All actions: Why were MSCA templates tagged in 2022?

The use of electronic tags in proposal templates has been applied at corporate level to most of the programmes funded by the European Commission. It aims to facilitate plagiarism checks, for purely internal processing purposes, by separating the different sections of a proposal. It has neither been used nor intended to be used during the MSCA evaluations.

All actions: When will the Annotated HE Unit MGA be published?

A draft of the main AGA is already published in the FTOP. As per the specific MSCA section, it will be published in 2023. 

All actions: Is a data management plan required across all MSC actions?

Yes, this is a requirement that applies throughout the whole Horizon Europe programme.

PF: Has the GAP with successful applicants from the 2021 MSCA PF call been already closed or applicants on the reserve list can still expect to be invited by REA to start the GAP process?

As of November 2022, GAPs with reserve list applicants under the PF 2021 call are still being launched based on the available budget. A very small number of applicants can still expect to receive an invitation to launch the GAP, especially since the PF 2021 budget expires at the end of 2022.

COFUND: How can applicants include implementing partners in project implementation of COFUND?

Implementing partners are legal entities which receive financial contribution via the beneficiary and can employ the researchers.

Including implementing partners in project implementationdepends on the structure of the research training programme, for instance there could be one single beneficiary which does everything (recruits, provides training, etc.), or there could be a horizontal structure where the beneficiary works together with implementing partners (which in this case would also be recruiting the researchers besides the beneficiary).

Since the implementing partners are not known at the GAP stage the data related to these participants will be available only during the implementation of the project. The beneficiary is requested to provide the information on the recruiting organisation (if it is unknown at the GAP stage) in a mobility declaration via the Continuous Reporting module in the Participant Portal. Mobility declarations are supposed to be submitted by the beneficiary within 20 days from the start date of the fellowship and will be verified by the end of each reporting period. Afterwards, the information will be in principle visible in the dashboard.

PF: Can periods of unpaid leave and work outside ERA with an employment contract in place be deducted for the mobility rule or are they counted still as living and working in the country?

It should be underlined that the eligibility clearance of the proposals will be done by the European Research Executive Agency, only after the call deadline.

If either the residence or main activity of the researcher is in the country of the potential beneficiary where the fellow has an employment contract, that country would be taken into account towards the 12-month mobility rule period. Absences from that country, which do not result in a change of both the country of residence and the country of main activity, are not to be deducted from this period. Please bear in mind that in case of remote work performed from country A, for an employer located in country B, the place of main activity is considered as country B.

Additionally, if the researcher applies for Global Postdoctoral Fellowships the work or residence outside of ERA could have an impact on the mobility rule with respect to the host organisation for the outgoing phase. 

SE: Does the name of each researcher need to be known when applying for Staff Exchages?

It is perfectly acceptable to include the functions of the secondees (e.g. “PhD candidate 1”, etc.) in the proposal, especially given that people can leave the proposal before the secondment takes place.

All actions: When will the Green Charter be referenced in all proposal templates as it is the case already for Doctoral Networks and Staff Exchanges?

As of 2023 there will be a more coordinated approach across all actions.