The list of FAQs, which contains questions for the current Framework Programme (Horizon Europe), is updated with questions taken from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Q&A Blog. Make sure that you visit the blog for the latest FAQs on MSCA.

For MSCA FAQs pertaining to the previous Framework Programme (Horizon 2020) visit the old blog which the project will also update on a regular basis.

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COFUND

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.

Doctoral Networks

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.

MSCA & Citizens (Night)

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.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Regarding header and footer content, there are no strict specifications in the template or the guiding materials. Applicants can include the proposal acronym and action type in the header if they wish. In the same logic, REA would not reject a proposal for not having included the grey part “EU Grants: Application form (HE MSCA PF): V1.1 – 05.05.2022” in the header.

This is a possible option:

“Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 – [MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 – EF]               ACRONYM” Or “Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01-01 – [MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2022 – GF]               ACRONYM”

Тhey can list ‘submitted’ and ‘under review’, but they should be ignored by the reviewers. Under review/ submitted always means that they can still be rejected, so they cannot be seen as an accomplishment.

In cases where it is materially impossible to provide an employment contract due to exceptionally difficult circumstances (e.g. situations of war or armed conflict, natural disasters, etc.), an official letter from the employer, duly signed and stamped, stating the start and end dates, and describing the tasks performed by the employee could be accepted instead of the employment contract. In the particular case mentioned, it would be important to highlight that, in addition to the above, the letter should specify and quantify the time spent outside the main research activity so that the time spent not working in research could be deducted from the FTE experience in research.

In 2022 REA is keeping the same approach as for the 2021 call, meaning that the headings cannot be cut. The content in the template needs to be kept as such, without deleting the explanatory text in the parenthesis.

If a person leaves the EU for 12 months or longer, they lose the status of the long-term resident and the count starts from scratch. So if the period spent in the third country was 12 months or more, they are no longer considered long-term residents.

Staff Exchanges

There are no such templates beyond the standard consortium agreement template, such as the one provided by DESCA (https://www.desca-agreement.eu/desca-model-consortium-agreement/).

For Associated Partners, applicants have to click on the button on the Funding and Tenders Portal and then apply the PIC. For further steps in Form A and description of their role in Part B, applicants should follow instructions in the template.

For associated partners linked to a beneficiary, similar steps apply, but the type of link and description of the activities must be described in Part B.

There are three types of IMPACT in SE:

1. Economic Impact: boosts global & inter-sectoral collaborations

Triggers global inter-sectoral networking & innovation in TC and mobility flows between TC and Europe/ AC Increases active involvement of industry partners Consists on fostering innovation Facilitates technological development Transfers knowledge and deploys solutions It may include the impact the project will generate on participating companies in terms of revenues and profits, employment creation, market share, etc.

2. Social Impact: is a positive contributor to MSCA careers and employment for both male and female researchers

Concentrated on the generation of knowledge Involves R&I in developing, supporting and implementing Union policies Applies innovative solutions in industry (including SMEs), and addresses global challenges

3. Scientific Impact: contributes to fertilize advances across disciplines

Consistent fair representation in all the main research disciplines (majority of RISE projects ≥2 fields of science) Includes in particular the promotion of scientific excellence Creates high-quality new knowledge, skills, training and mobility of researchers

These three impacts are tracked with Key Impact Pathways (KIPs) which are divided as: ·

Scientific impact:

o Creating high-quality new knowledge

o Strengthening human capital in R&I

o Fostering diffusion of knowledge and Open Science ·

Societal Impact:

o Addressing EU policy priorities & global challenges through R&I

o Delivering benefits and impact via R&I missions

o Strengthening the uptake of R&I in society

Economic/ Technological Impact:

o Generating innovation-based growth

o Creating more and better jobs o Leveraging investments in R&I

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.

There are different scientific panels and proposals are ranked within their scientific panel. Proposals in some panels are more STEM-oriented and would have a different kind of impact than proposals in the SOC panel for instance, but these proposals would not compete against the STEM-oriented proposals. It should also be considered that the impact is now broadened to encompass not only a purely scientific impact but also impact on the society at large. This can be an area where the SSH proposals could actually have a competitive advantage.