISE
The top-up allowance specified in table 1 must be used solely for the benefit of the seconded
staff member.
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Horizon 2020 - Work Programme 2018-2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Living allowance* Mobility allowance Family allowance Research, training and Management and
networking costs indirect costs
Innovative
Training 3270 600 500 1 800 1 200
Networks
Individual
Fellowships 4880 600 500 800 650
* A country correction coefficient applies to the living allowance. This coefficient is the one applicable to the country of the beneficiary, as listed in
Table 2. The only exception are IF Global Fellowships with two different country correction coefficients:
for the outgoing phase: the coefficient of the country where the researcher is hosted (i.e. the country of the partner organisation)
for the return phase: the coefficient of the country where the researcher returns to (i.e. the country of the beneficiary).
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Horizon 2020 - Work Programme 2018-2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions
Research and
Innovation Staff 2 100 1 800 700
Exchange
Marie
Skłodowska-
Curie Action Researcher unit cost Institutional unit cost
person/month person/month
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Table 2: Country correction coefficients (CCC) for ITN and IF living allowances
For countries where the correction coefficient is not indicated, the Commission will decide on a case-by-case basis.
Part 3 - Page 82 of 83
Table 2: Country correction coefficients (CCC) for ITN and IF living allowances
For countries where the correction coefficient is not indicated, the Commission will decide on a case-by-case basis.
LR 111.1% SA 80.8% YE 81.1%
LS 48.3% SB 107.4% ZA 50.8%
LY 57.6% SD 99.7% ZM 77.4%
MA 75.4% SG 113.0% ZW 91.8%
MG 86.0% SL 106.8%
ML 94.4% SN 94.7%
MM 65.5% SR 56.0%
MR 62.5% SV 69.6%
MU 74.4% SY 77.2%
MW 68.0% SZ 53.5%
MX 67.1% TD 117.8%
MY 68.8% TG 84.4%
MZ 71.5% TH 71.6%
NA 61.4% TJ 62.2%
NC 117.2% TL 89.4%
NE 84.8% TM 63.4%
NG 92.6% TO 85.0%
NI 56.5% TT 81.0%
NP 77.0% TW 82.7%
NZ 99.4% TZ 65.4%
PA 63.2% UG 70.5%
PE 80.2% US 99.1%
PG 101.5% UY 84.3%
PH 73.4% UZ 66.5%
PK 51.9% VE 90.2%
PS 110.8% VN 53.3%
PY 69.0% VU 108.0%
RU 105.4% WS 83.0%
RW 82.5% XK 65.5%
Part 3 - Page 83 of 83