ITN tuition fees: Who pays the tuition fees in an ITN?

Tuition fees for ESRs are not paid by the ESRs, as indicated in Art. 32 (j) of the Model Grant Agreement which ensures that 'the researchers do not have to bear any costs for the implementation of the action as desribed in Annex 1.' 

This clause applies to all FP7 and all H2020 projects. For Horizon Europe project this is expected to remain the same and will be specified in the Horizon Europe Model Grant Agreement. 

All Actions: What are the minimum requirements for the letter of commitment?

Letters of commitment should follow the template/outline given in the respective guide for applicants for each call. Do not forget to have the letters signed and provided with the correct date! 

ITN / DN: How to fill in the budget table if an ESR (PhD candidate) will be hired by two institutions?

Every ESR should, in that case, have two lines in the budget table, i.e. one line for the first recruiting period, second line for the second recruiting period at the second host institution. This will result in a different number of researchers overall, but the overall number of requested person months will not change and corresponds with the number of requested person months in Part B of the proposal. It has to be made clear in the proposal that the ESR will be hired by two institutions, one after the other.

ITN - ETN: If an ITN consortium is coordinated by an SME, which cannot award doctoral degrees but has an arrangement with a university to award doctoral degrees, is it mandatory to include the university in the consortium as a Partner Organisation?

REA ITN Helpdesk suggested to add the University as partner organisation in this case.

ITN: Are beneficiaries from countries with a bilateral S&T agreement with the EU eligible for funding in an ITN?

There is a general distinction in Horizon2020 between EU-Member States, Associated Countries (which signed an Association Agreement with the EU) and so called Third Countries (all others which are not EU-Member States or Associated Countries). Third Countries are listed in the Annex A of the Horizon 2020 Work Programmes for every thematic.
In addition, the Annex A states that "legal entities established in countries not listed above and international organisations will be eligible for funding:
- When funding for such participants is provided for under a bilateral scientific and technological agreement or any other arrangement between the Union and an international organisation or a third country." 

Here are all countries with bilateral S&T Agreements listed, e.g. the US, Australia, Japan etc.
In order to be eligible for funding in an ITN (or a RISE), a third country beneficiary has to be deemed to contribute with an 'essential participation' in the action. Evaluators will be briefed accordingly. This is considered as absolutely exception. In case an ITN wishes to have a third country beneficiary from one of the countries with an S&T Agreement with the EU, they should ensure a very convincing description of the contribution in the proposal.

Where do I find the 'Researcher declaration' in Horizon2020 and HorizonEurope?

The ”Researcher Declarations” is even more important in Horizon2020, as reporting is automated (the data from the declarations will be fed directly to the reporting system). TThe RD has to be updated for all cases of leave (e.g. parental or sickness leave) and for secondments. The declarations are done electronically via the SyGMa portal for managing the grant.  

Can organisations located in third countries participate in ITNs?

Organisation located in third countries can participate as beneficiaries if:

• They are eligible for funding, see the General Annex A of the Work Programme.

If they are not eligible for funding according to the above mentioned list, participation as beneficiary is possible if one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

• Evaluators consider the participation essential for the action.
• If funding is provided for under a bilateral scientific and technological agreement or any other arrangement between the Union and the international organisation or, for entities established in third countries, the country in which the legal entity is established.

Third country organisations can always participate as partner organisations.

ITN: How can an organisation check whether they can act as the non-academic partner within an EID project?

Before applying, each organisation has to register and is automatically classified in one of the two sectors on the basis of the Participant Identification Code (PIC) assigned during the validation process and the information provided. Organisations are considered as belonging to the academic sector if they have been assigned to one of the three categories mentioned below:
• Public or private higher education establishments awarding academic degrees;
• Public or private non-profit research organisations whose primary mission is to pursue research;
• International European Interest Organisations.
All other organisations are by default non-academic.
If an entity does not yet have a draft PIC number, it can be obtained easily by following the instructions via https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/participant-register

ITN: Can a non-academic beneficiary take the lead and be the coordinator of an ITN project?

YES, if they have the capacity and experience to lead the ITN.

Who evaluates the proposal?

You will find details on the evaluation process in the Guide for Applicants. The evaluators are experts (=researchers) in the field. They will be matched to your proposal according to their profile and to your abstract and keywords. They will for sure be in your general research area, but might not be in the exact same field that you are. 

Every proposal is read and evaluated by at least three independent evaluators.

How can I become an evaluator?

Please have a look at the 'Funding & Tender Opportunities' Portal for information on how to become an evaluator:

https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/work-as-an-expert

Can you please let me know the outcome of the evaluation?

No. National Contact Points/Programme Committee members do not get the information (neither the Evaluation Summary Reports nor the ranking - 'main list', 'reserve list' etc.) earlier than the coordinators of the projects.
You can find the timeline for each call in the respective Guides for Applicants. Results do not come earlier than announced there, and sometimes a delay of one or two weeks is possible.
If you do not get information on the outcome of your proposal, get in touch with your coordinator (for the Individual Fellowships: This is your future supervisor who is the contact person of the European Commission).