PF: A Postdoctoral Fellow implementing a Postdoctoral Fellowship has won another grant covering reimbursement of travel and accommodation costs for conducting further research experiments in an organisation that is a partner in the ongoing MSCA project. Is this allowed, or is it considered double funding?

If they receive additional non-MSCA funding, and they do not double-fund the same project activities, then it may be fine but they should ask for the Project Officer’s permission.

 

PF: Where can the reporting template for Postdoctoral Fellowships be found?

There is a link to the standard Horizon Europe reporting template in section 2.4 on p. 19 of the Information Note for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows in Postdoctoral Fellowships.

MSCA awardees must use the template provided in the Portal to complete their final report.

PF: Does working for an organisation in country A whilst physically residing in country B makes the researcher ineligible for country A?

The researcher will be considered ineligible for both country A and country B.

Within the updated MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 there is a footnote added to the Postdoctoral Fellowships mobility rule (p. 121) saying that the country of the main activity is the country where the researcher is physically based when carrying out the main activity AND the country of the institution for which the main activity is performed (e.g., employer).”

All actions: Can beneficiaries with general accounts in currencies other than the Euro use a different rate from the reported on the ECB website average daily exchange rate calculated over the corresponding reporting period?

The Horizon Europe Unit Model Grant Agreement does not specify the applicable exchange rate, however, the MSCA Financial Guide specifies it on p. 23. Therefore, there is no flexibility concerning the applicable exchange rate and the instructions provided in the Financial Guide should be followed - amounts must be converted into Euro at the average of the daily exchange rates published over the corresponding reporting period, as reported on the ECB website.

PF: Do applicants funded under 2023 calls who are in the Grant Preparation Phase (GAP) have to change the budget of their project so that it includes the updated unit costs in the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025?

In the updated MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025, under ’Specific conditions for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions’ (p. 108 of 142) there is a footnote saying „These conditions only apply to the 2024 and 2025 calls of this Work Programme. For the conditions applying to the 2023 calls, please see the Work Programme version adopted on 6 December 2022 (European Commission Decision C(2022)7550).”

PF: Do all eligibility rules apply to Ukrainian researchers?

All rules apply to Ukrainian researchers. Exceptions can only be made to the mobility rule if the concerned person is in the process of application for refugee status and subject to certain residence restrictions so that they cannot move freely from one country to another as written in the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025, p. 121 - 122:

„Recruited researchers must comply with the following mobility rule: they must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary (for European Postdoctoral Fellowships), or the host organisation for the outgoing phase (for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships) for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline… Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are not taken into account.”

All actions: Do beneficiaries applying for MSCA have to provide Letters of Commitment with their applications?

Letters of Commitment are for entities not signing the Grant Agreement.

Beneficiaries submit the proposal and sign the Grant Agreement in case the proposal has been funded. Their commitment is already covered by the submitted application so they do not need to provide a Letter of Commitment. If a Letter of Commitment is not explicitly requested, it is not necessary to provide it.

PF: If a third country national has been working/ living in a Member State/ Associated Country and applies for a Global Fellowship, would they be able to come back to the same Member State/ Associated Country for the return phase?

There is no problem about returning to the Host Institution considering that they are recruited from Europe during the outgoing phase. However, this third country national needs to meet the long-term residence requirement to submit a Global Fellowship proposal.

PF: Is there a limit to the times a researcher can apply for a Postdoctoral Fellowship with different projects?

There are no restrictions on the number of submitted proposals per researcher in different calls. However, only one proposal per researcher may be submitted within the same call.

COFUND: What can beneficiaries and implementing partners do with non-spent person months?

As a general rule, REA encourages a redistribution of non-spent person months between beneficiary/ implementing partners. Additional doctoral/ postdoctoral contracts may be offered if the number of remaining months is sufficient. In this case either an additional position is included in a regular call or a new call is put in place to ensure necessary visibility and transparency. It is also possible to extend contracts of already recruited fellows, provided the internal rules of their employers allow such an extension. Moreover, if several partners/ fellows are interested in such an extension, adequate procedures should be put in place at programme level to ensure equal treatment to all fellows.