Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions - 2019 Call for Research and Innovation Staff Exchange
Horizon 2020 - Excellent Science - Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
Description
Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions are part of the Excellent Science pillar of the EU's research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020. The actions support cross-sector mobility of researchers to prepare them for current and future societal challenges. The aim is to ensure excellent and innovative research training and career and knowledge-exchange opportunities.
Maximum value: Discretionary
Objectives of Fund
Horizon 2020 focuses on the following three priorities:
- Excellent Science - generating excellent science in order to strengthen the Union's world-class excellence in science.
- Industrial Leadership - fostering industrial leadership to support business, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SME).
- Societal Challenges - innovation and tackling societal challenges, in order to respond directly to the challenges identified in the Europe 2020 strategy by supporting activities covering the entire spectrum from research to market.
Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions are part of the Excellent Science pillar and provide support for cross-sector mobility of researchers in all domains of research and innovation, from basic research up to market take-up and innovation services.
Mobility is the key requirement, and researchers receive funding on the condition that they move from one country to another to broaden or deepen their competences.
Particular attention is paid to gender balance and researchers are supported to establish themselves on a stable career path and to ensure that they can achieve an appropriate work/life balance. To further enhance dissemination and public engagement, beneficiaries of the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions are required to plan suitable public outreach activities.
Value Notes
The total budget for Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions is €6.1 billion.
The estimated total budgets for each year are as follows:
- 2018 - €890.28 million
- 2019 - €939.15 million
- 2020 - €1042.45 million
2019 Allocation
- Innovative Training Networks (ITN) - €470 million.
- Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) - €80 million.
- Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND) - €90 million.
- Individual Fellowships - €295.62 million.
Please note that the budget amounts are indicative.
Who Can Apply
Researchers and innovation staff at all stages of their career are eligible, as well as universities, research institutions, research infrastructures, businesses and other socio-economic actors. The strong participation of industry, particularly SMEs, is encouraged.
Any legal entity may participate in an action provided that the conditions laid down in the Rules of Participation have been met as well as any conditions laid down in the relevant work programme or work plan.
The Joint Research Council may participate in actions with the same rights and obligations as a legal entity established in a Member State.
Eligibility for Funding
The following participants are eligible for funding from the European Union:
- Any legal entity established in a Member State or associated country, or created under Union law.
- Any international European interest organisation.
- Any legal entity established in a third country identified in the work programme.
In the case of a participating international organisation or in the case of a participating legal entity established in a third country, neither of which are eligible for funding, funding from the European Union may be granted provided that at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:
- The participation is deemed essential for carrying out the action by the Commission or the relevant funding body.
- Such funding is provided for under a bilateral scientific and technological agreement or any other arrangement between the Union and the international organisation or, for entities established in third countries, the country in which the legal entity is established.
Associated Third Countries
Horizon 2020 shall be open to the association of:
- Acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective framework agreements and decisions of association councils or similar agreements.
- Selected third countries that fulfil all of the following criteria:
- have a good capacity in science, technology and innovation;
- have a good track record of participation in Union research and innovation programmes;
- have close economic and geographical links to the Union;
- are European Free Trade Association (EFTA) members or countries or territories listed in the Annex to the Regulation establishing a European Neighbourhood Instrument.
International cooperation with third countries and international organisations shall be promoted across and within Horizon 2020 to achieve, in particular, the following objectives:
- Strengthening the Union’s excellence and attractiveness in research and innovation as well as its economic and industrial competitiveness.
- Tackling effectively global societal challenges.
- Supporting the Union's external and development policy objectives, complementing external and development programmes.
Restrictions
The European Commission does not explicitly solicit the use of human embryonic stem cells. The use of human stem cells, be they adult or embryonic, if any, depends on the judgement of the scientists in view of the objectives they want to achieve and is subject to stringent Ethics Review.
No project involving the use of human embryonic stem cells will be funded that does not obtain the necessary approvals from the Member States. No activity will be funded that is forbidden in all Member States. No activity will be funded in a Member State where such activity is forbidden.
The following fields of research shall not be financed:
- Research activity aiming at human cloning for reproductive purposes.
- Research activity intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes heritable.
- Research activities intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Eligible Expenditure
Support is provided under the following schemes:
Innovative Training Networks (ITN)
Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers.
Support is for 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.
Individual Fellowships (IF)
The goal of Individual Fellowships is to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility.
The scheme particularly supports the return and reintegration of researchers from outside Europe who have previously worked here. It also develops or helps to restart the careers of individual researchers that show great potential, considering their experience.
Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)
The RISE scheme will promote international and inter-sector collaboration through research and innovation staff exchanges, and sharing of knowledge and ideas from research to market (and vice-versa) for the advancement of science and the development of innovation.
RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in particular SMEs), based in Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries) and outside Europe (third countries). Support is provided for the development of partnerships in the form of joint research and innovation activities between the participants.
Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND)
The COFUND scheme aims at stimulating regional, national or international programmes to foster excellence in researchers' training, mobility and career development, spreading the best practices of Marie Sk?odowska-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.
Participants submit multi-annual proposals for new or existing doctoral programmes or fellowship programmes that may be run at regional, national or international level.
European Researchers' Night (NIGHT)
The European Researchers' 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 scientific careers.
The Night takes place yearly, typically on the last Friday of the month of September. Activities focus on the general public, addressing and attracting people regardless of the level their scientific background, with a special focus on pupils and students. Activities can combine education aspects with entertainment, especially when addressing young audience. They can take various forms, such as hands-on experiments, science shows, simulations, debates, games, competitions, quizzes, etc.
Trans-national cooperation among Marie Sklodowska-Curie National Contact Points (NCP)
The objective of this scheme is to facilitate trans-national co-operation between National Contact Points (NCPs) for the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie actions (MSCA), with a view to identifying and sharing good practices and raising the general standard of support to applicants, taking into account the diversity of actors. Support will be given to a consortium of formally nominated NCPs in the area of MSCA.
How To Apply
Applications are made via the Horizon 2020 online submission system on the Participant Portal website.
Continuously open Calls
Submissions can be made at any time, although there may be cut-off dates when proposals are evaluated.
One-stage Calls
For most Calls, a full proposal must be submitted by the given deadline.
Two-stage calls
Some Calls have a 2-stage submission procedure, as follows:
Stage 1
Submit an outline proposal (maximum 20 pages). This is evaluated against criteria set out in the Call/topic. For continuously open calls, a stage-1 proposal will be evaluated as soon as it is received, and there will be a closure date for submitting a full proposal in stage 2.
Stage 2
If the proposal passes stage 1, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal within a given period. If required by the relevant work programme, at this stage applicants will also receive the stage-1 Evaluation summary report (ESR).
Rejected proposals
If a proposal does not pass Stage 1, the applicant will be informed of this in writing, along with the evaluation summary report.
If you are interested the WORK PROGRAMME IS DOWNLOADABLE HERE