marie curie individual schemes – fellowships and reintegration grants workshop at university of...

Marie Curie Individual Marie Curie Individual Schemes – Fellowships and Schemes – Fellowships and Reintegration GrantsReintegration GrantsWorkshop at University of Limerick, 5 June 2008

Dr. Dagmar M. Meyer Marie Curie National Contact Point

www.iua.ie

Thursday, 5 June 2008 An Irish Universities Association Presentation 2

Outline of the presentation

• Marie Curie Actions – Individual actions in FP7– Other opportunities within the Marie Curie

programme (FP6 projects, COFUND scheme)

• Hints for the proposal preparation– Evaluation criteria– Things to keep in mind


Part 1

• Marie Curie Actions – Intra-European and International Outgoing / Incoming

Fellowships (IEF, IOF & IIF)– European and International Reintegration Grants (ERG & IRG)

– Other opportunities within the Marie Curie programme (vacancies in FP6 projects, COFUND scheme)


Policy background

• Human resources a key element of the Lisbon Agenda aimed at making Europe “the most dynamic knowledge based economy in the world, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”

• Need for more and better trained researchers in order to create a European Research Area


Key objectives of European initiatives

• Increase attractiveness of research careers in Europe:– Encourage people to become/remain researchers– Encourage people to conduct research in Europe

• Create a European labour market for researchers– Facilitate transnational and intersectoral mobility– Create supportive framework conditions– Provide appropriate training for sustainable careers

• Complement and strengthen links to national systems


People Programme in FP7 (2007 – 2013)

• FP7 overall budget € 48bn

• People (Marie Curie) Programme € 4.727bn– On average € 675m per year (in FP6: € 425m)– Ireland’s success in FP6: € 59m = ~30% of FP6

total for a programme of 9% of total budget

• European Research Council € 7.5bn


Overview of the Marie Curie Actions

Initial training of researchersMarie Curie Initial Training Networks (ITN)

Life-long training and career developmentMarie Curie Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)

European Reintegration Grants (ERG)Co-funding of regional/national/international programmes (COFUND)

Industry-academia pathways and partnershipsMC Industry-Academia Pathways and Partnerships Scheme (IAPP)

International dimensionMC International Outgoing and Incoming Fellowships (IOF / IIF)

MC International Reintegration Grants (IRG)International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES)

Specific actionsResearchers’ Night (NIGHT), other specific actions


Budget breakdown for 2008

Calls on 2008 budget, total € 483.16m : € 6.02 1.2%€ 25m

5.2%

€ 8.1m1.7%

€ 185m38.3% *

€ 75m15.5%

€ 25m5.2%

€ 45m9.3%

€ 7m1.4%

€ 17m3.5%

€ 25m5.2%

€ 65m13.5%

ITN

IEF

ERG

COFUND

IAPP

IOF

IIF

IRG

IRSES

Spec. Act.

Evaluators

* ITNs: plus € 145 m (?) from the 2009 budget


Individual Fellowships and Grants

• “Life-long Training and Career Development”– Intra-European Fellowships for Career

Development (IEF)– European Reintegration Grants (ERG)

• “International Dimension”– International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF)– International Incoming Fellowships (IIF) – International Reintegration Grants (IRG)

• Next deadline / cut-off date:– Fellowships: 19 August 2008– Reintegration Grants: 8 October 2008


General principles

• Focus is on the researcher’s career development (exception IIF: transfer of knowledge to European host institution)

• Open to all disciplines – from Natural Sciences to Social Sciences and Humanities

• Bottom-up – no pre-defined topics or priority areas• Free choice of host institution from public or private

sector • No age limits – what counts is level of experience• Provisions for appropriate work/life balance (split stays,

maternity/parental leave etc.)


Basic definitions: individual actions

• Intra-European/International Fellowships and Reintegration Grants are individual actions:– Individual researcher applies jointly with host institution– Duration at least 1 year for fellowships, 2 years for

reintegration grants– Grant agreement between Commission and host

institution, for fellowships then work contract (or stipend agreement) between host and fellow

– Fellowship/grant bound to individual (no replacement)


Basic definitions: level of experience

• Experienced Researcher (ER):– Either in possession of a doctoral degree– Or at least 4 years of research experience (full-time

equivalent) since degree qualifying them to embark on a doctorate

• All Marie Curie Individual Actions are for Experienced Researchers only! Relevant date is deadline for submission of proposals.


Basic definitions: MS/AC/TC

• 27 Member States (MS)

• 11 Associated Countries (AC) – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Israel, Switzerland,

Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Albania, Montenegro

• Third Countries (TC)– More than 140 International Cooperation Partner

Countries (ICPC)– Other Third Countries (OTC)


Basic definitions: host institutions

• Organisations that are actively involved in research:– Universities/Institutes of Technology – Private and public research institutes– Companies big and small– International Organisations (CERN, UNESCO, …)– The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre– NGO’s– Etc.


Basic definitions: mobility requirements (fellowships)

• Fellow has not been resident in the host country for more than 12 months within the last 3 years

• Fellow does not have the nationality of the host country. Special rules in case of: – Dual citizenship– European researcher returning from a third country– Third Country researcher having resided in Europe for

a long time– International organisations as host institutions


Intra-European Fellowships

• For the career development and competence diversification of experienced researchers (with or without PhD, from post-doc to senior researcher)

• Nationals of MS/AC or “assimilated nationals” • Any topic, any host institution in a MS/AC (could

be a company!)• Transnational mobility is a must• Duration 1 – 2 years


International Outgoing Fellowships

• To reinforce the international dimension of the career of experienced researchers who are nationals of a MS/AC

• Two phases (fellowship covers both phases): – Outgoing phase (1 – 2 years) for training and career

development in any Third Country institution– Mandatory return phase (1 year) in distinct legal entity

in MS/AC for reintegration and knowledge transfer

• Grant agreement is with the return host (responsible for return of the fellow)

• Transnational mobility is a must


International Incoming Fellowships

• To reinforce scientific excellence of MS/AC by attracting top-class experienced Third Country researchers

• Enhance possibility for future collaborations• One or two phases:

– incoming phase (1 – 2 years) in any MS/AC (fellowship)– optional return phase in country of origin (max 1 year) if

researcher is a national of an ICPC country (€15,000/year towards research costs)

• Grant agreement with European and return host• Transnational mobility is a must


European Reintegration Grants

• Following a Marie Curie fellowship of at least 18 months duration (could be a host fellowship!); application up to 6 months after end of initial fellowship

• For ERs from MS/AC or “assimilated nationals”• Grants provide support to the longer-term

(re-)integration in any MS/AC institution– Contribution to the research and/or salary costs

during 2 – 3 years (€15,000/year)– Host institution must provide adequate work contract

for at least the duration of the project– Mobility not mandatory


International Reintegration Grants

• For ERs from MS/AC who have spent at least three years outside MS/AC and not more than 12 months within last three years in MS/AC

• Grants provide support to the longer-term (re-)integration in any MS/AC institution– Contribution to the research and/or salary costs

during 2 – 4 years (€25,000/year)– Host institution must provide evidence that researcher

gets effectively reintegrated– Researcher should normally not yet have returned to

research in MS/AC (exceptions in well justified cases)


Work-life balance

• Split stays are possible– Should be integrated and justified in original work plan

• Temporary suspension (for personal, family or professional reasons) can be requested later if unforeseen at time of grant agreement– Always granted in case of maternity/parental leave

(augmentation of Community contribution only if payments mandatory under national law)

• In principle, fellowships are on a full-time basis– Exceptionally, part-time work and corresponding

extension can be granted in case of personal or family reasons (total Community contribution will not be augmented)


Success rates in first Marie Curie calls in FP7

• Intra-European Fellowships: 25.3% (1701 proposals)

• International Outgoing Fellowships: 30% (341 proposals)

• International Incoming Fellowships: 23.3% (571 proposals)

• European Reintegration Grants: – First cut-off 2007: 93.5% (49 proposals)– Second cut-off 2007: 93.6% (68 proposals)– First cut-off 2008: 67 proposals

• International Reintegration Grants: – First cut-off 2007: 89.8% (136 proposals)– Second cut-off 2007: 43.1% (180 proposals)– First cut-off 2008: 182 proposals


Allowances to the researchers (fellowships)

• Living allowance (including all mandatory deductions) – basic rate submitted to country-specific coefficient (IE:113.3, UK:109.2, FR:104.4, DE:101.5, ES: 95.5, EL:90.1, …,US:100.5, CA:90.6, MX: 70.2)

Experience level Employment contract (€/year) Stipend (€/year)

ER with up to 10 years exp. 53,000 26,500

ER with >10 years exp. 79,500 39,750

• Mobility allowance (€500/€800 monthly, depending on family situation at deadline; country coefficient applies)

• Travel allowance (€250 - €2500 every 12 months, depending on distance)• Career exploratory allowance (€2,000 once, only for IEF)


Contribution managed by the host institution (fellowships)

• “Participation expenses of researchers” managed by host institution to cover research and training activities of fellows (conference attendance, training actions, research costs, membership in professional associations, etc.) – €500 per fellow-months for non-laboratory based

projects– €800 per fellow-months for laboratory based projects– does not apply to reintegration grants and return

phase of IIF


Contributions to the host institutions (fellowships)

• Management activities– max. 3 % of total Community contribution

• Overheads– 10 % of direct costs except subcontracting


Indicative timetable for Individual Fellowships

Publication of call 19 March 2008

Submission deadline 19 August 2008

Evaluation of proposals October 2008

Evaluation Summary Reports sent to proposal coordinators

End of November 2008

Invitation for contract negotiations December 2008

Letter to unsuccessful candidates From December 2008

Signature of first contracts From March 2009


Indicative timetable for Reintegration Grants

Publication of call 30 November 2007

Next cut-off date 8 October 2008

Evaluation of proposals November 2008

Evaluation Summary Reports sent to proposal coordinators

December 2008

Invitation for contract negotiations December 2008

Letter to unsuccessful candidates January 2009

Signature of first contracts From March 2009


More information

Official website of the FP7 “People” (Marie Curie) programme on CORDIS

(information on calls, work programme, guide for applicants, etc.):

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/


Opportunities from FP6

Many projects from FP6 are still running: Transfer of Knowledge,

Research Training Networks, Early Stage Training, Excellence Teams, …

For vacancies visit:

http://mc-opportunities.cordis.lu

http://mc-opportunities.cordis.lu/

http://mc-opportunities.cordis.lu/


COFUNDed programmes

• Funding organisations from across Europe have applied for cofunding of their schemes by Marie Curie COFUND action

• First information received by Irish proposers very positive, but no definitive results available yet

• Watch the Irish FP7 portal for news! www.fp7ireland.com

http://www.fp7ireland.com/


Key contacts

IUA Marie Curie Office – National Contact PointDr. Dagmar Meyer ([email protected])

Dr. Conor O’Carroll ([email protected])

[email protected]

01 676 4948

Enterprise Ireland – National Contact PointFocus on Industry - Bill Kee

[email protected]

01 808 2277

mailto:[email protected]





Part 2

• Hints for the proposal preparation:– Evaluation process and criteria

– Things to keep in mind when writing your proposal


Proposal preparation – first steps

• Download all the necessary documentation• Do your homework – background reading!

(Rules of the programme but also some policy background)

• Establish contacts with your chosen host institution / supervisor well ahead of time (financial support for preparatory meetings etc. available from Enterprise Ireland)

• Jointly develop a realistic research and training / transfer of knowledge project

• Arrange for up to three referees’ assessments


Submission procedure

• Only electronic submission using EPSS (Electronic Proposal Submission Service)

• Proposal has two parts:– Part A: administrative information about proposal,

applicant and host institution (prepared forms)– Part B: free text covering a number of predefined

aspects of the project, limited number of pages (prescribed font size and margins), limited size of pdf-file

• Deadline is STRICTLY enforced


Evaluation criteria – basic principles

• Evaluation according to criteria provided in the Guide for Applicants

• Different criteria carry different weights• Thresholds for some evaluation criteria• Overall threshold is 70% • All issues need to be addressed! Competition is

fierce – don’t waste your chances.• Always keep in mind the objectives of the

activity!


Evaluation process

• All proposals undergo initial eligibility check• Evaluation by at least three experts from an international

pool (not all experts are exactly from your field of speciality!!)

• Proposals that miss a threshold are rejected• Remaining proposals are ranked within each panel• All applicants receive evaluation summary report (very

useful for re-submission!!)• Distribution of funding to different panels in proportion to

proposals submitted • Reserve lists in case of late withdrawal etc.


Individual Fellowships –Part B

• Evaluation criteria and thresholds (overall threshold 70%):

criterion weight threshold

S & T Quality 25% 3/5

Training (IEF/IOF) Transfer of Knowledge (IIF)

15% IEF/IOF: 3/5 IIF: none

Researcher 25% 4/5

Implementation 15% none

Impact 20% none


Individual fellowships – S&T Quality

• Scientific/technological quality, including any interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary aspects of the proposal

• Research methodology • Originality and innovative nature of project, and

relationship to the ‘state of the art’ of research• Timeliness and relevance of project • Host scientific expertise in the field• Quality of the group/supervisors

• Weight: 25%, Threshold: 3/5


Individual fellowships – Training (IEF & IOF)

• Clarity and quality of the research training objectives for the researcher

• Relevance and quality of additional scientific training as well as of complementary skills offered

• Host expertise in training experienced researchers in the field and capacity to provide mentoring / tutoring



Individual fellowships – Transfer of Knowledge (IIF)

• Potential of transferring knowledge to European host and/or bring knowledge to Europe

• Clarity and quality of the transfer of knowledge objectives

• Weight: 15%, Threshold: none


Individual fellowships – Researcher (IEF & IOF)

• Research experience• Results including patents/publications/teaching

etc. taking into account the level of experience• Independent thinking and leadership qualities • Match between the fellow’s profile and project • Potential to acquire new knowledge• Potential for reaching a position of professional

maturity



Individual fellowships – Researcher (IIF)

• Research experience• Results including patents/publications/teaching

etc. • Independent thinking and leadership qualities,

and capacity to transfer knowledge • Match between the fellow’s profile and project



Individual fellowships – Implementation

• Quality of infrastructure/facilities and international collaborations of host

• Practical arrangements for the implementation and management of the scientific project

• Feasibility and credibility of the project, including work plan

• Practical and administrative arrangements, and support for the hosting of the fellow



Individual fellowships – Impact (IEF & IOF)

• Potential of acquiring competences during fellowship to improve the prospects of reaching and/or reinforcing a position of professional maturity, diversity and independence, in particular through exposure to complementary skills training

• Contribution to the career development, or re-establishment, where relevant

• Contribution to European excellence and competitiveness

• IOF: Potential for creating long-term collaborations and mutually beneficial co-operation between Europe and the third country



Individual fellowships – Impact (IIF)

• Potential for creating long-term collaborations and mutually beneficial co-operation between Europe and the third country

• Contribution to European excellence and competitiveness

• Contribution to the socio-economic development of the developing countries or emerging and transition economies by transfer of knowledge and human capacity building (where relevant)



Reintegration Grants –Part B

• Evaluation criteria and thresholds (overall threshold 70%):

criterion weight threshold

S & T Quality 30% 3/5

Researcher 30% ERG: none

IRG: 3/5

Implementation 20% none

Impact 20% none


Reintegration Grants – S&T Quality

• Scientific/technological quality, including any interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary aspects of the proposal

• Research methodology • Originality and innovative nature of project, and

relationship to the ‘state of the art’ of research in the field

• Timeliness and relevance of project



Reintegration Grants – Researcher

• Research experience• Scientific and technological quality of previous

research (for ERG: during the Marie Curie Fellowship)

• Independent thinking and leadership qualities • Match between the fellow’s profile and project • IRG: Benefit to the career of the researcher from

the period of reintegration

• Weight: 30%, Threshold: 3/5 (only for IRG)


Reintegration Grants – Implementation

• Quality of host organisation, including adequacy of infrastructure/facilities

• Feasibility and credibility of the project, including work plan

• Practical arrangements for the implementation and management of the scientific project



Reintegration Grants – Impact (ERG)

• Benefit to the career of the researcher from the period of reintegration

• Capacity to develop lasting cooperation with previous country of the Marie Curie Fellowship (if relevant)

• Potential of transferring knowledge to host• Potential and quality of lasting professional

integration (expected length of work contract, expected career development)



Reintegration Grants – Impact (IRG)

• Potential of transferring knowledge to host• Capacity to develop lasting cooperation with the

third country• Contribution to scientific excellence by attracting

a first class researcher• Contribution to European excellence and

competitiveness• Potential and quality of lasting professional

integration (expected length of work contract, expected career development)



Hints for a successful proposal

• Work closely with your chosen supervisor / scientist in charge – this is a JOINT application

• Follow the guide for applicants and address all issues mentioned in the explanatory notes

• Plan your writing - focus on one section at a time, but keep the “overall picture” in mind

• Don’t be repetitive – the same issue may appear in various sections, but from different perspectives, so don’t simply cut-and-paste!

• Be concise and observe the page limit



• Stick to the structure suggested in the guide for applicants – keep the evaluators happy!

• The evaluators may not all be world experts in exactly the area of your proposal – avoid using very specific jargon and acronyms

• Provide the evaluators with evidence for your claims, but avoid external resources (links to websites etc.)

• Graphics and charts can be very helpful, but don’t overdo it! Make sure they are readable in black & white.



• Get a colleague to read through your proposal and do a “mock evaluation”

• If in doubt, ask your National Contact Point for clarification!

• If you want to avail of our pre-submission proposal check, allow enough time for feedback.

• Regularly upload preliminary versions of your proposal, and don’t forget to hit “submit”!

• Keep the deadline - 5pm Brussels time means 4pm Irish time!!

marie curie individual schemes – fellowships and reintegration grants workshop at university of...

Documents

budget slide

european research area

bn slide

mind slide

iof iif european

reintegration grants

european labour market

fp6 total