PF: A PF applicant has experience in a private company in research and product development. Should “development” be considered as part of the research activity, and then count for the 8-year rule?

If that product development is related to creating or improving products in the company (testing, experimentation, prototyping), that counts as part of Research & Development.

It can be excluded if product development is more “commercial” than “research” development, but the applicant should have the evidence to prove their eligibility.

It is crucial to emphasize that the clearance of proposal eligibility will be conducted by the European Research Executive Agency after the call deadline, considering the numerous potential scenarios. Consequently, eligibility for individual applicants (both researchers and institutions) prior to the call deadline cannot be assessed or confirmed. It is the sole responsibility of the applicants to diligently review all eligibility criteria and ensure the provision of accurate information in the submission forms.

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.

PF: Can periods of inactivity due to surgery be deducted from the 8-year research experience rule?

Periods of more than 30 days are considered as long term sick leave and can extend the 8-year period of research experience. Applicants should refer to the Guidelines on the calculation of 8-years research experience in PF under Horizon Europe.

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.

 

PF: A researcher has worked in Canada for many years and is looking to return to their home country. Is Canada considered a third country?

As outlined in the 2023-2025 MSCA Work Programme (p.140), for the purpose of MSCA Canada falls under the classification of a third country, signifying its status outside the EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, despite being associated to Pillar II of Horizon Europe. Therefore, research conducted in Canada would not count towards the maximum years of experience for nationals and long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries seeking reintegration in research within the EU or Associated Countries.

According to the Work Programme (p. 121) “researchers wishing to reintegrate from a third country must either be based in a third country at the call deadline or have moved directly from a third country to an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country within the last 12 months before the call deadline”.

PF: Could a research break due to Covid lock-downs count as a career break and thus be deducted from the 8 years of research experience eligibility criteria?

According to the Guidelines on the calculation of 8-years research experience in Postdoctoral Fellowships under Horizon Europe, “The rule of the 8 years full-time equivalent experience in research after the PhD can be extended (in days) for the following reasons: […] Career break; Time spent not working in research (career breaks are not included in this section). The period spent in a non-research position should be completely deducted from the FTE experience in research. However, for a period spent in a research position, the time spent outside of your main research activity (including teaching) could be deducted as a percentage of FTE provided that it can be documented by e.g. work contract/job description and quantified based on documentation/proof which the host organisation (beneficiary) needs to keep for their records (not to be included in the proposal).” 

Considering the above, if a researcher could not engage in research due to force majeure (such as COVID-19), two theoretical options emerge:

-          If their employment contract was suspended, and no work was performed, that period is deductible.

-          If the employment contract remained active (not suspended) and the researcher conducted non-research tasks, deductions can be made based on a percentage of full-time equivalent (FTE).

In both scenarios, it’s essential for the beneficiary to maintain pertinent evidence such as work contracts or job descriptions. Deductions should be quantified based on documented proof, although this evidence is not to be included in the proposal but rather retained for the host organisation’s records in case of audits.

PF: How are the 8-years research experience calculated - from the date of the proposal submission or from the date of call deadline?

On page 93 of the MSCA Work Programme, it’s mentioned that “At the call deadline, supported researchers must have a maximum of 8 years fulltime equivalent experience in research, measured from the date of award of the doctoral degree.”

Researchers need to satisfy the criterion as of 11 September 2024 which is the call deadline for the 2024 Postdoctoral Fellowships call according to the latest version of the Work Programme. Researchers need to measure this from the date of award of their doctoral degrees.

There are some exceptions calculating these 8 years of full time research experience. Years of experience outside research and career breaks will not count towards the above maximum, nor will years of experience in research in third countries, for nationals or long-term residents of EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries who wish to reintegrate to Europe.

Applicants can check the following pages for more information:

Postdoctoral Fellowships - call 2023

Guidelines on the calculation of 8-years research experience in Postdoctoral Fellowships under Horizon Europe

Postdoctoral Fellowships Self-assessment tool for the calculation of the 8-years research experience