All actions: Is it possible to request part-time working less than 50% FTE for personal/ family reasons in H2020?

The requirement to dedicate at least 50% of the working time to the action for both professional and personal reasons was outlined in the MSCA H2020 Work Programme 2018-2020 on p.95 “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”. When it comes to parental leave, it falls under personal or family reasons. However, the fellow would still have to dedicate at least 50% of the working time to the project.

RISE: Is it possible to use the Research, training and networking unit costs to pay the seconded researcher in RISE?

Yes, it is possible.

In the Annotated Model Grant Agreement, p. 509 (Budget flexibility box) it is written that:

“Research, training and networking unit costs should be used for the research, training and networking activities foreseen in Annex 1, but unused amounts may be used for other action-related purposes (e.g. to cover travel and subsistence costs of a staff member, to organise additional training activities or horizontal networking events).

Unit costs for management and indirect costs should be used for the management of the action, but unused amounts may also be used for other action-related purposes (e.g. to cover travel and subsistence costs a staff member, to organise additional training activities or horizontal networking events).”

IF/ ITN: Will all IF/ITN proposals from Horizon 2020 that are still on the reserve list not be funded?

 They cannot be funded as there is no more budget left from Horizon 2020.

ITN: Is the 40% rule also respected in case of a later transfer - if a beneficiary wants to leave the consortium and another beneficiary would take over the PMs of an ESR?

Yes, the 40% rule is valid during the lifetime of the project. The coordinator of the project should contact the project officer if any unexpected circumstances happen.

ITN: Two ESRs from the same ITN project are married to each other. Are both of them eligible to receive family allowance?

Both are eligible for the family allowance. The family allowance depends on the status of each person (both are married, does not matter to whom), it does not depend on the household.

ITN: A coordinator of an ITN project received an email on Dissemination and Exploitation of their results stating that they need to make sure that the project website is sustainable for the next years, as a minimum in a static form, but preferably with new added content. What does “next years” mean?

The website of the project should be kept for several years after the project end. It is advised to keep the website (in some form) for five years after the project ends, in line with the Grant Agreement article 18.1 on p. 173.

ITN: Is there a minimum/ maximum price for accommodation during secondments?

There are no minimum or maximum prices for travel in MSCA projects. However, internal rules of the participating organisations and national regulations have to be respected.

ITN: A university had to use a small amount from the Β1. Research, Training & Networking costs category to top up the payment of a researcher. Is there a chance that the researcher cannot prove their dedication to the project in the case of audit?

It is allowed to use an unspent part of the institutional costs to complete the fellow’s salary (but not the opposite). Still, this should not prevent from implementing the project as planned. In case of an audit, it will be checked if the fellows were eligible, that they received the total amount of “researcher’s costs” (living, mobility and family allowances, if relevant), that the recruitment and hosting conditions were appropriate, and that the project was implemented as planned.

ITN: Are early-stage researchers entitled to receive daily allowances during their secondments?

Only the reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses is mandatory. If the beneficiary wants to pay daily allowances to the researcher, it is possible, if they have enough funding remaining.

IF: A researcher who has an Individual Fellowship which is ending in 4 months has found an attractive job offer and is thinking of terminating the fellowship in order not to lose the new job. Is this legally acceptable by the EC?

Yes, it is possible to terminate the fellowship earlier than planned, especially if the fellow has found an attractive job offer. The host institution needs to put in place an amendment to terminate the grant. The amounts corresponding to unspent months will have to be returned to the EC, but the funding corresponding to the project months already implemented does not have to be returned.