For calls with deadlines in 2022 and beyond, once a project proposal is selected for funding following evaluations, consortium partners concerned by the eligibility criterion will have until Grant Agreement signature to confirm they have a GEP in place.

This is mainly for statistics purposes.

External evaluation agencies would be seen as service providers, the applicant shall explain that they will be using an external agency when describing the evaluation and selection process under excellence, no need of letter of commitment in this case as they are not partners.

Own resources mean all resources – beneficiaries + implementing partners + associated partners (if applicable).

Yes, they will assess if the appropriate level of co-financing is committed to effectively implement the proposal.

The reference identifier in the researchers table in part A of the proposal corresponds to a unique code that a researcher can use to easily identify him/ herself and his/ her work. There is a breakdown menu where the researcher can select the preferred type of identifier (ORCID ID (commonly used to refer to all publications of an author…), Researcher ID, others).

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/).

The number of funded DN projects from the reserve list is normally lower than these from the PF reserve list.

“Multiple recruitment” means that the researcher has several work contracts during the fellowship. For example, during the first half of the fellowship they have a contract with a company and then during the rest of the fellowship, with a university.

Applicants may describe the network organisation in one and up to two pages, for sections 4 and 5 together, based on the consortium size and complexity, and/ or they have a full programme to implement the Green Charter and yet, there is no limit – they could elaborate as much as they want.

Timesheets and declarations are not requested in MSCA projects (contrary to other Horizon Europe actions based on actual costs). To prove that the researcher worked on their MSCA project, it is sufficient to present a contract with the host institution together with additional documents proving the fellow’s dedication to the project, if needed.

Moreover, declarations are not allowed by the auditors. REA has confirmed that the declaration on exclusive work is not applicable for audits carried out in MSCA ITN, IF and COFUND actions to determine time spent working on the action. It is expected this will continue in Horizon Europe.

As outlined in the H2020 Indicative Audit Programme, such evidence may include lab books, attendance lists, conference abstracts, library records, travel expenses, timesheets, reports to supervisor, meeting minutes, e-mail exchanges, etc. and other open sources (e.g. the internet) to see if the researcher worked on activities other than their  project. The auditors will also look at the researcher’s employment contract or corresponding agreement to see if it complies with Article 32 of the H2020 Annotated Model Grant Agreement, including but not limited to the obligation that the researcher works exclusively for the action.

Fellows need documentation in the form of a contract that shows the 50% commitment or something similar since MSCA does not typically operate with timesheets.

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.

The first thing to note is, that even though they cannot directly claim costs, it does not mean that they cannot indirectly receive some funding for the role they have in the DN. Typically for each unit cost, there is one part that goes to the researcher and then there is the institutional part, and this part should not be seen as funding for just this particular fellow, and this beneficiary. It is rather a common pot for the whole consortium to run the project. In the consortium agreement the consortium defines how this is split. This funding can be distributed to the different partners according to their needs in the project: some partners provide more trainings, for instance, the coordinator typically has more management costs, so this funding can be redistributed, and some of this money can go to associated partners to cover the costs of them hosting researchers for secondments, or for them to provide trainings. So these are internal arrangements within the consortium (in the broader sense with the associated partners) so they can get indirectly money for their action. Of course, there are also non-financial incentives; the interest for them to participate could be transfer of knowledge or being part of a dynamic network and being associated to the research project.

For PF, direct financial benefits may not be there but there are plenty indirect benefits – scientific contributions, networking, getting experience in this type of projects, hosting events.

A 50-50 time commitment is not possible in PF – at least 70% of the time must be spent in the main host institution (beneficiary), and only up to 30% in any other (partner organisation for the secondment).

They can present an official document issued by the government that shows all the contracts a person has had during a period of time. Without an official document, maybe a bank certificate or statement could work.

Having part-time contracts and participating in researcher projects does not look like a complete parental leave as the researcher was somewhat active in research during this period.

The time researchers want deducted for parental leave is the official time they have taken for parental leave and it needs to be documented, with a certificate from the employer indicating this, together with Social Security documentation.

Taxation does not depend on MSCA rules but on national legislation and also on agreements between different countries.

The applicant could ask the EURAXESS centres of related countries for help.

The fellow should also enquire if there is some sort of double taxation system between the countries that prevent or obliges them to pay taxes during the outgoing phase.  

Timesheets and declarations are not requested in MSCA projects (contrary to other Horizon Europe actions based on actual costs). To prove that the researcher worked on their MSCA project, it is sufficient to present a contract with the host institution together with additional documents proving the fellow’s dedication to the project, if needed.

Moreover, declarations are not allowed by the auditors. REA has confirmed that the declaration on exclusive work is not applicable for audits carried out in MSCA ITN, IF and COFUND actions to determine time spent working on the action. It is expected this will continue in Horizon Europe.

As outlined in the H2020 Indicative Audit Programme, such evidence may include lab books, attendance lists, conference abstracts, library records, travel expenses, timesheets, reports to supervisor, meeting minutes, e-mail exchanges, etc. and other open sources (e.g. the internet) to see if the researcher worked on activities other than their  project. The auditors will also look at the researcher’s employment contract or corresponding agreement to see if it complies with Article 32 of the H2020 Annotated Model Grant Agreement, including but not limited to the obligation that the researcher works exclusively for the action.

Fellows need documentation in the form of a contract that shows the 50% commitment or something similar since MSCA does not typically operate with timesheets.

Organisations can only encode secondments that are eligible for EC funding. So organisations could encode the secondments going to the UK, but not those from the UK to a beneficiary. It is the dates included in the mobility declarations (previously researchers’ declarations) which are used for financial reporting.  

The researcher is eligible to participate, the change of status does not affect their eligibility.

The UK partners will be funded with the UKRI Horizon Europe Guarantee, in line with the original budget line. They will no longer be able to be included as a beneficiary but will need to become Associated Partners (APs).  Secondments to UK APs from Member States (MS) and/ or Associated Countries (AC) will be funded by the EC as originally foreseen in the proposal. Secondments from UK APs to MS/ AC/ other APs will be funded via UKRI, in line with the budget line and secondment plan in the proposal. Secondments from another AP to the UK will also be funded via UKRI.