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.
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.
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.
The consortium can be the same, but the new proposal should bring something different compared to the first one and not be just its extension. There should be innovations - it may be an international dimension, some different training approach, different topics / overall strategy. It can also be a postdoctoral programme after a doctoral one.
The scientific excellence should be explained under point 1.4 in the template, excellence criterion “Quality and ambition of the research, innovation and/or academic objectives of the recruitment programme”. In this section, the scientific excellence of the host body in which the Choose Europe for Science Programme will take place should be described, including relevant research, innovation and academic objectives as well as evidence of the current outputs, impacts and research practices.
It is then important to demonstrate how the Programme will contribute to this excellence through the quality and novelty of the work that selected researchers will carry out within the remit of their project. This should aim to address questions like: How will they contribute to the overarching objectives? What are expected results?
Researchers must be PhD holders at the time of the vacancy notice deadline. They must not be permanently employed at the recruiting institution but can already be temporarily employed. Researchers must comply with the MSCA mobility rule which specifies that researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the vacancy notice deadline of the selected project. Researchers can be of any nationality, there should be no limitations placed on this. Researchers can have any scientific age post-PhD. Therefore, if the applicant decides to limit the scientific age of the PhD researchers, they need to justify it in their proposal and the reasons will be assessed as part of the evaluation.
The selection procedure for researcher candidates must be open, competitive, merit-based and with a transparent international peer-review in line with the European Charter for Researchers.
There must be substantial involvement of independent international evaluators based in other countries, with no conflict of interest, for each submitted application, and at all stages of the evaluation process. The selection of the candidates will be done by the selection committees, whose members include international independent evaluators from outside the partnership. These members must have an adequate gender balance and possess the relevant expertise and experience to assess the candidates.
A good balance between evaluators related to the beneficiary and international independent evaluators from outside the partnership (based in other countries) must be maintained in the selection committee.
Supervisors MUST NOT have any role in the selection/recruitment process, drafting the proposal or final decision-making process on the candidacies.
However, applicants may contact a supervisor/research manager during the application process for scientific advice, to discuss the research being proposed, obtain information about expertise/infrastructure available.
NO prior approval of the application (from either the proposed supervisor or host organisation) can be required as part of the submission process, as this constitutes pre-selection.
The MSCA Choose Europe for Science beneficiary cannot be held responsible if a fellow wants to end the employment contract before the actual due date. For example, a Choose Europe for Science fellowship that is terminated in order to commence an ERC Starting Grant following support from the host organisation will not be penalised. Please note that for all cases of early termination of a fellowship, REA will conduct checks to confirm that the beneficiary took all measures to implement the principles set out in the European Charter for Researchers.
As outlined in the MSCA 2025 Work Programme, the beneficiaries are responsible for sourcing complementary funds to run their Choose Europe for Science programme. This funding does not necessarily have to come from the resources of the beneficiary institution itself but can be drawn from funding sources at regional, national and European level (e.g. ERDF, Cohesion Funds, ESF, RRF). However, Horizon Europe funding cannot be used to co-fund MSCA Choose Europe for Science programs under the 2025 call.
The long-term leave allowance contributes to the personnel costs incurred by the employer in case of the researchers’ leave, including maternity, paternity, parental, sick or special leave, longer than 30 consecutive days.
The special needs allowance contributes to the additional costs for the acquisition of special needs items and services for researchers with disabilities, whose long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments are certified by a competent national authority, and of such nature that their participation in the action may not be possible without them (e.g. assistance by third persons, adaptation of work environment, additional travel/transportation costs). These special needs items or services must not have been funded from another source (e.g. social security or health insurance).
Both long-term leave and special needs allowances can be requested when the need arises during the first phase of the project. During the second phase, the beneficiary should continue to follow the applicable national legislation regarding remuneration of researchers on leave and provisions for researchers with special needs.
Therefore, during the first EU-funded phase, when the beneficiary has recruited a researcher who is already on a long-term leave, or the recruited researcher has special needs according to the Work Programme definition, the beneficiary should contact the project officer who will provide the necessary guidance.
The Programmes funded by the MSCA Choose Europe for Science 2025 call will operate in two phases: a first phase lasting 24 or 36 months, in which the EC will provide funding equivalent to the minimum gross monthly remuneration for each recruited researchers of 6 700 EUR. A second phase, with a duration of 24 months and funded entirely by the Beneficiary, will offer remuneration rates set at a level that is nationally competitive and attractive. The applicant beneficiaries are expected to include in their proposals the details on the applicable national salary scales, as well as any other relevant information, enabling independent international evaluators to assess the competitiveness and attractiveness of the remuneration set for the second phase of their Programmes.
In case the level of the salary corresponding to postdoctoral researchers (according to the national legislation in force) is lower than the minimum monthly gross remuneration during the first phase (6 700 Euro), the beneficiary is expected to apply the same strategy as for all other MSCA grants contracted in the respective country.
The ‘Choose Europe for Science’ allowance constitutes EUR 6 700 per recruited researcher per month during the first phase of the project (24 or 36 months). The allowance can be used to cover any cost category.
Note that this amount is the minimum monthly gross remuneration (i.e. salaries, social security contributions, taxes and other costs or compulsory deductions under national legislation linked to remuneration) applicable for researchers recruited under the Choose Europe for Science Programmes and is inclusive of the mobility allowance. If the Beneficiary decides to use the allowance for covering part of the institutional costs (costs related to the training, research expenses, activities related to networking of researchers and transfer of knowledge, costs of managing the action and indirect costs), then it must use other sources for topping up the minimum monthly gross remuneration of EUR 6 700.
The non-academic sector includes, but is not limited to:
- Industry and businesses (spin-off, start-ups, SMEs, Mid-caps and corporations).
- Private companies, including Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
- Non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
- Hospitals (there may be exceptions).
- Museums (there may be exceptions).
- Public authorities.
- Other entities not primarily focused on academic research or education (associations, platforms, etc.).
The academic sector includes the following types of legal entities:
- Public or private higher education establishments that award academic degrees.
- Public or private non-profit research organisations.
- International European Research Organisations (IERO).
CCCs are not applicable in the COFUND action.
However, when preparing their proposals, beneficiaries are allowed to put in place different levels of co-funding for salaries to adapt them to the living standards of the countries involved in the programme.
The 2023-2025 MSCA Work programme mentions on p. 8 that “The MSCA are open to all domains of research and innovation, chosen freely by the applicants in a fully bottom-up manner, addressed under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In addition, Postdoctoral Fellowships can also address domains covered by the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom Research and
Training Programme 2021-2025). ”
Choose Europe cannot fund the recruitment of researchers in the area of nuclear research that is covered by the Euratom programme. This exception only applies to Postdoctoral Fellowships.
On p. 32 of the COFUND Application form it is written that "the beneficiary must encode under the column ‘Own resources’ its own financial input to the programme, and under the column ‘Financial contribution’ the financial support coming from Implementing Partners (if
applicable).
The beneficiary must indicate for the Associated Partners – each in its relevant row - under the column ‘Financial contribution’ any financial support they intend to provide for the proposal."
As long as organisations recruit researchers with a PhD, it is up to the beneficiary to decide which level they aim at.
This would only be possible if this is the organisation that will recruit the fellows. It would not be possible to request the Choose Europe funding as a funder and then redistribute the funding to i.e. universities to recruit the fellows, as implementing partners would be needed for this.
There is no rule on this, and the partners have to agree this between themselves.
