PF: If a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow receives permission for part-time employment, is the project extended accordingly, or should the fellow do all the activities in the 24 months declared in the proposal?

The duration of a MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship project is always automatically extended if part-time employment is agreed.

PF: In case of part-time PF implementation, does the pro-rata principle for funding applies to researchers’ unit cost categories or to all costs (also including institutional)?

Part-time allocation affects all the cost categories and extends the calendar duration of the grant agreement proportionally.

 

PF: Will fellows be able to work less than 50% for other reasons than medical reasons?

Medical reasons concern not only the fellows but also their family members.

DN: An institution preparing a Doctoral Networks application plans to offer a 65% employment contract for PhD students as the MSCA funding only covers 65% of the salary they pay PhD students at their organisation. Will this kind of contract be allowed?

Part-time work for professional reasons in Doctoral Networks is not allowed. There is a funding gap problem in many countries. There is no other way than to match this gap from other financial resources (either internal or external as long as double funding is prevented).

PF: Is it possible to implement a PF and chair a COST action at the same time?

With the approval of REA and the host organisation, it is possible to opt for part-time for professional reasons – if the researcher wishes to keep both projects, they should first ask the host if they agree, and then approach the project officer with this request. If approved, the PF duration will be extended (the person-months remain the same) and the unit costs reduced proportionally (i.e. the same amount of funding will be stretched over a longer period).

PF: Is it possible for a fellow to work 6 months per year as an MSCA fellow and the other 6 months in an academic position at another institution in another country if they get an approval by the PF host organisation and the other institution?

They would need to discuss this with the project officer, and they can approve or refuse the request. Part time working has to be calculated on a weekly basis as the payments are based per person month. For 6 months on, 6 months off, they would need to suspend the project for the 6 months they are not working on the MSCA fellowship.