IF / PF: Is part-time work possible in Individual Fellowships?

As mentioned in the Work Programme “Researchers may, in agreement with the supervisor and beneficiary and with prior approval by the Research Executive Agency (REA), implement their project on a part-time basis. Such a request may be introduced during the action implementation.”

Part-time cannot be proposed at the proposal submission stage. The proposed project shall be described on a full-time basis. It can only be requested after the signature of the GA with and amendment request.

In cases of part-time work, all researchers must dedicate at least 50% of their working time to the MSCA action, whether they are working part-time for family or other reasons.
The practical consequence of a part-time implementation (when agreed by REA via an amendment to the GA) is that the end date of the project is postponed and recalculated on the basis of the FTE requested.
All allowances will apply proportionally without the possibility that the total amounts will exceed those that apply for full-time equivalent periods.

Example: if part time 50% is requested at the beginning of a standard IF fellowship of 24 months, the actual duration of the fellowship will be 48 months and the end date postponed accordingly. The total allowances foreseen in the budget are spread on 48 months rather than 24.

As regards the commitment of the researcher to the action, “full” commitment is required considering the time devoted to the project implementation, e.g. if the researcher work on the project on a 0.5 FTE basis, then full commitment is required during the time spent on the project. Currently, providing timesheets to REA is not mandatory. However, Keeping timesheets is a good practice, especially in view of potential future audits.