SE: Should same-sector secondments in Europe meet the interdisciplinary requirement?

Concerning the eligible exchanges for the MSCA Staff Exchanges 2026:

-          Secondments between EU member states and associated countries are eligible for funding (no 1/3 rule). ​

-          Secondments from EU member states and associated countries to all third countries are eligible for funding.

-          Secondments from low to middle income third countries to EU member states and associated countries are eligible for funding. ​

However,

-          Secondments from participants from “Other Countries” (not in the List of Participating Countries in Horizon Europe) are not eligible for funding and therefore by default have to participate at their own cost​

-          Secondments between Third Countries are not eligible for funding.​

Concerning the interdisciplinarity, it is not mandatory for the same-sector secondments in Europe. However, according to the update of the MSCA part of the Work Programme the applicants will be evaluated under the criterion 1.2 Excellence on the Soundness of the proposed approach to foster international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaborations.

In addition, there is a new eligibility condition (see p. 6 of the Guide for Applicants)

-          Sectors: The consortium must include participating organisations from both academic and non-academic sectors.

To conclude, interdisciplinarity is not mandatory for the same-sector secondments in Europe, however, the international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary aspect of the proposal will be evaluated under the excellence criterion.

COFUND: Should CCC be applied to the MSCA COFUND allowances?

No, country correction coefficients are not applied to COFUND allowances.

If there are several countries involved in recruiting fellows in a COFUND project, applicants can provide competitive salary amounts taking into account the national situation. A table may be included with columns by country and the allowance for each fellow in each country.

PF: What are the steps in case the beneficiary wants to terminate the Postdoctoral Fellowship during the fellow’s probation period?

The beneficiary should follow the internal labour rules as well as national / regional laws. The Project Officer will guide the beneficiary on how to proceed. However, the termination of the fellow’s contract will also put an end to the Grant Agreement, and the beneficiary will have to restore the remaining funding to the European Commission.

COFUND: Can vacation days be subtracted from the total time spent in the country of the beneficiary?

Days of holiday cannot be subtracted.

On p. 96 of the MSCA Work Programme 2026-2027 it is written that “Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, time spent by the researcher as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention  and time spent for obtaining EU temporary protection  are not taken into account.” This applies in another sense: if the candidate was living abroad but spent some days in the country of the beneficiary on holidays, these days will not be taken into account for the 12-months rule for application in this country.

COFUND: When a project is co-funded by the coordinator and by the implementing partners, how should applicants fill in Table 1.1 when, for example, the implementing partners are funding X fellows and the coordinator Y fellows?

Applicants can calculate the average rate per fellow: take the total co-funding amount provided by the coordinator, and the total provided by the implementing partners, and divide it by the number of fellows.

SE: How can an umbrella organisation send a staff member on secondments when the staff member is hired by different organisations within the umbrella organisation?

The type of relationship between the seconded staff member and the sending organisation (i.e. employment contract, fellowship or other) is NOT relevant as long as:

− it complies with national law

− it complies with internal practices and

− during the secondment it confers legal authority on the sending beneficiary (or associated partner) that enables them to ensure compliance with the Grant Agreement obligations.

As regards staff having contracts with different entities within an umbrella organisation - if the umbrella organisation can justify that the fellow / staff member is assimilated to their own staff under national law or internal practices, then that individual can be considered as a staff member of the beneficiary and so be seconded.

If this is not the case, then the entity holding the contract may be added as an Associated partner linked to a beneficiary, provided the relevant conditions are fulfilled (legal or capital link – longstanding research agreement / collaboration going beyond the project duration).

SE: Is it possible to involve volunteers from NGOs in Staff Exchange secondments?

The type of relationship between the seconded staff member and the sending organisation (i.e. employment contract, fellowship or other) is NOT relevant as long as:

− it complies with national law

− it complies with internal practices and

− during the secondment it confers legal authority on the sending beneficiary (or associated partner) that enables them to ensure compliance with the Grant Agreement obligations.

Volunteers’ contracts generally do not fulfil the required condition of eligibility as the person is not assimilated as ‘staff’ under national legislation and the entity is lacking the legal authority to ensure compliance with Grant Agreement obligations.

If the entity can prove that the staff eligibility condition is fulfilled, then the fellow / staff member can be seconded in MSCA Staff Exchanges.

Se: Is it possible to travel from a country other than the beneficiary’s country of origin?

In general, yes, staff can travel either from their place of origin or from the country in which they are located.

Staff can also move from one place to another place according to the secondment plan without the need to return to their place of origin: e.g. Argentina-Italy (first secondment), then Spain (second secondment) and finally Argentina (return).

As for the tickets, dates can be different, and the mobility can be combined with holidays. Beneficiaries encode the date of the secondments where the staff member was active in the R&I activities of the project (travel day of departure included).

Please note that in case of audit, beneficiaries must provide supporting documents as evidence of the mobility, staff eligibility, and R&I activity in the project.

SE: How should the mobility declaration in MSCA Staff Exchanges be submitted in case of long-distance trips where airfare prices are more favourable for trips longer than 30 days? How many days of deviation can be accepted as part of that 1-month secondment?

For MSCA Staff Exchanges grants, beneficiaries encode the date of the secondments only (not the unit cost or duration).

For deviations, the project coordinator is advised to contact their project officer to discuss the specific case.   

PF: Are researchers with Medical Doctor degrees eligible to apply for the Postdoctoral Fellowships?

As indicated in footnote 90 on p. 82 of the MSCA 2026-2027 Work Programme: A medical doctor degree will be accepted only when it corresponds to a doctoral degree or if the researcher can demonstrate their appointment in a position that requires doctoral equivalency (e.g. professorship appointment). Medical doctor degrees corresponding to basic medical training as defined in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC will not be considered a doctoral degree.