Interested in MSCA Staff Exchanges (MSCA-SE)? In addition to the following guide, join our webinar on October 16th, 2023.
MSCA-SE promote innovative international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration in research and innovation through exchanging staff and sharing knowledge and ideas at all stages of the innovation chain. The scheme fosters a shared culture of research and innovation that welcomes and rewards creativity and entrepreneurship and helps turn ideas into innovative products, services, or processes.
The MSCA are open to all domains of research and innovation, chosen freely by the applicants, and have a strong focus in interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral cooperation. Staff Exchanges support collaborative projects addressing this triple dimension spanning all research fields and provide specific opportunities to promote international cooperation between the academic and non-academic spheres.
If you are considering applying for MSCA Staff Exchanges, here are some useful tips and guidance to start preparing your proposal.
The 2023 call for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges will open on October 5th with a deadline to apply by February 28th, 2024 at 5:00 PM CET (Brussels Time).
Step 1: get familiar with how funding works
Have a look at the Staff Exchanges page and key resources for an introduction to the scheme’s features.
Consult the MSCA Work Program and annexes for all details about the call. Check thoroughly the basic resources to dig deeper into the program’s requirements.
The Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal is the one-stop-shop for future applicants, offering useful resources such as
- the Guide for Applicants (available soon under the “Documents” section) the best starting point for any consortium interested in the scheme
- a set of official Frequently Asked Questions
- proposal templates and application forms, evaluation forms and evaluation criteria, and many other resources
Attend webinars and hands-on workshops to learn more about the call. MSCA National Contact Points and EURAXESS Worldwide organize information sessions regularly. Contact them to find out about the next sessions.
The MSCA-NET project, run by MSCA National Contact Points, offers complementary resources to support applicants
- Staff Exchanges: Handbook and resources which will be updated very soon with information about this call
- Frequently Asked Questions
CORDIS, the official projects’ database of the European Commission, can help you find examples of previously funded Staff Exchanges projects.
Step 2: make sure your organization can apply and your staff is eligible to take part
Organizations
Organizations from all socioeconomic sectors in any country can apply to Staff Exchanges. This includes:
- higher education institutions
- research institutions and infrastructures
- private sector organizations, including industry, businesses, and small- and medium-sized enterprises
- public sector organizations, including national, regional, and local governments, agencies, and museums
- other socio-economic actors, including NGOs, charities, etc.
Staff Exchanges projects are highly international projects, implemented by consortia involving several organizations from the EU, countries associated to the Horizon Europe program and very often organizations from third countries.
Secondments are the core of Staff Exchanges projects. Such secondments last for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 12 months. In addition, all secondments should fulfill certain conditions (see specific conditions in the MSCA Work Program and Guide for Applicants).
Participating organizations host and train seconded staff from other project partners at their own premises, and second staff abroad to other organizations in the consortium. However, the participation modalities differ depending on where the organization is based.
- Organizations based in EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme can participate as beneficiaries, meaning that they are automatically eligible for funding and can second, host, and train staff members.
- Organizations based in all third countries can participate as associated partners.
- Low- and middle-income third countries can second their staff, and host and train seconded staff from other partners in EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe program under the project’s costs(see specific conditions in the MSCA Work Program)
- Organizations based in high-income third countries can host and train seconded staff from other partners in EU Member States and countries associated to the Horizon Europe programme under the project’s costs, but they can to second their staff members only under their own expenses. Some countries like Japan, Canada and Brazil have set up complementary funding mechanisms for this purpose – interested organizations should refer to the relevant national authorities.
If you are not sure about your country’s status, have a look at the list of participating countries to Horizon Europe. At the time of publication, Canada and the United States are both non-associated third countries. Canada is currently in the process of negotiating associated country status with the European Commission.
Staff members
Staff members funded by Staff Exchanges will receive a top-up allowance on top of the salary paid by their sending organization. They should fulfill the following requirements.
- Should be considered staff of the sending organization
- Can be researchers at any career stage, from PhD candidates to postdoctoral researchers, as well as administrative, technical or managerial staff involved in research and innovation activities, of any nationality
- Must be engaged in, or linked to, research and innovation activities at their sending organization for at least one month prior to the secondment
- Should return to their sending organization after the secondment, to pass on their knowledge and foster collaboration
Step 3: find the best partners to prepare your proposal
To apply you will need to build an international and diverse consortium of leading organizations in the proposal’s research field following some minimum requirements (see specific conditions in the MSCA Work Program).
Staff Exchanges reward intersectoral and international consortia, involving either organizations in different socioeconomic sectors in and outside academia or organizations in third countries.
You could start by exploring the existing links that your department and organizations have with institutions around Europe and worldwide.
You can also use this call to explore new collaborations and expand your networks. Every consortium has a coordinating institution and partner organisations that contribute to the implementation of project.
The following resources may help you find new partners to work with and advertise your organization
- MSCA Matchmaking platform
- Funding and tender opportunities portal (see “Partner Search Announcements”)
- If you are looking for partners beyond academia or seeking advice for research-business collaboration, reach out to the European Enterprise Network’s contact points
If you are still uncertain about the eligibility of your consortium, MSCA National contact points can help you go through the criteria.
Step 4: start drafting your application
To draft a successful application, you will need to get familiar with the award criteria and the specific requirements of the call and stick to them. The call’s page on the Funding and tenders portal offers several resources to learn more about them.
- Award criteria and budget structure (MSCA Work Program, p. 97-103)
- The Horizon Europe Program guide offers more guidance on specific aspects evaluated under the award criteria such as
- Sustainability: in line with the green objectives of the European Union, projects are strongly encouraged to adopt sustainable practices in line with the MSCA Green Charter. Projects should report on their efforts in that direction, and sustainability may even act as a criterion to decide between otherwise ex-aequo proposals. Useful tips and guidance to increase the sustainability of projects can be found here
- You can also watch evaluators’ briefing videos, including on
In addition, all future Staff Exchanges will be required to address these core aspects in their proposal.
- Skills’ development and training activities: projects should offer opportunities to the seconded staff to acquire new skills, facilitate knowledge sharing, foster networking activities and test innovative approaches to specific research and innovation topics.
- Mentoring: Particular attention is paid to the quality of mentoring arrangements as well as career guidance in line with the Guidelines for MSCA supervision.
- Career development: projects should pay special attention to the improved employability and career prospects of participating staff, allowing them to generate and strengthen long-term collaborations and opportunities.
Step 5: check your application with your peers
If you want to receive feedback on your draft and get advice from former applicants and experts, you can reach out to
- the MSCA National Contact Point in your country
- EURAXESS Worldwide hubs
- your organization, which may also have resources to verify and submit your application
Step 6: submit your application
The 2023 call for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Staff Exchanges will open on October 5th with a deadline to apply by February 28th, 2024, 5:00 PM CET.
During this period, you and your partners can prepare and submit your application and learn more about the submission process on the call page on the Funding and Tenders Opportunities Portal and through the portal’s online manual. Become familiar with the electronic submission service, which is the online system you must use to submit proposals.
Submit your proposal as early as possible before the deadline expires to avoid last-minute problems. You can update, download, or withdraw your proposal up until the deadline. You can see an overview of the evaluation process on the European Research Executive Agency’s website.