In the MSCA, beneficiaries must declare the costs in the form of unit costs under 'costs for recruited researcher' and as 'institutional costs'. The 'institutional costs' are defined in the MSCA Unit Cost Decision C(2013) 8194:
"Costs related to the training and research expenses of researchers as well as to the costs related to the transfer of knowledge and networking."
The 'networking costs' are therefore part of the costs that the beneficiary can claim under the institutional unit costs.
In accordance with the MSCA Work Programme, 'networking activities' are linked to workshops, seminars, conferences and similar events incurred by the beneficiaries to facilitate sharing of knowledge, new skills acquisition and the career development of researchers or for research and innovation staff members.
The objective of these funds allocated to 'networking' is therefore to fund these activities in which the researchers or staff members participate. It is not excluded to buy with these funds equipment which is needed for research, but it needs to be clear that such equipment is necessary for the research needs of the researchers. The purchase of such equipment cannot impair the foreseen research, training and networking activities. Therefore, it is best to specifically discuss this with the Project Officer responsible for the specific project in order to see if it is possible, and if this was not foreseen in the beginning, if an amendment to the Grant Agreement would be needed.
The MSCA explained by your National Contact Points