PF: Is a marital relationship between an applicant and the main supervisor considered a conflict of interest? Does it create any restriction or eligibility issue regarding the submission, evaluation, or implementation of an MSCA PF proposal?

Although supervision can be built on an existing collaborative relationship, the supervisor’s choice should be driven by the added value to the project. The applicant needs to justify the complementarity between their profile and the supervisor’s expertise, and if they have already worked together, they will need to explain what new techniques, methods, or specialised knowledge they will acquire that they have not already gained from previous common activities. Unless they can justify their supervisor’s choice (e.g., unique expertise, specific training needs, intersectoral added value, etc.), this could be viewed as a convenient choice that could affect the evaluation of the proposal.

PF: Can a Postdoctoral Fellowship project start 12 months after the funding decision?

The start date of the project must not be later than 1 September of the year following the year of signature of the grant agreement. For example, for grant agreement signed in 2027, the latest start date is 1 September 2028. Further information is available on page 7 of the Information note for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows in postdoctoral fellowships - Publications Office of the EU.

PF: A PF applicant can document their teaching activities through official records. However, academic contracts in their country do not normally specify a fixed percentage of working time allocated to teaching and research. How should they quantify the teaching component in this case?

For the purpose of calculating the 8 years of research experience under MSCA PF, only periods during which the researcher was not carrying out research and research-related activities may be deducted. Any deduction must be supported by appropriate documentation and be quantifiable.

There is no predefined MSCA methodology for converting teaching activities into a percentage of working time based on the number of courses, semesters, or annual averages. The researcher should therefore use the most reliable and well-documented method available to estimate the proportion of time devoted to teaching, considering the specific circumstances of the employment and any supporting evidence (e.g. teaching assignments, workload records, institutional regulations, job descriptions, or other official documentation). The beneficiary should retain the supporting documentation in its records in case of an audit.

Teaching experience should also be described in the CV section of Part B2.

Applicants should note that the eligibility assessment is carried out by the REA only after the call deadline. Consequently, applicants are solely responsible for ensuring that all eligibility criteria are met and that any deductions claimed in the calculation of their research experience are properly justified, documented, and supported by appropriate evidence.

DN: Does the novelty in the Doctoral Networks 2026 template for the minimum font size of 11 points also apply to the tables in B2?

The minimum font size allowed throughout the proposal is 11 points. It applies to both B1 and B2, including the tables.

SE: A researcher owns 65% of a SME but does not hold a direct employment contract with the company. Instead, he is employed by a university. Could such a person, despite not being directly employed by the SME, be considered eligible staff for a secondment?

The link between an entity and its owner exists and the person is eligible under MSCA Staff Exchanges, as far as they play a role within its structure (CEO, Chairperson, CFO, president or other) and they comply with all other conditions of eligibility (for example, that they are linked to R&I activities at the SME).

PF: An applicant would like to have a non-academic placement at an EU-based office of the UN Environment Programme whose headquarters are situated in Nairobi. Is it possible?

Non-academic placements must take place in EU Member States or Associated Countries. UNEP’s headquarters are based in Kenya, and their PIC will reference them as an organisation based in a Third Country, even if they have an office in the European Union. As a consequence, the applicant will not be able to include that non-academic placement in the system.

PF: Is it possible to have a secondment at the beginning of the outgoing phase of a Global Fellowship that is hosted not by the beneficiary but by another European organisation?

A secondment in the first months of the outgoing phase in another entity that is not the beneficiary is not advisable.

PF: How can a researcher encode different places of activity and residence during the same period of time in Part A?

It is not possible to encode different countries for the same reference period.

The only recommendation is to indicate the actual physical location in Part A, and to clearly explain the specific situation in Part B2/ CV of the researcher. This clarification may be relevant for the eligibility assessment.

DN: How will RAISE projects be managed?

These projects will be managed by REA and the budget will be based on unit costs.

DN: Will fellows under RAISE be labelled as MSCA Fellows?

Fellows will not be called MSCA fellows but RAISE DN fellows because this is a second chance for projects that would not be funded otherwise (similarly to the ERA Fellows).