SE: Can a project manager of a Staff Exchanges project be sent on a secondment in their project manager role?

If they are involved in R&I activities at the institution and in the project, they can go on secondment. If the activities foreseen are purely administrative, the secondment is not eligible. The activities carried out in a Staff Exchange secondment should always be R&I-related.

SE: Can USA organisations participate in Staff Exchanges and receive funding?

USA entities can participate in Staff Exchanges projects by receiving and sending staff during the project. However, no funding is allocated to them.

Depending on an internal agreement of the consortium, USA participants can receive some budget from the coordinator, but this is not very common. Another option is to request exceptional funding due to their participation being considered essential for implementing the project.

COFUND: Is it possible to align a COFUND postdoctoral programme with the regional strategy and institutional priorities and require only projects with high Technology Readiness Level and a big commercialisation potential?

Yes, it is possible. Researchers should be free to choose their research topic, but within the thematic areas of the concrete programme. The restriction for only High TRLs could be explained under the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) but also regional, national or sectoral needs, etc. If the programme is consistent and well explained, there should be no problems.

The programme should also be aligned with the evaluation criteria. When a project is close to TRL 7-8, the research could become innovation, and there should be evaluation criteria for innovation actions, impact, commercialization, etc.

DN: In a doctoral Networks proposal, the PhD awarding organisation is located in a country different from the one of the organisation recruiting the PhD candidate. Does the mobility rule need to be applied to both countries, or only to the country of the recruiting beneficiary?

Point 1.3.2. regarding recruited researchers on p. 122 of the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 says:

“Recruited researchers can be of any nationality and 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 recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their recruitment date.”

If the PhD-awarding organisation just delivers the PhD (and eventually hosts the Doctoral Candidate for a secondment), the mobility rule will indeed apply to the beneficiary.

However, if it is a more complex case, for example, a Doctoral Candidate is hosted by a French lab which is based in Japan (i.e. the research organisation is registered in France, but the lab is based in Japan), then the mobility rule applies to both countries.

DN: In a doctoral Networks proposal, the PhD awarding organisation is located in a country different from the one of organisation recruiting the PhD candidate. In this situation, should the country correction coefficient of the hosting organisation’s country be applied?

In case where a Doctoral Candidate is recruited by beneficiary A and goes on secondment to the associated partner B (which will award the PhD degree), it is the CCC of the beneficiary that will apply.

However, there are specific cases. For example, consider the case of a Doctoral Candidate that is hosted by a French lab which is based in Japan (i.e. the research organisation is registered in France, but the lab is based in Japan). Then footnote number 136 on p. 121 of the MSCA Work Programme 2023-2025 applies:

“In exceptional cases, where a beneficiary is established in a country different from the place where the recruited researcher is hosted, the country correction coefficient of the hosting entity is taken into account during the grant agreement preparation process, in order to ensure the correct budget calculation.”

DN: Is it possible to use the Management and Indirect contribution before the starting date of the employment of the relevant doctoral candidate?

Yes, it is possible. Those costs can be spent from day one of the project and even be used to cover costs retroactively (if they occurred before the official start). In many cases, a project manager is hired on day one of the project and is being paid by these amounts.

DN: Is it allowed to use the Research, Training and Networking contribution to cover the travel costs of a supervisor-to-be to go to the central interiewing session?

Yes, it is possible. Research, Training and Networking costs can be spent for anything related to the Doctoral Network project. Travel costs of the supervisors are always paid via the institutional unit costs, be it Research, Training and Networking contribution or Management and Indirect contributions.

DN: Is there an option to put part-time sick leave in the Doctoral Candidate’s Mobility Declaration?

“Long-term Leave Allowance” applies to situations of full-time absence due to medical reasons. Part-time work is calculated based on the sum of all parts of person-months worked during the period concerned. The Project Officer should be consulted for specific cases.