PF: How should the status of honorary researcher be considered towards the mobility rule if it is a mere association to a lab, with no working contract and no salary, but an agreement ensuring necessary social coverage to officially exercise a research activity in this lab?

If, besides the activity of honorary researcher, the applicant also has a working contract with another lab, the activity of honorary researcher shall not be taken into account for the mobility rule, as it is not a 'main activity'. According to the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 ‘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’. When taking into consideration the country of the activity (work, studies, etc.), what counts is the country where the main activity (main activity understood as an activity above 50%) is taking place.

PF: Is the Vatican City a third non-associated country?

Yes, in principle, the Vatican City is a third country.

However, there is  no country correction coefficient provided for the Vatican City in the Work Programme, which is resolved on a case by case basis.

PF: Can periods of inactivity due to the pandemic of COVID-19 and prolonged strikes at a university be considered and deducted as career breaks?

This has to be properly documented, just a statement is not sufficient. There needs to be proof that the organisation was shut down and the employees were suspended during the pandemic and strikes. In particular, the exemption for the period of university closures due to COVID can only be applied if the fellow was not under contract with the university during that time. If the fellow continued to be paid, that period must be counted as research time. Ultimately, it is up to the hosting organisation to verify the eligibility of the fellow.

PF: Are visa and residence permit fees of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellows covered from the “Research, training and networking” or “Management and indirect” costs?

On p. 36 of the MSCA Financial Guide it is written that the research, training and networking contribution covers costs related to the ... transfer of knowledge and networking activities (e.g. costs for participation in conferences, trips related to work on the action, training or language courses, seminars, lab material, books, library records, publication costs, visa-related fees, even if incurred before the recruitment date) as well as ... additional costs arising from secondments, non-academic placements and outgoing phase in Global Fellowships.

PF: Is a researcher with a contract of more than 12 months in country A eligible to apply with an organisation in the same country, even if they have been physically present in the country for less than 12 months?

Both the contract and physical presence are considered for the mobility rule, so they would be ineligible.

Footnote 145 in the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 (p. 121) says 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).”

PF: Are applicants with an LLD (Doctor of Laws) considered eligible to apply for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships?

Generally, LLD can be considered as equivalent to a PhD.

PF: A Postdoctoral researcher would like to resubmit their Global Fellowship proposal with a Swiss partner organisation for the outgoing phase. Would that be possible?

The applicant cannot resubmit their 2024 GF proposal, as of 2025 Switzerland is an Associated Country in Horizon Europe, meaning that Swiss institutions are eligible to participate as host organisations in the European Fellowships. The candidate may apply for a European fellowship, instead of Global.

For complete information about the Swiss state, applicants can check this dedicated webpage.

COFUND: The coordinator of a COFUND project is asking a co-funded researcher’s university to pay an annual amount as part of their co-funded contribution. The university however is not listed as a partner in the proposal. What should be done?

The COFUND is a mono-beneficiary action, which means that there is only one beneficiary that signs the Grant Agreement and who can directly claim unit costs. The other types of partners in the COFUND are Implementing Partners and Associated Partners.

Implementing Partners are legal entities that can receive financial support from the Beneficiary and implement the MSCA COFUND Doctoral or Postdoctoral Programme. Implementing Partners are not signatories of the Grant Agreement. Therefore, they cannot claim costs of the programme directly from the European Research Executive Agency. Implementing Partners can employ researchers.

Associated Partners are entities which participate in the action (e.g. providing training or secondments), but without the right to charge costs or claim contributions. They contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. Associated Partners may not employ the researchers under the action. They can be established anywhere in the world and can be from any sectors. Any funding received is based on agreement with the coordinator.

While there are no letters of commitment required from any partner at the application stage, it is recommendedthat financial arrangements be discussed at this stage to avoid any misunderstandings at a later point. If the proposal is funded, and partners are involved, the signature of a Partnership Agreement between the Beneficiary and all partners is strongly recommended to regulate the internal relationship between all participating organisations. The Partnership Agreement must comply with the obligations laid down in the Grant Agreement.

SE: Is there a ‘typical’ number of secondments within a Staff Exchanges project?

A proposal’s optimality is not the number of secondments but its excellence, provided that the eligibility criteria are met.

The average project budget is around 1M EUR, but projects might have higher or lower budgets. The maximum number of person-months that can be funded in a Staff Exchanges project is 360 corresponding to a maximum funding amount of EUR 1.65 million.

COFUND: The coordinator of a COFUND project is requesting that part of the contribution from partners within the project is paid in cash. Is this standard practice?

There is no rule on this, and the partners have to agree this between themselves.