MSCA Doctoral Networks 2025

In a MSCA DN proposals, the principle is that each beneficiary must have dedicated premises – owned or rented – to host and supervise the research work of the fellows. Therefore, a newly established campus company/university spin-off that neither owns nor rents premises would not be considered to have independent research premises, nor would a "letterbox company" or a company operating from a residential address.

Associated partners hosting secondments should demonstrate that they have independent dedicated premises as described above.

It must be clear from the proposal where the recruited researchers are going to be hosted and the facilities and infrastructure that are available at that location. See also the part B templatePDF.

Legal entities and natural persons established in Russia, Belarus, or in non-government controlled territories of Ukraine are not eligible to participate in any capacity in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under the Work Programme 2025. These restrictions cover participation as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, associated partners, third parties giving in-kind contributions, subcontractors, or recipients of financial support to third parties. Exceptions may only be granted on a case-by-case basis for justified reasons.

No. In all MSCA DN type of actions, if the researcher has a contract with more than one beneficiary, the eligibility of the fellow and the respect of the mobility rule will be checked once, by the first beneficiary recruiting the fellow. See also the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF and the Guide for Applicants.

Yes, the participation of the non-academic sector is considered essential. As the MSCA DN call aims to improve the employability of researchers through exposure to organisations in both the academic and non-academic sectors, an essential part of any DN is the involvement of organisations from different sectors (see also the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF).

For Doctoral Networks-Industrial Doctorates (DN-IDs), note that researchers must spend at least 50% of their time in the non-academic sector. It is no more an obligation to have a legal entity from the non-academic sector as beneficiary in the consortium, as the non-academic sector has the flexibility to participate either as beneficiary or associated partner.

Please note that intersectoral secondments can be intra-national. The degree of involvement of organisations from the non-academic sector will be assessed by the expert evaluators according to the evaluation criteria.

For MSCA Doctoral Networks such universities may participate as beneficiaries, as long as they recruit, host and supervise the recruited fellows at their premises. In such a case, the fellow may be enrolled in a PhD programme at a university or a consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions (entitled to award a doctoral degree) which must be added as an associated partner or an associated partner linked to a beneficiary.

However for JDs in order to count as one of the minimum three academic beneficiaries required to award a doctoral degree, this beneficiary should have transferred the right of awarding a doctoral degree to a consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions to which it belongs to.

For IDs, should none of the academic beneficiaries be entitled to award a doctoral degree, a university or a consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions entitled to award a doctoral degree must be at least associated to the project as an associated partner or as an associated partner linked to a beneficiary.

In a MSCA DN, where associated partners propose to fund their own participation in the action, or beneficiaries propose to fund additional person-months (over the 540 person-months limit) from another budget source, these person-months should not be added in Part A of the proposal, but instead they must be clearly indicated in Part B of the proposal.

A clear explanation of this set-up and of the use of own resources should therefore be provided in Part B.

In DN-JDs it is expected that the researchers will need to spend at least the minimum period of time required to be eligible to enrol in a doctoral degree and defend the doctoral thesis at the corresponding academic participating organisations. This will vary according to the institution and country in question.

The recruitment and hosting arrangements for each fellow must be described in the proposal, keeping in mind the minimum of 3 months’ duration of the employment contract as an eligibility criterion.

In DN-JDs the creation of a joint governance structure with joint admission, selection, supervision, monitoring and assessment is mandatory. One of the evaluation criteria is the quality of the joint supervision of the fellow and it is therefore expected that the institutions providing the joint degree have an active role in the supervision, monitoring, and training of the fellows for a meaningful period of time.

In MSCA DN proposals, the principle is that each beneficiary must have dedicated premises – owned or rented – to host and supervise the research work of the fellows. Therefore, a newly established campus company/university spin-off that neither owns nor rents premises would not be considered to have independent research premises, nor would a "letterbox company" or a company operating from a residential address.

Associated partners hosting secondments should demonstrate that they have independent dedicated premises as described above.

It must be clear from the proposal where the recruited researchers are going to be hosted and the facilities and infrastructure that are available at that location. See also the part B templatePDF.

In a MSCA DN, where associated partners propose to fund their own participation in the action, or beneficiaries propose to fund additional person-months (over the 540 person-months limit) from another budget source, these person-months should not be added in Part A of the proposal. Instead, they must be clearly indicated in Part B of the proposal.

A clear explanation of this set-up and of the use of own resources should therefore be provided in Part B.

No, it isn’t possible. All beneficiaries must recruit at least one Doctoral Candidate. See MSCA Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants.

Please note that an MSCA DN-ID must be composed of at least three independent beneficiaries each established in a different EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country and with at least one of them established in an EU Member State.

A recent flexibility is that the non-academic entities have the possibility to participate either as beneficiary or as associated partner, in order to abide with the rule that each doctoral candidate must spend 50% of their time in the non-academic sector. For example, non-academic entities can participate as associated partners and host doctoral candidates in the form of secondments for 50% of their time or more. In another example, the non-academic entities can decide to participate as beneficiary and recruit and host the fellow for 100% of their fellowship duration.

In addition, a maximum of 40% of the total EU financial contribution may be allocated to beneficiaries within one country.

Therefore, recruitments (and related budget) must be planned accordingly. The arrangements in the consortium must be made keeping in mind the obligation of hosting and training the Doctoral Candidates for at least 50% of their time in the non-academic sector and the enrolment of the fellows in the doctoral programme.

Once the minimum eligibility conditions for the consortium are fulfilled and provided that the conditions laid down in the Work Programme are met, other organisations located in Third Countries (TCs) and International Organisations (IOs) with headquarters in a Third Country may also participate in a MSCA DN call. The conditions are set out in the Horizon Europe Programme GuidePDF.

The term third country refers to a country that is neither an EU Member State nor a country associated to Horizon Europe.

These TC entities can participate both as “beneficiaries” to the grant agreement as well as ‘associated partners’ under the following conditions.

Participants from Third Countries

TCs are divided into two groups:

1) TCs listed in the Horizon Europe Programme GuidePDF and specifically in the annexed List of Participating Countries in Horizon EuropePDF as low- to middle-income countries:

Organisations from these countries are automatically eligible for funding.

2) Other TCs not listed in the Horizon Europe Programme GuidePDF and in the specific list mentioned above:

Participants from other countries (i.e. countries that are not EU Member States, countries associated to Horizon Europe, or third countries listed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide) are not automatically eligible for funding and therefore by default have to participate at their own cost. These participants should explain in the proposal how their funding will be secured.

They can however receive exceptional funding, if:

their country is explicitly identified in the Horizon Europe work programme and call for proposals as being eligible for funding

the granting authority considers that their participation as a beneficiary is essential for implementing the project, for example in view of their:

outstanding competence/expertise

access to particular research infrastructures

access to particular geographical environments

access to particular data.

International Organisations with headquarters in a Third Country

International organisations with headquarters in a Third Country are not automatically eligible for funding. They may exceptionally receive funding only if the granting authority considers that their participation is deemed essential for implementing the action, for example in view of their:

▪ outstanding competence/expertise

▪ access to particular research infrastructures

▪ access to particular geographical environments

▪ access to particular data.

Finally, organisations from any country may participate as “associated partners” in a DN project. Associated partners contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the grant agreement. Associated partners may not employ (recruit) the researchers under the action. They may be used to provide training and host researchers, but only during secondments.

No, it cannot. In the MSCA DN type of actions, all beneficiaries in the consortium must recruit at least one fellow. In summary, every beneficiary must recruit, host at their premises and supervise at least one researcher.

Associated partners and associated partners linked to a beneficiary are not allowed to recruit MSCA fellows.

However, please note that, in the Industrial Doctorate (ID) modality, the non-academic entity can participate either as beneficiary with the obligation to recruit or as associated partner hosting the fellows on secondment to reach the minimum 50% of time spent in the non-academic sector.

See also the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants.

Yes. It is recommended that the supervisory board is composed of representatives of all beneficiaries and associated partners and may also include any other stakeholders of relevance to the training programme, including those from the non-academic sector.

The participation of external stakeholders (e.g. future employers) in the supervisory board is not compulsory. However, such an involvement of external stakeholders can be highly beneficial as they can bring added value to the supervision of the training programme.

It is also considered best practice to include a representative from among the recruited Researchers.

In MSCA DNs, where necessary, associated partners linked to a beneficiary may host and train Doctoral Candidates as well as implement the tasks described in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement (including during secondments).

'Associated partners linked to a beneficiary' are organisations with an established capital or legal link with the beneficiary, which is not limited to the action nor specifically created for its implementation (e.g. Joint Research Units (JRU), "Unités mixtes de recherche" (UMRs), linked foundations, university hospitals and subsidiaries).

The involvement of such entities must be clearly described and justified in the proposal and will be assessed as part of the evaluation. Note, however, that only beneficiaries can recruit researchers and the recruiting beneficiary remains fully responsible for the correct implementation of the action and for ensuring the eligibility of the recruited fellow(s).

As a rule, in MSCA DN projects, the beneficiary must recruit each eligible doctoral candidate under an employment contract or equivalent direct contract with full social security coverage (including sickness, parental, unemployment and invalidity benefits, pension rights, benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases).

An exemption from this rule can be accepted only in cases where national legislation or the equivalent internal regulations of International European Research Organisations (IERO), entities created under Union law, or an international organisation, prohibit this possibility and subject to the prior agreement of the granting authority.

When an employment contract cannot be provided, the beneficiary may exceptionally recruit the doctoral candidate under a 'fixed-amount fellowship'. In this case, the living allowance will be halved, and the beneficiary must ensure that the doctoral candidate enjoys minimum social security coverage (including sickness, parental and invalidity benefits, and benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases).

Part-time employment must be agreed in advance with the European Research Executive Agency (REA) and may be accepted:

• subject to prior approval by the Agency
• for personal or family reasons only, and not for professional ones.

Yes, in an MSCA DN, secondments within the same country are permitted, although international secondments are strongly encouraged. For DN-ID, inter-sectoral secondments can also be intranational.

In MSCA DNs, the rules from the General Model Grant AgreementPDF for third party involvement do not apply. Instead, MSCA-DN allows beneficiaries to use (1) associated partners linked to them or (2) associated partners to carry out the work under the action.

Associated partners linked to a beneficiary and associated partners do not sign the grant agreement and they do not recruit, only beneficiaries do.

• Entities with a capital or legal link (which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, e.g. joint research units, foundations, university hospitals and subsidiaries) may be used for hosting and training of researchers (including during secondments) — and can even implement all those activities under the action.
• Associated partners are third parties involved in the action without a capital or legal link to a beneficiary. They may be used to provide training and host researchers, but only during secondments. And they cannot recruit.

The involvement of such entities must be clearly described and justified in the proposal and will be assessed as part of the evaluation. Note that beneficiaries remain solely responsible for the correct implementation of the action and for ensuring the eligibility of the recruited fellows.

No, there is no recommended number of associated partners in a MSCA DN proposal. The number of partners will depend on each individual research training programme and on each associated partner's added value to the programme. Each associated partner should therefore demonstrate a real and active role in the project which should be clearly described in the proposal.

Please note that associated partners, whether linked to a beneficiary or not, should no longer provide a letter of commitment. However, it should be clear from part B1 which associated partners are linked to a beneficiary, and which ones are not. In addition, all associated partners must be added in the part A of the proposal, and their role should also be clear from part B1 and B2.

Yes, in the MSCA Doctoral Networks, associated partners can be from any country, any discipline and any sector.

MSCA Doctoral Networks may be composed of only research organisations and companies. However, almost all Doctoral Networks (DN) have universities among the beneficiaries and/or associated partners so that PhD degrees can be awarded by these institutions.

For Joint Doctorates (JDs), the above-mentioned set-up is not allowed. At least three independent legal entities must be entitled to award doctoral degrees and at least one of the institutions conferring a joint, double or multiple doctoral degree must be established in an EU Member State and/or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

For more details please see the relevant Work ProgrammePDF.

In the frame of Innovative Training Networks (MSCA-ITN) and Doctoral Networks Actions (MSCA-DN), beneficiaries need to employ MSCA researchers under an employment contract or equivalent direct contract, which confers similar benefits and social security coverage.

This includes:

- sickness, parental, unemployment, and invalidity benefits,

- pension rights, and

- benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

If national law prohibits this possibility, beneficiaries may exceptionally and subject to the granting authority’s prior agreement offer a fixed-amount fellowship with minimum social security coverage, but the living allowance will be reduced by 50%.

Researchers must, in principle, be recruited on a full-time basis, unless part-time has been accepted for personal or family reasons. Failure to provide researchers with an employment contract or to recruit them on a full-time basis may result in the rejection of the related costs, as specified under Article 6 of the Grant Agreement.

Examples of wrong employment practices that should be avoided:

1. Not awarding contracts to the MSCA ITN/DN researchers: The absence of an employment contract subsequentlyresults in the absence of an employment relationship, and most frequently also the lack of the required social security coverage. Further to being recruited via an employment/other direct contract, MSCA researchers also need to be registered with the National Social Security Fund (e.g. INPS in Italy, EFKA in Greece, NIHDI in Belgium, INSS in Spain, ZUS in Poland, ISS in Portugal, SKA in Estonia, NOI in Bulgaria) in order to benefit from the related social security coverage. However, the social security coverage alone can neither substantiate nor substitute the missing employment relationship if it is not accompanied by an employment contract.

2. Engaging researchers only with a PhD fellowship (e.g. borsa di studio in Italy, Διδακτορική Υποτροφία in Greece, studienbeihilfe in Austria, stipendija in Croatia, studiemedel in Sweden, SUSI grant in Ireland, AideFi in Luxembourg, Opintotuki in Finland) but without signing an employment/other direct contract.

Caution: A certificate of PhD enrolment cannot replace the missing employment contract and does not establish nor regulate any employment relationship. Engaging researchers only with a PhD fellowship cannot be assimilated to a fixed-amount fellowship either. In any case the latter can be used as a means to engage MSCA researchers only if it is not possible under national law to recruit the MSCA researchers under an employment/other direct contract.

• Awarding part-time contracts instead of full-time ones: This irregularity can occur especially when beneficiaries want to employ third country nationals who had failed to secure on time a work permit allowing them to be employed on a full-time basis. In most cases, these researchers can usually manage to secure only a student visa (e.g. Permesso di Soggiorno per Studenti in Italy, Opholdstilladelse til studerende in Denmark, Carte de séjour étudiant in France, Aufenthaltserlaubnis für Studenten in Germany, Permis de şedere pentru studenți in Romania, Leidimas laikinai gyventi studentams in Lithuania, Student Residence Permit in Malta) which quite frequently is compatible only with part-time employment. To overcome the delays and difficulties in securing a full-fledged work permit, beneficiaries might –wrongly- opt to recruit them via a part-time contract in order to still engage them in the project.

However, this practice disregards the specific cost eligibility condition for employment on a full-time basis and the related prohibition to engage MSCA researchers on a part-time basis unless justified by personal or family reasons and only after having obtained the prior approval of REA. The visa issues encountered by researchers of a non-EU nationality do not qualify for personal or family reasons. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that third-country nationals obtain a residence permit for work (e.g. “Permesso di Soggiorno per motivi di lavoro” in Italy, Povolení k dlouhodobému pobytu za účelem zaměstnání in Czech Republic, Permis de şedere pentru muncă in Romania, Dovoljenje za prebivanje in delo in Slovenia, Tartózkodási engedély munkavállalás céljából in Hungary, Verblijfsvergunning voor arbeid in the Netherlands, Uppehållstillstånd för arbete in Sweden) which gives them the right to work full-time before embarking into an MSCA fellowship and before the signature of an MSCA contract.

Refraining from these practices will ensure compliance with the MSCA requirements and prevent the rejection of related costs.

MSCA researchers need to be employed under an employment contract or equivalent direct contract, which confers similar benefits and social security coverage.

This includes:

- sickness, parental, unemployment, and invalidity benefits,

- pension rights, and

- benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

If national law prohibits this possibility, beneficiaries may exceptionally and subject to the granting authority’s prior agreement offer a fixed-amount fellowship with minimum social security coverage, but the living allowance will be reduced by 50%.

"Contracts for Specific Work"/ “Συμβάσεις Έργου” issued by Greek beneficiaries in the frame of an Innovative Training Networks (MSCA-ITN) and Doctoral Networks Action (MSCA-DN) cannot be considered by default compliant with the MSCA requirements. The option of a fixed-term employment contract remains the preferred one. Contracts for Specific Work can only be accepted under the condition that they are accompanied by an Addendum (Annex) which includes the missing information and MSCA requirements laid down in the Specific Rules for carrying out the MSCA Action (Article 18) laid down in Annex 5 to the HE Unit MGA and Article 32.1 of the H2020 MSCA-ITN MGA.

The purpose of the Addendum is to complement the main text of the contract and should not contradict the provisions of the main text.

The Addendum should address the following points:

1. Clauses incompatible with the MSCA rules should not appear in the contract. These include provisions about the absence/non establishment of an employment/subordinated relationship, the simple possibility for the MSCA researcher to work from the contractor's premises (without this being stipulated as an obligation though), and the absence of a procedure or prior notice for the termination of the contractual relationship.

2. Examples of Elements/Clauses which are usually missing and need to be specified in the Addendum: the name of the supervisor(s), the starting date and duration of the research training activities, the monthly support of the researcher under the Grant Agreement, the obligation of the researcher to work exclusively for the action and to not to receive for activities carried out in the frame of the action, other income than those received from the beneficiary, the arrangements related to the intellectual property rights, the duty of confidentiality and other rights and obligations of both the researcher and the beneficiary.

Greek beneficiaries are expected to amend the running Contracts for Specific Work in line with these requirements and to implement the above conditions when signing new Contracts for Specific Work in order to establish them in the correct format and content since the very beginning.

The Greek NCPs remain the first contact point for any questions.

No, there is no recommended number of associated partners in an MSCA DN proposal. The number of partners will depend on each individual research training programme and on each associated partner's added value to the programme. Each associated partner should therefore demonstrate a real and active role in the project which should be clearly described in the proposal.

Please note that associated partners, whether linked to a beneficiary or not, should no longer provide a letter of commitment. However, it should be clear from part B1 which associated partners are linked to a beneficiary, and which ones are not. In addition, all associated partners must be added in the part A of the proposal, and their role should also be clear from part B1 and B2.

In MSCA DN, associated partners and associated partners linked to a beneficiary are not signatories of the grant agreement. Therefore, they may not charge contributions to the action (no unit contributions) and the costs for their tasks are not eligible.

Their costs are considered to be already covered by the EU contribution claimed by beneficiaries, with whom they are encouraged to sign a bilateral agreement in which their participation to the project's contributions should be defined.

Normal practice during secondments is for the recruited researchers to keep their contract with the sending institution, which also pays their travel and subsistence expenses (e.g. accommodation, visa, residency card) from the institutional contributions.

In MSCA DNs, management and indirect contributions refer to a unit cost of €1,200 per person-month that is to be used towards the management of the action. Their eligibility is linked to the eligibility of the costs of the recruited researchers declared by each beneficiary.

As with Research, Training and Networking contributions, these amounts may be re-distributed among the consortium. For example, the consortium may agree in the Consortium Agreement that all beneficiaries will contribute to the costs that the coordinator incurs for the management of the whole action and consequently allocate a higher percentage to the coordinator. However, the modalities of this are left to the consortium to decide, no information or request has to be submitted to the European Research Executive Agency (REA).

It is highly advisable that the proposed beneficiaries address the distribution of the EU Contribution before submitting their proposal and subsequently address this issue in the Consortium Agreement which is deemed to be concluded prior to the signature of the grant agreement.

Entities assessed as “high-risk suppliers” — as defined in the second report on Member States’ progress in implementing the EU toolbox on 5G cybersecurity — are excluded from participating as beneficiaries, affiliated entities, or associated partners to mitigate strategic risks. The EU toolbox emphasises that strengthening European capacities in 5G and post-5G technologies requires avoiding technology transfers and dependencies on high-risk suppliers. This includes preventing these entities from contributing to or influencing the development of critical areas such as materials, semiconductor components, computing resources, software tools, and cybersecurity systems tied to European communication networks.

No, in MSCA DNs, the EU contribution will be automatically calculated based on the number of person-months indicated in Part A of the proposal using the rates, allowances and coefficients given in the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF. The information listed in part A should be identical as the one reported in Part B of the proposal. In case of discrepancy, values from the Part A will be deemed to prevail.

Please note that the budget table, column “Number of person months”, each beneficiary should enter the total number of person months they request, and not the number of person months per recruited researcher. For example, if a participant wants to recruit 2 Doctoral Candidates for 36 months each, the participant should write “2” in the column “No of recruited researchers” and “72” in the column “Number of person months”. Ultimately, the total number of person months in the last row “Total” should be consistent with the total number of person months for the whole Doctoral Network.

It is crucial to respect the 40% rule (no more than 40% of the total EU financial contribution may be allocated to beneficiaries in the same country or to any one International European Research Organisation or International Organisation) as well as the fact that the overall EU contribution per Grant Agreement is limited to a maximum of:

• 540 person-months per network for all type of actions: regular Doctoral Networks (DN)-Industrial Doctorates (ID) and Joint Doctorates (JD).

Failure to respect these limits will result in the proposal being declared ineligible.

It is crucial that the information given in Part A of a MSCA DN proposal is consistent with the information given in proposal Part B.

In case of any discrepancy between Part A and Part B of the proposal, the text/information from Part A will prevail, unless obvious clerical errors are detected and confirmed with the applicants.

All the DNs, including DN-IDs and DN-JDs, proposals are ranked under eight major panels (areas of research). The budget is allocated to each of these panels in proportion to the number of eligible proposals submitted to the panel.

In MSCA DNs, secondments of six months or less which require mobility from the place of residence must be covered by the Research, Training and Networking contributions in order to prevent an unreasonable financial burden for the recruited researchers.

This includes at least the travel and accommodation costs as well as visa-related fees. Longer secondments may also be supported in the same way (even though there is no legal obligation to do so).

See also the Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants.

It is crucial that the information given in Part A of a MSCA DN proposal is consistent with the information given in proposal Part B.

In case of any discrepancy between Part A and Part B of the proposal, the text/information from Part A will prevail, unless obvious clerical errors are detected and confirmed with the applicants.

No, they are not required to do this. In MSCA DNs, the EU contribution will be automatically calculated based on the number of person-months indicated in Part A of the proposal using the rates, allowances and coefficients given in the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF. The information listed in part A should be identical as the one reported in Part B of the proposal. In case of discrepancy, values from the Part A will be deemed to prevail.

Please note that the budget table, column “Number of person-months”, each beneficiary should enter the total number of person months they request, and not the number of person-months per recruited researcher.

It is crucial to respect the 40% rule (no more than 40% of the total EU financial contribution may be allocated to beneficiaries in the same country or to any one International European Research Organisation or International Organisation) as well as the fact that the overall EU contribution per Grant Agreement is limited to a maximum of:

• 540 person-months per network for all types of actions: regular Doctoral Networks (DN)-Industrial Doctorates (ID) and Joint Doctorates (JD).

Failure to respect these limits will result in the proposal being declared ineligible.

As of the 2022 call, proposals submitted to the previous call of MSCA Doctoral Networks under Horizon Europe and having received a score of less than 80% should not be resubmitted the following year. A specific sentence is added at the end of the concerned Evaluation Summary Reports.

As specified in the MSCA Work Programme, any proposal involving 70% or more of the same recruiting organisations as in another proposal submitted to the previous call of the MSCA Doctoral Networks under Horizon Europe that has received a score of less than 80% will be assessed for whether it is a resubmission, irrespective of the applicants’ self-declaration. The assessment will be carried out by external expert evaluators based on the similarity of objectives as well as on the similarity of the scientific approach proposed to reach such objectives. Please note that all applicants are still required to declare in the proposal part A any resubmission of a similar proposal submitted under the last 2 DN calls. The European Research Executive Agency (REA) has a system in place to flag any similarities with previous proposals, which may be used to double-check following the approach described above. The final eligibility decision will then be taken by the REA Admissibility and Eligibility Committee appointed for the call evaluation.

Please note that each evaluation is an independent exercise, and also depends on the level of competition amongst DN submitted proposals. Over the years proposals are assessed by different evaluators who may express different judgements and opinions.

No reference to the outcome of previous evaluations of a similar proposal should be included in the text. Experts will be strictly instructed to disregard any such references.

Please note that associated partners, whether linked to a beneficiary or not, should NO LONGER provide a letter of commitment.

However, it should be clear from part B1 which associated partners are linked to a beneficiary, and which ones are not.

In addition, all associated partners must be added in the part A of the proposal, and their role should also be clear from part B1 and B2.

The expert evaluators will assess their contribution based on the information available in the proposal and according to the relevant evaluation criteria.

Yes, in MSCA DN proposals, deliverables should be divided into scientific deliverables and management, training, recruitment and dissemination deliverables. They should follow the structure of the Work Packages. See also the part B in the proposal templatePDF.

Deliverables should be spread throughout the project's lifetime to allow for an adequate monitoring of the action's progress. Also, there should be enough public deliverables foreseen. Note that the submission of deliverables to the European Research Executive Agency (REA) is a contractual obligation.

In MSCA DN proposals, the individual Doctoral Candidates (DCs) research projects must be fully described in section 1.1 of the Excellence section. A summary table with the recruiting participant, PhD awarding entity, start months and secondment duration must also be filled in under section 3 (table 3.1d DC table).

Depending on your project set-up, the involvement of the researchers in a particular Work Package may be described in table 3.1 a (Description of Work Packages, Section 3).

Please ensure consistency between all tables in the proposal.

See also part B of the proposal templatePDF.

In MSCA DN proposals, the individual projects should constitute a collaborative research programme with strong inter-sectoral and multi-disciplinary components.

The project objectives and the expected results should be thoroughly described in the context of a doctoral training programme.

See also part B of the proposal templatePDF.

All eligible proposals will be evaluated under one of the eight major areas of research (known as scientific evaluation "panels"): Chemistry (CHE); Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC); Economic Sciences (ECO); Information Science and Engineering (ENG); Environment and Geo-Sciences (ENV); Life Sciences (LIF); Mathematics (MAT), and Physics (PHY). Experts will evaluate all proposals under a given panel. Each panel will establish a ranked list of proposals for funding.

In the Electronic Submission Service, the applicant chooses the panel to which the proposal will be associated at the proposal stage (using the field "Scientific Panel" in section 1 of the proposal submission forms) and this should be considered as the core discipline. Additional descriptors are used to define the other disciplines that may be involved (see below).

Proposals must be submitted to only one of eight 'main evaluation panels'.

Applicants should carefully choose the panel and descriptors since this will guide the REA in the selection of experts for proposal evaluation.

As a general rule the call budget will be distributed between the panels based on the proportion of eligible proposals received in each panel.

To help applicants select the most relevant panel for their proposal, a document providing a breakdown of each research area into a number of descriptors is available on the REA websitePDF. The descriptors need to be chosen amongst the MSCA KeywordsPDF.

Regarding the descriptors, applicants can select from three (3) to five (5) as explained below. Applicants must:

• Select the panel, i.e. the area of research (e.g. CHE) in which the proposal best fits, in section 1 of the proposal submission forms (or earlier at step 3). This should be considered as the core discipline of the proposal.
• Within the most relevant sub-area of research (e.g. C1-Inorganic Chemistry), select the first descriptor that best characterises the subject of the proposal (e.g. Catalytic materials).
• The second descriptor that best characterises the subject of the proposal can be chosen from any of the eight (8) areas of research.
• Third descriptor: it is mandatory to select at least one (1) additional descriptor which can be chosen from any of the eight (8) areas of research.
• If needed you may add further two (2) additional descriptors chosen freely from any of the eight (8) areas of research.

Please note that you should select the descriptors in order of importance, the first being the most important.

There is also the possibility to add free keywords you think give extra detail of the scope of your proposal.

The training programme description should include both network-wide and local trainings. Network-wide trainings should be innovative in content and methods and contain multi-disciplinary aspects. The doctoral programmes should offer training in research-related, as well as transferable skills and competences relevant for innovation and long-term employability (e.g. entrepreneurship, commercialisation of results, Intellectual Property Rights, communication) to provide the recruited researchers with enhanced career perspectives.

Particular attention should be paid to the quality of supervision and mentoring arrangements as well as career guidance. See MSCA Guidelines on supervision.

In addition, the fellows may also follow training courses offered locally at the beneficiary (e.g. PhD related programme and trainings).

Please check the Part B of the proposal templatePDF for training and proposal structure.

Applicants to DN-JD must include in Part B of the proposal scanned letters of pre-agreement from the beneficiaries awarding doctoral degrees indicating their commitment to award joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees within the context of the proposed action.

These letters should be signed by the beneficiary's authorised legal representative. They should also indicate agreement with the principle that the awarding of such degrees is a precondition for funding.

A template for these letters is provided at the end of the part B template and must be followed by all DN-JD applicants. Letters of pre-agreement must be included in the PDF file (Part B, document 2); these should not be attached in a separate PDF file or as an embedded file since this makes them invisible.

Missing letters of pre-agreement will lead to the exclusion of the entity, which may affect the eligibility of the DN-JD proposal.

Open Science in Horizon Europe is defined as an approach to the scientific process based on open cooperative tools, work and the diffusion of knowledge. The MSCA endorse Open Science and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) through engaging society at large, integrating the gender and ethical dimensions, promoting Open Science practices through targeted training activities, ensuring open access to research outcomes, including FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data handling, encouraging formal and informal science education and feeding back research results into teaching and education.

As indicated in the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF, Doctoral Networks are expected to develop substantial training modules, including digital ones, addressing key transferable skills and competences common to all fields and fostering the culture of Open Science, innovation and entrepreneurship. In particular, Doctoral Networks should adequately prepare doctoral candidates for increased research collaboration and information-sharing made possible by new (digital) technologies (e.g. collaborative tools, opening access to publications and to research data, FAIR data management, public engagement and citizen science, etc.)

Moreover, in MSCA Doctoral Networks and in the Horizon Europe programme overall, Open Science becomes an integral part of the proposals and is considered in the evaluation of proposals under ‘Excellence’ and under ‘Quality and efficiency of implementation’. While some Open Science practices are recommended, others are mandatory for all beneficiaries per the grant agreement, such as open access to scientific publications or responsible management of research data in line with the FAIR principles.

For detailed guidance on Open Science practices and research data management in the context of the preparation of the proposals applicants should refer to the official call documents, and in particular the Open Science section of the Horizon Europe Programme GuidePDF.

Table 3.1a of the MSCA DN project proposal must list all of the Work Packages covering all aspects of the project. Depending on the size of the network, the scientific content can be presented in more than one research Work Package that should reflect the research objectives.

A specific Work Package should be dedicated to training and it is also good practice to add separate Work Packages on management, and another one on exploitation, dissemination and communication activities targeted to different audiences.

The number of Work Packages must be reasonable and commensurate with their content.

See also REA website and part B of the proposal templatePDF.

In MSCA DN proposals, a table of contents should be included in Document 1 of Part B of the proposal. It should not be longer than one page in length.

Section 1 of Part B must start on page 5, and sections 1 to 3 must not exceed 30 pages in length. The expert evaluators will be strictly instructed to disregard any content above these pages' limits.

For more information, consult the instructions embedded in the part B of the proposal templatePDF.

No. A proposal must be submitted to only one of eight 'main evaluation panels': Chemistry (CHE), Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC), Economic Sciences (ECO), Information Science and Engineering (ENG), Environment and Geosciences (ENV), Life Sciences (LIF), Mathematics (MAT), Physics (PHY).

Industrial and joint doctorates will be ranked in the scientific panel of submission. Each panel will establish a ranked list.

Yes, the entity entitled to award a doctoral degree must be clearly identified in the MSCA DN proposal and added as a beneficiary. Should none of the academic applicants be entitled to award a doctoral degree, a university or a consortium/grouping of academic/research institutions entitled to award a doctoral degree must be associated to the project as an associated partner or as an associated partner linked to a beneficiary.

When considering the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools for the preparation of the proposal, it is imperative to exercise caution and careful consideration. The AI-generated content should be thoroughly reviewed and validated by the applicants to ensure its appropriateness and accuracy, as well as its compliance with intellectual property regulations. Applicants are fully responsible for the content of the proposal (even those parts produced by the AI tool) and must be transparent in disclosing which AI tools were used and how they were utilized.

Specifically, applicants are required to:

● Verify the accuracy, validity, and appropriateness of the content and any citations generated by the AI tool and correct any errors or inconsistencies.

● Provide a list of sources used to generate content and citations, including those generated by the AI tool. Double-check citations to ensure they are accurate and properly referenced.

● Be conscious of the potential for plagiarism where the AI tool may have reproduced substantial text from other sources. Check the original sources to be sure you are not plagiarizing someone else’s work.

● Acknowledge the limitations of the AI tool in the proposal preparation, including the potential for bias, errors, and gaps in knowledge.

Text explaining the use of generative AI in the preparation of the proposal should be included in section 10 of part B2.

Table 3.1a of the MSCA DN project proposal must list all of the Work Packages covering all aspects of the project. Depending on the size of the network, the scientific content can be presented in more than one research Work Package that should reflect the research objectives.

A specific Work Package should be dedicated to training and it is also good practice to add separate Work Packages on management, and another one on exploitation, dissemination and communication activities targeted to different audiences.

The number of Work Packages must be reasonable and commensurate with their content. Only brief headings and overviews of the Work Packages should be presented in Table 3.1a. More details in terms of actual implementation should be provided in the tables under section 3.1 under Quality and Efficiency of the Implementation.

See also REA website and part B of the proposal templatePDF.

In MSCA DN type of actions, secondment means a research training period spent by a fellow at the premises of a different beneficiary, an associated partner or an associated partner linked to a beneficiary included in the list of participants. The premises of the beneficiaries / associated partners / associated partners linked to a beneficiary must be independent from each other and therefore the secondment must involve physical mobility of the fellow. During their secondment, researchers receive supervision and training at the premises of the receiving beneficiary, associated partner or associated partners linked to a beneficiary.

Secondments should be differentiated from short visits (i.e. a few days).The difference is not only the "time spent" criterion, but it also depends on the purpose of the fellow’s visit to the host institution. During short visits, fellows do not receive training and they are not supervised.

Secondments are eligible for up to one third of the actual months spent implementing the research training activities under the action. This limitation does not apply in the case of Industrial Doctorates and Joint Doctorates.

Yes, multiple recruitments may be foreseen.

The rule in all MSCA DNs is that all beneficiaries must recruit at least one fellow. They are required to host at their premises and supervise recruited researchers, or use associated partners linked to them to do so. See the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants.

Please note that in the Industrial Doctorate (ID) modality each candidate must spend at least 50% of their time in the non-academic sector. The non-academic entities in IDs have the possibility to participate either as beneficiary (recruiting the researchers), or as associated partner (hosting the researchers on secondment). There is no ceiling on the secondment time.

The location of the premises of the recruiting beneficiary will have an influence on the fellow's salary in view of the different country correction coefficients (see Table 1 of the MSCA Work Programme 2023 – 2025PDF).

It may also affect the eligibility of the proposal (see for example the 40.0% rule and the mandatory recruitment rule by each beneficiary).

Applicants are thus invited to choose at proposal stage the most appropriate recruitment option.

Please also note that in case of multiple recruitments, a mobility declaration should be submitted by each recruiting institution.

Example for ID: Beneficiary X (academic) recruits the fellow X for 18 months and beneficiary Y (non-academic) recruits fellow X for the remaining 18 months.

Example for JD with a 36 month-contract duration: a fellow is recruited by beneficiary X but in order to obtain a double degree, the fellow needs to be present for 12 months at the location of beneficiary Y. In this case, it would be advisable, if the country coefficient of beneficiary Y is higher than the country coefficient of beneficiary X to offer the fellow a contract of 24 months with beneficiary X and a contract of 12 months with beneficiary Y.

Joint Doctorates go further than regular Doctoral Networks (DNs) by proposing the creation of joint doctoral programmes, leading to the delivery of joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees recognised in at least one EU Member States (MS) or Horizon Europe Associated Countries (AC).

For this type of action, Doctoral Candidates can be recruited for a period of up to 48 months, as an incentive to apply for DN-JD. Consequently, the project duration can last up to 60 months.

Please also note that within the same project, it is possible to have different fellowship durations, if the overall maximum of 540 person months is respected.

The maximum total secondment duration of up to 1/3 of the researchers’ actual recruitment period does not apply to DN-JD.

No, mono-site consortia are not allowed for the MSCA DN call under the Horizon Europe rules.

However, mono-site doctoral programmes can now be co-funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND action.

Please refer to the relevant Work ProgrammePDF.

Since the overall EU contribution for MSCA Doctoral Networks is limited to a maximum of 540 person-months and the duration of a researcher’s contract is minimum 3 months and maximum 36 months, the maximum number of researchers that could be recruited with a 36-month contract is 15. Shorter researchers’ contracts are allowed, but not recommended.

For proposals in DN-JD (Joint Doctorates), the maximum person-months is set to 540, however Doctoral Candidates can be recruited for a period of up to 48 months, as an incentive to increase the applicant’s interest and the number of applications for Joint Doctorates. Consequently, the project duration of action DN-JD can last up to 60 months.

Please check the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF and the Guide for Applicants.

All researchers recruited in all MSCA DN type of actions must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment) and undertake transnational mobility.

Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.

For all recruitments, the eligibility of the researcher will be determined at the date of their first recruitment in the action. This status will not evolve over the lifetime of the action, even if they are recruited again at another beneficiary. Please check the MSCA Work ProgrammePDFand Guide for Applicants.

No, only doctoral candidates, not already in possession of a doctoral degree, are eligible to participate in all MSCA DN type of actions.

Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.

Please check the MSCA Work ProgrammePDFand Guide for Applicants.

In a regular MSCA DN (Doctoral Network) and DN-ID (Industrial Doctorate) project, the minimum/maximum duration of the funded recruitment (on the basis of full-time employment) is 3-36 months.

In a DN-JD (Joint Doctorate), Doctoral Candidates can be recruited for a period of up to 48 months. Consequently, the project duration can last up to 60 months. See also the Work ProgrammePDF and Guide for Applicants.

Please note that the overall EU contribution for all three modalities (regular DNs, DN-IDs and DN-JDs) is limited to a maximum of 540 PMs.

Shorter appointments (with a minimum duration of 3 months) must be carefully explained and justified. They will be assessed by the expert evaluators during the evaluation procedure, bearing in mind the spirit of the Work Programme which is to train “a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial, innovative and resilient doctoral candidates, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit” as well as engage in a doctoral research programme.

In MSCA DN type of actions, virtual mobility can complement the physical mobility, facilitate long-distance collaboration and be an effective means to faster achieving research and training objectives.

These activities should be clearly described in the proposals, should be relevant, feasible and beneficial for the researchers, and in line with the project objectives.

Virtual mobility will not be considered as a secondment since it does not involve physical mobility. Therefore, in the case of regular DNs, virtual mobility will not count towards the maximum duration of secondments (which are limited to up to one third of the actual months spent implementing the research training activities under the action).

See also the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF.

In Joint Doctorates (JDs), all the fellows in the action must be enrolled in a doctoral programme that results in a joint/double/multiple doctoral degree.

In order to reach the objectives of Joint Doctorates, at least three independent legal entities must be entitled to award doctoral degrees. At least one of the institutions conferring a joint, double or multiple doctoral degree must be established in an EU Member State and/or Horizon Europe Associated Country. See also MSCA Work ProgrammePDF.

Fellows recruited under the DNs must be enrolled in the doctoral programme and are expected to complete their studies if not during the project, at least soon after.

For DN-JDs (Joint Doctorate), a formal letter of commitment, following the template provided, to award joint/double/multiple doctoral degrees is required in the proposal.

Since the doctoral degree may be awarded after the DN project has finished, it may not be feasible in all cases to check during the project lifetime whether the final degree was actually awarded. However, such checks may take place after the conclusion of the project.

It is not possible to request an extension of the MSCA fellowship.

In Doctoral Networks (DNs) and Industrial Doctorates (IDs), the researchers can be appointed for a maximum duration of 36 months (full time equivalent). In those countries where the duration of PhD study is formally 4 years, additional funding from other sources may be ensured by the participant in order to support the 4th year of doctoral studies.

In Joint Doctorates (JDs) as an incentive, fellows can be recruited for up to 48 months. Please note that 48 months is the maximum allowed fellowship duration, and it is not mandatory to request this maximum.

Please also note that within the same project, it is possible to have different fellowship durations, as long as the overall maximum of 540 person months per action is respected (limit applicable to all types of actions).

As written in the MSCA Work ProgrammePDF, Doctoral Networks will implement doctoral programmes and will respond to well-identified needs in various R&I areas, exposing researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offering training in research-related, as well as transferable skills and competences relevant for innovation and long-term employability.

Industrial Doctorates on the other hand will step outside academia and develop skills in industry and business by being jointly supervised by academic and non-academic organisations, both of which can be established in the same EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country.

As for Joint Doctorates, they represent a highly integrated type of international, inter-sectoral and multi/interdisciplinary collaboration in doctoral training. They lead to the delivery of joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees recognised in at least one EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.

The maximum total secondment duration of up to 1/3 of the researchers’ actual recruitment period does not apply to DN-JD (since 2022 call).

As an incentive (for the 2023 call onwards), Doctoral Candidates can be recruited for up to 48 months under this type of action. Please note that 48 months is the maximum allowed fellowship duration, and it is not mandatory to request this maximum.

Finally, from the 2024 call onwards, the final joint, double, or multiple degree that all Doctoral Candidates must be enrolled in, must be awarded by institutions from at least one Member State or Horizon Europe associated country (instead of 2 for earlier calls).

Please also note that within the same project, it is possible to have different fellowship durations, if the overall maximum of 540 person months is respected.

Yes, all researcher unit contributions (monthly living allowance, mobility allowance, family allowance, etc.) and institutional unit contributions (research, training and networking contributions, management and indirect contributions) are calculated in the same way for each of the three types of actions of Doctoral Networks.

Industrial Doctorates require the mandatory involvement of the non-academic sector in the doctoral training so that the skills acquired better match public and private sector needs.

For this type of action, there is more flexibility since there is no ceiling on the secondment time.

In addition, the non-academic entities have the possibility to participate either as beneficiary or as associated partner, to comply with the rule that each doctoral candidate must spend at least 50% of their time in the non-academic sector.

For example, non-academic entities can participate as associated partners and host doctoral candidates in the form of secondments for 50% of their time or more. In another example, the non-academic entities can decide to participate as beneficiaries and recruit and host the fellows for 100% of their fellowship duration.

Please note that the non-academic partner in an Industrial Doctorate (ID) is not necessarily an “Industrial” partner but could also be any partner that satisfy the Work Programme definition of a non-academic sector (including non-exhaustively e.g. an NGO, a charity organisation, a hospital).

The maximum secondment duration of up to 1/3 of the researchers’ actual recruitment period (i.e. up to 12 months in the case of a 36-month recruitment) does not apply anymore to DN-ID (since 2022 call). In addition, the non-academic entities have the possibility to participate either as beneficiary or as associated partner, to comply with the rule that each doctoral candidate must spend 50% of their time in the non-academic sector. For example, non-academic entities can participate as associated partners and host doctoral candidates in the form of secondments for 50% of their time or more.

Equally, it is also possible to have doctoral candidates recruited in the non-academic sector for 100% of their time and sent on secondments to academic participants for up to 50% of the time.

Yes it is. All researcher unit contributions (monthly living allowance, mobility allowance, family allowance, etc.), institutional unit contributions (research, training and networking contributions, management and indirect contributions) are calculated in the same way for each of the three types of actions of Doctoral Networks.

All Industrial Doctorates (IDs) and Joint Doctorates (JDs) MSCA DN proposals will be evaluated by experts in the scientific field(s) of the proposal in the same way Doctoral Networks are. In all cases, the award criteria will be used by the experts according to the implementation mode as indicated in the Work ProgrammePDF.

All DN proposals (irrespective of the type of action) will be ranked in the eight scientific panels.

The budget is allocated to each of these panels in proportion to the number of eligible proposals submitted to the panel.