H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships Call opened - deadline 11 Sept 2019

[Susanne Henningsen]

For details see,
EC portal link 
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/msca-if-2019;freeTextSearchKeyword=;typeCodes=1;statusCodes=31094501;programCode=H2020;programDivisionCode=31047830;focusAreaCode=null;crossCuttingPriorityCode=null;callCode=Default;sortQuery=openingDate;orderBy=asc;onlyTenders=false;topicListKey=topicSearchTablePageState>


Topic Description
Objective:

/The goal of the 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./

/Individual Fellowships provide opportunities to researchers of any 
nationality to acquire and transfer new knowledge and to work on 
research and innovation in Europe (EU Member States and Horizon 2020 
Associated Countries) and beyond. The scheme particularly supports the 
return and (re)integration of European researchers from outside Europe 
and those who have previously worked here, as well as researchers 
displaced by conflict outside the EU and Horizon 2020 Associated 
Countries. It also promotes the career restart of individual researchers 
who show great potential./

Scope:

Support is foreseen 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.

Only one proposal per individual researcher per call will be evaluated.

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. The researcher 
must comply with the rules of mobility in the country where the European 
Fellowship is held.

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. For 
the reintegration panel, there must be direct mobility to the country of 
the beneficiary in Europe from a third country (compulsory national 
service and/or short stays such as holidays are not taken into account).

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 objective of this panel is to facilitate career moves 
between the academic and non-academic sectors, to stimulate innovation, 
and to open attractive career opportunities for researchers outside 
academia.

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^[1] 
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/#fn1> . 
This will help spread excellence and close the still apparent research 
and innovation gap within Europe.

Global Fellowships are based on a secondment to a third country and a 
mandatory 12 month return period to a European host. The researcher must 
comply with the rules of mobility in the country where the Global 
Fellowship secondment takes place, not for the country of the return phase.

Researchers receiving an Individual Fellowship may opt to include a 
secondment phase in Europe, notably in the non-academic sector, within 
the overall duration of their fellowship. For a fellowship of 18 months 
or less, the secondment phase may last up to three months. For a 
fellowship of more than 18 months, the secondment phase may last up to 
six months. The secondment phase can be a single period or be divided 
into shorter mobility periods. The secondment should significantly add 
to the impact of the fellowship. In the Global Fellowships, such a 
secondment can also take place at the start of the action at the 
beneficiary or a partner organisation in Europe for a maximum of 3 
months, allowing the researcher to spend time there before moving on to 
a partner organisation in a third country.

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.

Researchers participating in the Individual Fellowships may opt to work 
part-time in order to pursue supplementary activities. These might 
include creating a company, or engaging in advanced studies not related 
to the MSCA grant. Any supplementary activities carried out part-time in 
parallel with the MSCA action must be agreed upon by the researcher and 
the beneficiary.

Expected Impact:

At researcher level:

  * Increased set of skills, both research-related and transferable
    ones, leading to improved employability and career prospects both in
    and outside academia
  * Increase in higher impact R&I output, more knowledge and ideas
    converted into products and services
  * Greater contribution to the knowledge-based economy and society

At organisation level:

  * Enhanced cooperation and stronger networks
  * Better transfer of knowledge between sectors and disciplines
  * Boosting of R&I capacity among participating organisations

At system level:

  * Increase in international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral
    mobility of researchers in Europe
  * Strengthening of Europe's human capital base in R&I with more
    entrepreneurial and better trained researchers
  * Better communication of R&I results to society
  * Increase in Europe's attractiveness as a leading destination for R&I
  * Better quality research and innovation contributing to Europe's
    competitiveness and growth