PF: Under what circumstances could a Postdoctoral research fellow participate in 2 PF grants concurrently?

A researcher cannot participate in two MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship grants at the same time. 

On p. 22 of the Model Grant Agreement it is specified that the recruited researcher must work exclusively on the action unless part-time for professional reasons has been approved.

On p. 12 of the MSCA Financial Guide it says that part-time work may not be requested to participate in another MSCA grant at the same time.

Moreover, on p. 15 of the MSCA Financial Guide it is stipulated that a researcher cannot benefit from two Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions at the same time.

PF: In some countries in order to have an adequate social security coverage, the fellow needs to end their contract with at least one month in the country of their employment contract and thus such fellows cannot have a non-academic placement (NAP) or go on a secondment in another country. What can be done in these cases?

The NAP can take place in the same country as the beneficiary, but in the non-academic sector. A good planning and thorough discussion between the researcher and beneficiary prior to submission of the proposal would clarify these issues. The beneficiary can also extend the contract with their own funds after the end of the Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The timing of secondments is more flexible, as long as the activities in the Annex 1 – i.e. those already evaluated by independent experts – are fulfilled.

 

PF: What happens if a fellow cannot get a visa for the third country where their Global Fellowships host for the outgoing phase is located?

For visa or other administrative matters, the Global fellows can spend at the beginning of their outgoing phase up to 3 months at the beneficiary premises (this is considered as part of the secondment and counts towards the maximum period). If these 3 months are not enough to obtain the necessary visa or make proper arrangements, the beneficiary has to suspend the fellowship and pay the fellow from their own funds until the MSCA researcher is able to move to the host of the outgoing phase. Mobility to the outgoing phase is an eligibility matter, like the mandatory 12-month return phase.

PF: In case a period of sick leave does not qualify as “long-term leave”, i.e. less than 30 days, does the beneficiary in a Postdoctoral Fellowship have to bear the costs? How is it to be dealt with and calculated?

In Postdoctoral Fellowships, a sick leave of less than 30 consecutive days does not trigger the long-term leave allowance, hence whether the host institution must bear the cost depends on what the employer normally does under national law.

It is possible, although not mandatory, to suspend the project for a period of less than 30 days, but  that time period will not be covered by the long-term leave allowance.

As long as the long-term leave allowance and suspension are not triggered, the standard living allowance + mobility allowance (and other standard unit costs) remain eligible under the project.

MSCA PF uses unit costs, and the living and mobility allowances must indeed be used for the benefit of the researcher. However, this does not mean that the full unit-cost amount must be paid as salary in every circumstance and fully top up the sick leave allowance.

National employment legislation and employment contracts always apply. The MSCA rules do not override these legal entitlements, and the beneficiary must not bypass the sick-leave process.

 

PF: Regarding the 8-year Research Experience rule, what type of supporting documentation is acceptable to prove exceptions? Should such evidence be uploaded as an annex to Part B2?

The required documentation is equivalent to that required for the other eligibility conditions under the call: providing self-declarations is not sufficient (e.g. an official letter from a professor does not constitute an official document, a copy of the contract – or similar proof - is needed.).

In Part B2 of the proposal there should be NO such evidence annexed – the proposal should strictly follow the template for the respective call with dedicated sections. All supporting documents must be provided by the fellow to the beneficiary at the moment of their recruitment.

 

All Actions: When applying the mobility rule, what should be considered as the ‘main activity’ in the case of applicants with double activity - for example, candidates studying for a double diploma or candidates studying in one country and working remotely in another one?

REA uses a strict approach, meaning that for both examples the recruiting entities should check the mobility rule against both countries (even for remote work).

For Doctoral Networks, the doctoral candidates should be eligible at their recruitment date.

For Postdoctoral Fellowships, the fellows should be eligible at the date of the call closure.

For COFUND, the fellows should be eligible at the deadline of the co-funded programme’s call.

DN: Are beneficiaries from non-associated third countries accepted in Doctoral Networks and do they receive funding?

Fellows employed in a third country no longer need to be enrolled in a doctoral programme in a EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country, which used to be a requirement in previous calls. In Doctoral Networks, beneficiaries can be based in low- or middle-income third countries. Entities from high-income countries can receive EU funding only exceptionally if well justified in the proposal.

All Actions: Is it possible to edit the already submitted critical risks statements, or should the coordinator delete and replace them in the tab if changes are needed?

The risks have been already indicated at the Grant Agreement Preparation phase and, therefore, are automatically displayed in this tab. No more risks can be added at this stage of the flow.

However, in the continuous reporting module, the coordinator should update the risk section (materialisation / mitigation). If a new risk has occurred, they would need to add an Unforeseen risk.

All Actions: If there is a deviation during the implementation period that has resulted in an amendment, should this be reported as a deviation in the periodic report as well?

If an amendment took place, it is no longer considered as a deviation.

PF: Are unit costs in relation to the non-academic placement (NAP) provided to the NAP entity?

The budget for the non-academic placement is managed by the beneficiary, which has to provide a contract of employment to the fellow covering the whole duration of the project (standard duration + NAP). Beneficiaries are encouraged to sign partnership agreements to regulate their internal relationship with the Associated Partner for the NAP. The partnership agreement(s) must comply with the Grant Agreement. In the proposal forms, the duration of the NAP and the corresponding budget are on a separate line to differentiate between standard duration (spent by the researcher at the Beneficiary) and the duration of the NAP (spent at the NAP institution by the researcher under contract from the beneficiary).