IF: A fellow completing a Global Fellowship needs to renew their visa for the US. The embassy requires an original statement by the entity that offers the fellowship that they have no objections. Do EC/ REA usually provide such statements?

The EC cannot do that, because it never had any contract with the researcher, only with the institution that hired the researcher. And this recruitment is based on the grant agreement – once it ends, there is no more legal connection between the EC and the institution.

IF: How many reports for EF and GF?

For the EF, there is only one periodic report (technical and financial) and for the GF, there are two.

IF: Is it true that the Financial Statement is prefilled?

Yes, the units and costs per unit reported in the financial statement are calculated by the system and are not editable. The Financial Statement is generated automatically and only constitutes the request for payment of the balance. This means that if the research and training activities took place according to the Annex I (and any deviation was justified), the costs incurred are considered eligible.

IF: In the case of a GF, is it possible for the fellow to be employed by the beneficiary and partner organisation in TC?

According to the Guides for Applicants the beneficiary is the host organisation which has to recruit, supervise and provide training for the researcher, taking complete responsibility for executing the proposed action. Partner organisations do not employ the researchers within the action.
For more details on the recruitment process by the beneficiary see please Art. 6.2 of the H2020 MODEL GRANT AGREEMENT for MSC-IF— MONO.
For a Global Fellowship concerning the payment of the fellow's salary, it is admitted that it could be paid by the partner organisation in the third country for the period where it hosts the fellow. In such case, the beneficiary should ensure that the reimbursement rates to the eligible costs as stipulated in the H2020 MGA MSC-IF— MONO are respected and must retain evidence of this. Any Audit carried out by the Agency or the Commission would be at the level of the beneficiary, which has to keep appropriate records (see Art. 18.1 of the H2020 MGA MSC-IF— MONO)

IF: May partner organizations in TCs be controlled/audited by REA/EC?

Partner Organisations are not considered third parties or subcontractors using the formal definitions of those from the GA, so REA cannot audit them.

IF: Is a secondment during a GF to Europe (EU MS/AC) eligible during the outgoing phase?

Yes, it is!

IF: The maximum duration of the secondment depends on the length of the fellowship – what is the defining rule in case of the GFs?

The secondments must be clearly justified in the Part B of the proposal and their maximum duration is defined according to the total duration of the fellowship:
Therefore, for a Global fellowship of 3 years, the maximum duration of secondment is 6 months.

IF: Are partner organisations in a third country also subject to audits?

Partner Organisations are not considered third parties or subcontractors using the formal definitions of those from the Grant Agreement, so REA cannot audit them.

It is the beneficiary in the Global Fellowship who is responsible for the entire fellowship. Thus, it is up to them to show that the fellow actually spent the Person Months in the partner organisation. It is recommended to be written into the partnership agreement between the beneficiary and the partner organisation.

 

IF: Who pays the Social Security costs in a GF?

It is the beneficiary of the Member State/Associated Country (the return host institute) who employs the researcher during the whole fellowship duration (36 months maximum). According to the Grant Agreement (Art. 6.2. A), the benficiary is responsible for recruiting the researcher under a contract including social security coverage that also covers the period of secondment to a partner organisation abroad:
Art. 6.2.A:
...(b) the recruited researcher complies with the following conditions:

(i) be recruited by the beneficiary under an employment contract (or other direct contract with equivalent benefits, including social security coverage) or - if not otherwise possible under national law - under a fixed-amount-fellowship agreement with minimum social security coverage, including for a period of secondment to a 'partner organisation'.

Therefore, the beneficiary will need to ensure that the researcher is covered by social security also for the outgoing phase going abroad. If additional social security costs are incurred during the outgoing phase, these should be covered in principle by the 'mobility allowance'. However, where appropriate due to the high healthcare contributions requested by the country of the outgoing host, the interested parties (beneficiary, host organisation and the fellow) may also agree to use the contribution for the 'management and indirect costs' to cover (in part or full) these additional costs. In cases where the mobility allowance is part of the salary of the researcher, the beneficiary can also use the 'management and indirect cost' category. 

For this purpose, the beneficiary can either transfer the required funds to the outgoing host or directly to the fellow. The REA proposes and strongly recommends that this issue is resolved between the partners and the fellow in advance while negotiating their internal arrangements to implement the action.

In addition, regarding the often very high costs of social security coverage in the USA, some Member States have bilateral social security agreements with the USA. It may be worth checking in each specific case if such an arrangement exists as it might remove the need to pay into the health insurance schemes of both countries.

IF: Are ethical issues (Third countries) compulsory for all Global Fellowships?

As by definition the first phase of a Global Fellowship always takes place in a third country, the third country compulsory 'ehtical issues' will apply for all GFs, because the ethical guidelines state “when some or all of the research activities are carried out outside the EU, the applicants must confirm that the proposed research is compatible with the Union and International legislation and could have been legally conducted in one of the EU Member States”

How much funding can be expected for a GF?

The budget is calculated using the ‘researcher unit cost’ of €4880/month (monthly allowance, adjusted by country, plus a mobility allowance of €600/month and a family allowance of €500/month), if applicable. In addition, there is €800/month for research costs and €650/month for management costs

Do researchers in the return phase of an IF-GF receive the mobility allowance even if they move back to the country of origin?

Yes, the fellows receive the mobility allowance throughout the whole duration of the project.