MARIE SKŁODOWSKA-CURIE ACTIONS (MSCA)

MSCA - Research Fellowship Programme

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions support researchers at all stages of their careers, regardless of age and nationality. Researchers working across all disciplines are eligible for funding. The MSCA also support cooperation between industry and academia and innovative training to enhance employability and career development.The MSCA are based on the principle of mobility, and researchers can receive funding on the condition that they move from one country to another to acquire new knowledge and develop their research career. The MSCA support research career paths, thereby ensuring good working conditions and work/lifebalance. Organisations from both the academic and the non-academic sectors can receive funding, such as universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses, and other socio-economic actors from different countries. This includes third countries under the conditions defined in the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation Regulation No 1290/2013 andin part A of the General Annexes to the Work Programme. The principles of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (Charter and Code) promoting open recruitment and attractive working and employment conditions are a cornerstone of the MSCA and all funded participants must apply them in line with the provisions of the grant agreement.
The MSCA have a bottom-up approach, i.e. research fields are chosen freely by the applicants. All domains of research and technological development are eligible for funding (except areas of research covered by the EURATOM Treaty).
MSCA includes the following actions: 

• Innovative Training Networks (ITN); 
• Individual Fellowships (IF);
• Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE); 
• Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND); 
• European Researchers' Night (NIGHT).

Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit. ITN supports competitively selected joint research training and/or doctoral programmes, implemented by partnerships of universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses, SMEs, and other socio-economic actors from different countries across Europe and beyond. Partnerships take the form of collaborative European Training Networks (ETN), European Industrial Doctorates (EID) or European Joint Doctorates (EJD). A Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and each earlystage researcher recruited by the selected network. In addition to research objectives, this plan comprises the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences. In EID and EJD, fellowships offered to early-stage researchers should lead to a doctoral degree. EJD result in joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees awarded by institutions from at least two different countries, primarily within Europe.
Individual Fellowships (IF) foresee a support for individual, trans-national fellowships awarded to the best or most promising researchers of any nationality, for employment in EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries. It is based on an application made jointly by the researcher and the beneficiary in the academic or non-academic sectors. Fellowships take the form of European Fellowships or Global Fellowships. European Fellowships are held in EU Member States or Horizon 2020 Associated Countries and are open to researchers either coming to Europe from any country in the world or moving within Europe. Direct return to and long-term reintegration of researchers in Europe, including in their country of origin, is supported via a separate multi-disciplinary reintegration panel of the European Fellowships. Support to individuals to resume research in Europe after a career break, e.g. after parental leave or due to recent migration, is ensured via a separate multi-disciplinary career restart panel of the European Fellowships. To qualify for the career restart panel, researchers must not have been active in research for a continuous period of at least 12 months within the 18 months immediately prior to the deadline for submission. Researchers seeking to work on research and innovation projects in an organisation from the non-academic sector will be supported via a separate multi-disciplinary society and enterprise panel of the European Fellowships. The Widening Fellowships implemented through Work Programme part 15, Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation, provide specific support to researchers to undertake their fellowship in a widening country. Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a third country and a mandatory 12 month return period to a European host. A Career Development Plan should be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and the researcher. In addition to research or innovation objectives, this plan comprises the researcher's training and career needs, including training on transferable skills, teaching, planning for publications and participation in conferences.
Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) promotes international and cross-sector collaboration through exchanging research and innovation staff, and sharing knowledge and ideas from research to market (and vice-versa). RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in particular SMEs), based in Europe (EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries) and outside Europe (third countries). Support is provided for the development of partnerships in the form of a joint research and innovation project. This is aimed at knowledge sharing via international as well as intersectoral mobility, based on secondments of research and innovation staff (exchanges) with an in-built return mechanism. RISE should exploit complementary competences of the participating organisations, as well as other synergies, and enable networking activities, organisation of workshops and conferences to facilitate sharing of knowledge, new skills acquisition and career development for research and innovation staff members. Exchanges can be for both early-stage and experienced researchers and can also include administrative, managerial and technical staff directly involved in the research and innovation activities of the proposal.
Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND) aims to stimulate regional, national or international programmes to foster excellence in researchers' training, mobility and career development, spreading the best practices of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. This will be achieved by co-funding new or existing regional, national, and international programmes to open up to, and provide for, international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary research training, as well as transnational and cross-sectoral mobility of researchers at all stages of their career. Proposed programmes are encouraged to cover all research disciplines ("bottom-up"), but can also focus on specific disciplines. COFUND takes the form of: A) Doctoral programmes: Doctoral programmes address the development and broadening of the research competencies of early-stage researchers. B) Fellowship programmes: Fellowship programmes fund individual research training and career development fellowships for experienced researchers.
European Researchers' Night (NIGHT) aims to bring researchers closer to the general public and to increase awareness of research and innovation activities, with a view to supporting the public recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of researchers' work on citizen’s daily life, and encouraging young people to embark on research careers. The European Researchers' Night takes place yearly, typically starting on the last Friday of the month of September, and is the occasion for a Europe-wide public and media event for the promotion of research careers, in particular towards young people and their families. Supported main events can last up to two full days: they can start on Friday and continue the following day. Activities focus on the general public, addressing and attracting people regardless of the level of their scientific background, with a special focus on pupils and students. Activities can combine education aspects with entertainment, especially when addressing young audiences. They can take various forms, e.g. hands-on experiments, science shows, simulations, debates, games, competitions, quizzes, etc. Each proposal should set up at least one European corner, providing general information about the European Union and how the EU funds science and education cooperation within Europe and beyond. Activities should be organised with researchers actively involved and directly in contact with the public. They should promote the European dimension, gender balance and inclusion in research and innovation. Involvement of researchers funded by Horizon 2020, including the Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions, is highly encouraged. Participants can be any legal entity in the EU Member States and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries, and/or if relevant, constitute a partnership at regional, national or international level.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Work Programme 2018-2020