PF, COFUND: May the beneficiary provide an additional payment for teaching activities using their own resources in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships and MSCA COFUND postdoctoral programmes when a shift to part-time is not applied, and there is no separate employment contract for teaching?

Within the Postdoctoral Fellowships one of the obligations of the researcher is “not to receive, for activities carried out in the frame of the action, other incomes than those received from the beneficiary or other entities mentioned in Annex 1.” (p. 94 of the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement for Unit Grants).

Additional payment is authorised if it is provided by the beneficiary recruiting the fellow.

COFUND programmes are co-financed and additional funding on top of the EU contribution is to be included in the project proposal.

PF, COFUND: Is it compulsory to shift to part-time implementation of Postdoctoral Fellowships and COFUND fellowships for postdoctoral researchers in order to engage in teaching if it is a one-time, short-term activity?

The MSCA Financial Guide states that “... Teaching is also permitted (if it does not jeopardise the implementation of the action) as long as it is described in Annex 1 of the GA”

If teaching activities remain minor, do not jeopardise the research project, and are present in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement - they are authorised, and part-time arrangements are not necessary.

All actions: Is the MSCA Fellowship certificate in use? How can MSCA Fellows get it?

It is in use. To request the certificate, fellows must get in touch with their project contact person (supervisor or LEAR) in the Host Institution, who can then complete the form at this link.

PF, DN: How can applicants check if their registered partnership makes them eligible to receive the family allowance in MSCA?

NCPs in each country usually check what is considered as “equivalent to marriage” in this country.

DN: Is it possible to apply for a standard Doctoral Networks project and award some degrees in a joint mode?

This is possible. The beneficiary recruits the PhD candidate, and the two PhD-awarding institutions agree how much from the budget the secondary PhD-awarding institution would get. This has to be clearly detailed in the proposal, including why this specific set-up is chosen for this PhD candidate.

DN: How and when does an applicant get a proposal number e.g. after creating a draft application in the online submission system?

 Yes, it should be after creating the draft.

DN: Should part B2 start with page number 35?

It is also fine to restart the counting in part B2, because they are two separate documents.

DN: How should the header look like for Doctoral Networks?

In case of Industrial Doctorates applicants should put in the headers of part B1 and B2 "Call: [HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01-01] – [MSCA Doctoral Networks 2024 – Industrial Doctorates – DN ID] ACRONYM" AND leave in "EU Grants: Application form (HE MSCA DN): V3.0 – 22.04.2024".

SE: What is the current status of Moroccan institutions in MSCA Staff Exchanges 2024 proposals?

Association negotiations with Morocco are currently paused (https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/news/all-research-and-innovation-news/updates-association-third-countries-horizon-europe-2021-12-21_en). For the HORIZON-MSCA-2024-SE-01 call, at the application stage, organisations from Morocco will be treated as participants from associated countries (beneficiaries) eligible for funding. The situation will be re-evaluated at the Grant Agreement Preparation phase depending on the progress of the association negotiations. Applicants can check the updated versions of the List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe. The participation of organisations from Morocco is taken into account for the implementation of the “1/3 rule” for same-sector secondments.

DN: What is the latest possible start date for a Doctoral Networks project?

The project has to start in the year of the announcement of the results because of budgetary constraints. However, there is some flexibility, and, if necessary, it is possible to start the project next year. This should be discussed with REA on case-by-case basis.