PF: For the host organisation of a non-academic placement (NAP) to be eligible, is it enough for them to have a PIC number or does it also depend on the type of work the researcher is to perform there?

A NAP is considered eligible only if the organisation hosting it is registered as a non-academic institution. If so, it needs to appear in the proposal as an Associated Partner in the Participants section of Part A of the application, together with its PIC number.

PF: Is there a ‘usual’ practice for transferring funds from the beneficiary to the outgoing host in Global Fellowships, especially from the management contributions?

Yes, it is possible indeed to transfer a part of institutional costs (Research, Training and Networking & Management contributions) to the outgoing phase host in Global Fellowships. The amounts to be transferred, as well as the modalities of such transfer must be formalised in the Partnership agreement that the beneficiary will sign with the associated partner.

PF: Are international Advisory Boards common in MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships proposals?

Setting up international Advisory Boards might undermine the credibility of the supervisor, and it is also not a great message with regard to the professional experience/ independence of the postdoc. Usually, in a Postdoctoral Fellowship there is discourse with other colleagues at the host institution in lab meetings, etc. that can be seen as a good monitoring mechanism.

However, International Advisory Boards can be positively assessed by evaluators in cases involving high levels of interdisciplinarity or very risky research or when the supervisor has limited mentoring experience.

SE: Since Indian partners can be eligible for the Indian co-funding mechanism (by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)), does that mean the coordinator should insert zero for the Indian partner in the budget table? Should they describe the proposed contribution by the additional secondments to be funded directly by India in part B?

As the MSCA Staff Exchanges proposal is part of the application for the CSIR funding, the secondments from India to Europe need to be described in the proposal in Part B. The CSIR entities participate as ‘Associated Partners’. This detailed document can be consulted.  

SE: Within an ongoing MSCA Staff Exchanges project there is a meeting planned in a non-associated third country. How can the costs associated with this event be paid?

If it is a country automatically eligible for funding, the project Coordinator will receive funds for staff secondments to the EU Member States and Associated Countries (contributions for seconded staff members + institutional contributions).

The “Research, training and networking contribution”, which includes, e.g., organising meetings, conferences, etc., is divided among all the project partners based on the Consortium Agreement (to be negotiated before the Grant Agreement is signed). The Consortium Agreement also defines how the funds are transferred to third countries. In addition, if there are associated partners in the consortium, it is recommended to sign a Partnership Agreement – p. 139 in the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025:

“When associated partners are involved, beneficiaries are encouraged to sign a partnership agreement with them to regulate the internal relationship between all participating organisations. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the grant agreement”.

 

So, the third country partner can organise any project activities (presented in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement), and the way it will receive money from the coordinator should be regulated in the Consortium Agreement. More information can be seen on p. 24 of the MSCA Financial Guide:

“5.1 Limitations on transfers of units

Unit transfers between beneficiaries

In MSCA-DN and MSCA-SE, beneficiaries may transfer units between themselves, provided that such transfer does not imply any substantive or important change to the action description as set out in Annex 1 of the GA (see Article 5.5 HE Unit MGA).

This means that they may in principle redistribute person-months between them, compared to the original planning set out in Annex 2 of the GA, without an amendment if there is no substantial change. But to note that redistributions of person-months will also have an impact on the institutional unit contributions (since those are directly linked to the person-months declared for recruited researchers/seconded staff members; see details below).

Redistributions of institutional unit contributions within the consortium should be done via an internal agreement.”

SE: Does each same-sector secondment need to be interdisciplinary to be eligible or are all same-sector secondments (which are limited to 1/3 of all secondments) considered eligible, as long as the project as a whole is interdisciplinary?

Any secondment between two or more academic organisations in the same sector within EU and/or AC needs to be interdisciplinary.

DN: Can an organisation from a low-income third country eligible for funding be funded under the MSCA Doctoral Networks call as a full beneficiary, i.e. award PhDs on their own?

Doctoral candidates recruited by organisations in low-income third countries eligible for funding need to be enrolled in a doctoral programme leading to the award of doctoral degree in at least one EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country. This means that these Doctoral Candidates have to be enrolled in the third country and in a European Union Member State/ Associated Country partner.

PF: What documentation is required to justify/ prove a career break, i.e. caring for a parent?

The applicant should use any official documents that would be accepted by an official organisation (city council, tax office, employer, etc). A letter from a doctor or any letter stating that the applicant received relevant allowances such as carer benefits, etc. can also be presented.

PF: Is it necessary to translate supporting documents (CV, PhD diploma, etc.) into English for a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships application?

The researcher’s CV, as an integral part of the proposal, should be written in the same language as the whole proposal.

A PhD diploma may be required by the host institution to check and confirm the applicant’s eligibility. It is up to the institution to decide if the diploma should be translated into a specific language.

PF: Are DOIs linking to articles a valid format for references?

The reference list should provide complete bibliographic information (authors, title, journal, year, volume, pages). DOIs may be added at the end of each reference for completeness, but not as a substitute.