If it is a continuation – yes, otherwise no. The number of the project should be given. Even if the applicant mentions that a similar proposal has already been submitted, this will be checked very carefully by REA. If after checking REA sees it is not the case, they will not consider it to be similar.

It depends very much on the research training programme. There could be research training programmes which are very specific and others very broad, for example with a bottom-up approach.

Implementing partners can recruit researchers if they are in the list of countries eligible to receive EU funding. If not, they can contribute to the implementation of the action but they cannot recruit researchers and are associated partners. A legal entity based in a Third Country cannot recruit researchers if this country is not in the list of eligible countries to receive EU funding, however an additional employment contract could be concluded with such legal entity like in PF, but this would depend on the fellowship scheme and the main employment contract would still be with the European host institution.

It depends on the role of the organisation. Normally the associated partner is hosting/ providing a secondment and/ or training, moreover, an associated partner does not receive any funding.

In the case of a regional authority providing funding only to the beneficiary, this should be explained in the proposal, but it should be considered part of the beneficiary’s own resources.

When talking about impact, this is prospective, it is in the future, assuming that the project is successful and that it achieves everything that it set up to achieve. The applicants could base themselves on some other studies to strengthen or build their case about the impact they could have, before the impact is actually achieved.

The deadlines and procedures are set out in the evaluation result letter. For more information on complaints about proposal rejection: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/funding-tenders-opportunities/display/OM/Complaints+about+proposal+rejection.

This option is fine. It is important to clearly state that all fellows will be enrolled into doctoral studies. It is quite difficult for beneficiaries to commit to the awarding of a doctoral degree to each recruited researcher at a specific date, given that the PhD programmes duration can be different from an institution to another and that unpredictable events can delay the PhD thesis completion.

Yes, each student must be enrolled in a double degree awarded by two participating organisations from MS/ AC. If an associated partner from a third country delivers a degree to a student, there should also be two other beneficiaries/ associated partners from MS/ AC delivering a degree to the same student.

An anti-plagiarism tool is used to flag any potential cases but REA are aware that a certain percentage of similarities will be explained by the templates or some standardized parts from institutions. REA only focuses on most critical cases.

The deadlines and procedures are set out in the evaluation result letter. For more information on complaints about proposal rejection: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/funding-tenders-opportunities/display/OM/Complaints+about+proposal+rejection.

The legal status that the EC has assigned to the organisation during the validation process has to be checked on the Funding and Tenders Opportunities Portal.

In addition, please note that non-academic placements can only take place in EU MS or HE AC, as clarified on p. 11 of the MSCA PF 2022 Guide for applicants.

Applicants can download the editable proposal templates by starting submission – it is not necessary to register the proposal, immediately at first step there is a button ’Download Part B templates’.

In the actual Part A of the European Fellowship proposal, there is no confusion. The PDF template has the Global Fellowship version of the budget table. In the submission system, European Fellowship applicants have the correct version.

This is an institutional decision of the organisation where the supervisor is meant to be recruited by the time the project starts: if it is possible for them to have somebody not employed acting as staff in a European project.

If the answer is yes, then the applicant should go ahead with that institution, they can include the information on the institution’s infrastructure and capacities.

If the answer is no, then the applicant should include information on the institution where the supervisor is recruited at present. In that case, if a change of host has to be asked for, it should happen at GAP stage.

Having in mind that the supervisor is the official contact for the beneficiary in the project proposal, another solution is that the applicant includes someone else as the main contact/ supervisor, for example head of the lab/ institute, and list the other one as co-supervisor. From the point of view of a reviewer, the fact that the actual supervisor is not yet employed by the organisation is a potential risk. It would make the proposal stronger, if the employment contract were already signed (with a future start date), or there would be something else in place to ensure that the person is employed by the start date of the project at the latest.

Yes, PACS is considered as an equivalent status to a marriage in France.

No, table 5.1 is only for the associated and implementing partners. The beneficiary will be included in the table in the beginning of part B soon after the start page ‘Information on the Beneficiary’.

The only option in such cases is having more than 2/3 of the secondments to/ from Switzerland. The Guide for Applicants 2021 states on p. 6: “There is no pre-defined size for Staff Exchanges projects. However, it is recommended to keep the size of the consortium between 6 to 10 organisations. As for the number of associated partners, it should remain reasonable and commensurate with the size of the network.” Some evaluators could highlight weaknesses due to the distribution of the secondments. It is better to increase the number of partners from 3 to 6. This will provide more possibilities for secondments distribution.

The deadlines and procedures are set out in the evaluation result letter. For more information on complaints about proposal rejection: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/funding-tenders-opportunities/display/OM/Complaints+about+proposal+rejection.

Secondments from/ to branches/ departments of beneficiaries/ partner organisations that are not separate legal entities, are NOT eligible, if they are located in countries other than the country of their beneficiary/ partner organisation.

The total person-months for the Associated Partners linked to a beneficiary should be encoded together with the main beneficiary (e.g. University A.) in the budget table. That means, the total person-months must be encoded only into the beneficiary budget and no budget should be encoded for the associated partners linked to a beneficiary. There will be a warning in the form because the associated partner linked to beneficiary budget will be zero. This does not prevent from submitting. In case the number of secondments from the Associated Partners linked to a beneficiary is substantial, they should appear as beneficiary/participant only (not Associated Partners linked to a beneficiary). Applicants should list and detail the relation of the other Associated Partners linked to a beneficiary (e.g. University B) in part B.