Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Special Needs Allowance

Sarah Ashwood UK MSCA National Contact Point7 March 2019

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MSC Actions

Horizon 2020Marie Skłodowska-Curie

Actions

Adopted in 2005 by European Commission

MSCA fully support the Charter and Code.

Aims to provide equal rights and obligations for individual researchers throughout Europe

Assurance of equal treatment and favourable working conditions for all scientists in Europe.

Ensuring equal access and opportunities to participants from all backgrounds.

European Charter and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers

• Financial support for researchers/staff members with disabilities.

• Beneficiaries to apply for a dedicated special needs grant in MSCA, max € 60,000 per researcher/staff member.

• Form of a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) to cover the additional costs that researchers/staff members with disabilities face due to the increased costs of their mobility (e.g. to ensure necessary assistance by third persons, adapting their work environment, etc.)

• It cannot cover costs which are already covered by another source, such as social security or health insurance.

• A request can be made by the beneficiary either at proposal stage (for IF only) or at any time during action implementation.

MSCA Special Needs Allowance

Timeline Action Date

Invitation to Submit Proposal 25 February 2019

Deadline for Submission 24 April 2019 17:00 Brussels Time

Evaluation of Proposals May 2019

Information on Outcome of Evaluations June-July 2019

Indicative Date for Signing the Grant Agreement October 2019

• Grants awarded without a call for proposals (cannot be accessed through the Funding and Tenders Portal).

• Invitation to submit a proposal will be sent to all MSCA beneficiaries by e-mail –including those in the GAP phase.

Timeline Action Date

Invitation to Submit Proposal 25 February 2019

Deadline for Submission 24 April 2019 17:00 Brussels Time

Evaluation of Proposals May 2019

Information on Outcome of Evaluations June-July 2019

Indicative Date for Signing the Grant Agreement October 2019

• The application period will be continuously open, with 2 cut-off dates in 2019.• The second is 7 November 2019 at 17:00 (Brussels time).

• Total Budget for 2019 is €1 Million

• The Special Needs Allowance is a mono-beneficiary action. Redistribution between beneficiaries is not possible.

• Beneficiary should submit one proposal per individual researcher/staff member with special needs.

– For actions with multiple researchers with special requirements, a separate proposal should be submitted for each researcher.

Eligibility

The eligibility criteria require that the applicant has to comply with both of the following;

• At the deadline, the beneficiary must be part of a live H2020 MSCA grant, or a proposal in the GAP stage.

• The beneficiary must have recruited/seconded (or if in GAP, will recruit/second) the researcher(s)/staff member(s) with disabilities in the framework of an ongoing or to-be-signed MSCA action.

Eligibility

• Innovative Training Networks (ITN); • Individual Fellowships (IF);• Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE); and • Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes(COFUND)

Available for beneficiaries across the 4 main actions

• European Researchers’ Night (NIGHT) beneficiaries are not eligible to request the SNLS.• Partner Organisations or entities with a capital or legal link (even if established in a

MS/AC) are not eligible• For RISE, SNLS is beneficiary – so is available for both outgoing staff members, or for

hosted researchers with special needs from partner organisations eligible for funding.

Exceptions/Clarifications

Eligibility

•They comply with the eligibility conditions under their main MSCA grant (ITN, IF, RISE or COFUND).

•Their disabilities (long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments) are such that their participation in the main MSCA would not be possible without extra financial support.

•Their disability is officially recognised by the relevant national legislation.

Individual researchers are required to fulfil the following conditions;

•Additional expenses to build a special wheelchair ramp at the premises of the beneficiary organisation if not already in existence.

•Expenses for an accompanying person during a 3 month-secondment, to be undertaken in the framework of the main IF grant.

•Costs involved (transport, vaccination, potential quarantining, etc.) in enabling an assistance dog (for visual impairments, epilepsy etc.) to accompany the researcher.

•The costs of special equipment or installation – i.e. PC Screens for visual impairments

Examples of eligible items or services (May vary in different MS/AC)

Cannot cover costs which are already covered by another source, such as social security or health insurance.

Duration

Duration of the SNLS will be limited to the duration of the main MSCA grant.

Agency may agree to a retroactive starting date if requested – but cannot be before the starting date of the linked MSCA grant.

The duration of the SNLS can be in line with specific individuals recruitment/secondments, or can be in line with the end date of the award to cover all eligible expenses in case of any suspensions/delays.

There is flexibility to adjust the duration of the SNLS in line with the linked MSCA award.

Financial Aspects

Cannot cover costs which are already covered by another source, such as social security or health insurance.

Maximum Grant Amount of €60,000 per researcher.

SNLS will take the form of a lump sum contribution.

Cover up to 100% of the eligible costs.

All direct and indirect costs.

No special rules for purchases/subcontracting.

Dedicated AMGA for the MSCA SNLS

Proposals Part A

• Indicate the Total Amount requested for the SNLS proposal

Proposal Part B

• Give a detailed breakdown per category for requested items/services

• Example table included in proposal template

Financial Aspects - Proposal

SNLS AMGASpecific elements to be aware of

• The beneficiary must be able to demonstrate that the special needs items or services were provided to the researcher/staff member as described in Annex 1;

• The beneficiary must be able to demonstrate that the eligibility conditions for the researcher/staff member as per MSCA main grant were complied with;

• The beneficiary must be able to demonstrate that the special need(s) of the researcher/staff member were certified by a competent national authority.

Obligations of the Beneficiary

• The SNLS grant holds the same fate as the linked grant; • For example, if the linked grant is suspended or terminated, the MSCA-SNLS grant

will also be suspended or terminated.• The grant can be transferred to a new beneficiary if the original MSCA grant is

transferred to it.

Link with the Original MSCA Award

• There are no budget categories and the grant is issued as either:• A single lump sum; or• A lump sum with a detailed breakdown, where each item or service is considered a

separate work package (if multiple items/services are required).• Transfers between work packages are not possible.• There are no cost eligibility conditions - if the action is correctly implemented, the

beneficiary is entitled to receive the lump sum amount.• The lump sum is deemed to cover all direct and indirect costs and cannot be increased.

Budgetary Considerations

• The beneficiary must submit a final periodic report at the end of the action, which sets out the completed work packages and corresponding lump sum shares;

• There is one reporting period and only one pre-financing payment

Reporting

SNLS AMGASpecific Elements to be aware of

Evaluation Process

• Electronic Submission Service• Accessed from the e-mail invitation• Eligibility and Admissibility check (by REA)

1. Proposal Submission

• At least 3 evaluators• Reviewers with Special Needs expertise.• Individual reports produced

2. Remote Evaluations

• Consensus reports produced• Agreement on comments/score

3. Consensus Meetings

• Projects funded in priority order until budget is exhausted4. Ranked list of

proposals

Electronic Submission Service

Parts B: Pdf doc to be uploaded

Part B: Template available to download

Part A

Note on Proposal Acronyms

• SNLS application must use the same acronym of the linked MSCA grant.

• If more than one SNLS application is linked to one MSCA grant, all shall

have the same acronym

Includes the declaration by the applicant stating that the fellow for whom the grant is requested has a disability.

Part A - Budget

• Value in Part A must be the same as details reported in Part B of the proposal regarding the requested EU contribution.

• If additional funding is available from other sources to cover some expenses (e.g. above the requested EUR 60 000), the applicants should provide the details in Part B.

Part B

Standard Formatting Rules

Minimum font size 11 Margins at least 15 mm

Clear FontTable Font Size minimum 8

Size limit of the documents

Maximum size for each uploaded document is 10 MB.

(Test the system in advance)

Additional Elements

• Medical documentation (i.e. medical certificates or equivalent documents) containing health-related data of the researcher/staff member must not be submitted in the proposal.

• However, such documentation could be requested during the evaluation and at GAP stage for clarification purposes.

Medical Documentation

• Signed by the researcher/staff member. • Template included in the Guide For Applicants, and should not be changed.• Gives consent for REA and the European Commission to collect and process

personal data relating to their disability for assessment of the grant application.

Consent Form

Appropriateness and Relevance of the Proposed Measures • Requires applicant to describe the needs of the researcher in relation to the MSCA activities• Justify the additional items/services required.• Address appropriateness, relevance and necessity of the described items/services

Effectiveness of the Proposed Measures • Explain how the items/services requested will facilitate the work of the researcher• Provide details of the duration of the requested support• Why is the proposed solution the most suitable for the researcher in relation to the MSCA

action. • If other solutions have been considered a comparison with these could be appropriate.

Appropriateness of the Resources Deployed• Explain in detail the items/services requested.• Detail an estimated cost breakdown• Use Example Table Provided;

Evaluation Criteria

Score Descriptors

0 – Proposal fails to address the criterion or cannot be assessed due to missing or incomplete information.

1 – Poor. The criterion is inadequately addressed, or there are serious inherent weaknesses.

2 – Fair. Proposal broadly addresses the criterion, but there are significant weaknesses.

3 – Good. Proposal addresses the criterion well, but a number of shortcomings are present.

4 – Very Good. Proposal addresses the criterion very well, but a small number of shortcomings are present.

5 – Excellent. Proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criterion. Any shortcomings are minor.

• Standard Proposal scoring, as with MSCA Actions• Each criterion scored between 0 and 5• Decimal points can be awarded• Threshold for individual criteria – 3• Overall Threshold – 10

Timeline

Action Date

Invitation to Submit Proposal 25 February 2019

Deadline for Submission24 April 2019

17:00 Brussels Time

Evaluation of Proposals May 2019

Information on Outcome of EvaluationsJune-July 2019

Indicative Date for Signing the Grant Agreement

October 2019

• If you have not received the e-mail invite with the submission link, contact your Project Officer.

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie website: http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/

• EURAXESS: http://ec.europa.eu/euraxess/

• The European Commission's Horizon 2020 Enquiry Service http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=enquiries

• Net4Mobility+ https://www.net4mobilityplus.eu/

Contacts and Useful Links

UK NCP HelpdeskEmail: mariecurie-uk@bbsrc.ac.ukPhone: + 32 2 230 0318Website: www.ukro.ac.uk/mariecurie