1. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research and Innovation Staff Exchange - RISE
RISE Implementation Modalities
Olha Dzubinska
Research Executive Agency

2. Excellence Research Training Skills Mobility MSCA in H2020
Education and Culture

3. ITN IEF IOF IIF CIG IAPP IRSES COFUND MSCA in Horizon 2020: 4 Actions
Innovative Training Networks
Support for doctoral and early-stage training
European Training Networks, European Industrial Doctorates, European Joint Doctorates
ITN
IEF
IOF
IIF
CIG
IAPP
IRSES
COFUND
Action 1 ITN
Early-stage Researchers
Individual Fellowships
Support for experienced researchers undertaking international and inter-sector mobility: European Fellowships and Global Fellowships
Dedicated support for career restart and reintegration
Action 2 IF Experienced Researchers
Action 3 RISE Exchange of Staff
Research and Innovation Staff Exchange
International and inter-sector cooperation through the exchange of staff
Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes
- Doctoral programmes
- Fellowship programmes
Action COFUND

4. RISE: Summary - General Aspects - Definitions - Eligibility
- EU Funding
- Evaluation Criteria
- Proposal Structure
- Links
Summary of the issues addressed in this presentation.

5. - Organisations* from any countries
General Aspects
- Organisations* from any countries
- Exchanges of staff of any nationality
- No mobility rules
* Institutions fulfilling the requirements of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation can participate in RISE
While RISE was built on the experience gathered from the exchanged-based actions from the FP7 Marie Curie Actions, it should not been seen as a direct continuation of any of those previous actions. It is a new action that will specifically address the objectives of Horizon 2020.

6. Project: Main Aspects
- Project built on joint research and innovation activities
- Project implemented through the secondment of staff (no recruitments)
- Each staff member seconded for a period of 1 to 12 months
- The maximum size for a project is 540 person months
- No minimum size explicitly defined for the project, but substantial impact is expected
- Maximum project duration is 4 years
Secondments for the same staff member can be split in several stays. But the total of all splits for the same staff member cannot be less than 1 month or more that 12 months, over the full duration of the project. The travelling days are included in the secondment duration.
There is no minimum size explicitly defined for a project, but since “Impact” is one of the 3 award criteria, projects selected for funding are expected to have a substantial impact. There are also no restrictions as regards the direction or balance of the secondments within the project. The important is that the secondments are relevant for the execution of the proposed project. No limitations to the budget per country either.

7. The minimum length of 1 month is reached if either:
Split Secondments
The minimum length of 1 month is reached if either:
a. If there is only 1 period of secondment (or several consecutive ones): the secondment starts on day n of a month (month N) and ends on day n-1 of the next month (month N+1) or
b. If there are at least 2 non-consecutives periods of secondment: the duration of the several secondments periods adds up to 30 days
In the proposal all secondments will have to be planned as a minimum of 1 month. However, during the implementation of the project, we will accept the secondments to be split in shorter periods if needed. But, the total of all secondment periods will have to reach at least 1 month over the full duration of the project in order for the secondment to be eligible for EU finding. The "1 month period" is defined as:
If there is only 1 period of secondment or all the periods of secondment are consecutive, 1 month is reached if the secondment starts on day n of one month and ends day n-1 of the next month. The following examples are considered as 1 month of secondment:
from 1 January to 31 January
from 15 January to 14 February
from 28 February to 27 March
If there are at least 2 non-consecutives periods of secondment, 1 month is reached if the duration of the several secondments periods adds up to 30 days.
Regarding the payment, if the minimum period of 1 month is reached, incomplete months will be paid on the basis of the remaining number of days, as a pro-rata of 30 days.

8. - Partner Organisations
Participants in RISE
- Beneficiaries
Sign the Grant Agreement and claim costs
Are responsible for the execution of the programme
Are established in a MS/AC
- Partner Organisations
Do not sign the Grant Agreement and do not claim costs
Must include a letter of commitment in the proposal
Are established in a TC
There are 2 types of participants: Beneficiaries and Partner organisations. Both types contribute to the implementation of the research project and to the training and hosting of seconded staff members.
Partner organisations have to include a letter of commitment in the proposal and the evaluators will be instructed to disregard the contribution of any partner organisations for which no such evidence of commitment is submitted. Each beneficiary reports the secondments of its own staff seconded to other organisations plus the secondments of staff from TC partners to its organisation. Partnership agreements are not mandatory but are recommended if the consortium includes Partner Organisations.

9. Who can apply?
Networks of organisations involved in research and innovation.
What types of organisations can apply?
Two different types:
Academic sector: 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 (e.g. CERN, EMBL).
Non-academic sector: includes any entity not included in the academic sector, e.g. large companies, SMEs, NGOs, museums, hospitals, international organisations (e.g. UN).
Non-academic sector: includes any entity not included in the academic sector and fulfilling the requirements of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation, e.g. large companies, SMEs, NGOs, museums, hospitals, international organisations (e.g. UN). SEE RULES FOR PARTICIPATION FOR PRECISE DEFINITION.

10. Sectors
The sector of an organisation is defined automatically in the system when applying
- Academic Sector
Higher education establishments (public or private)
Non-profit research organisations (public or private)
International European interest organisations
- Non-Academic Sector
Any socio-economic actor not included in the academic sector and fulfilling the requirements of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation (SMEs, multinationals, NGOs, museums, etc.)
The sector of an organisation is not defined by the applicant. It is defined automatically by the IT system based on the information provided by the organisation at the time of its registration in the Participant Portal.
International European interest organisations are considered as being established in a MS, but in being in a different MS than all other participants, whatever the actual country it is established on.

11. Hosting of Seconded Researchers
Participants
Participants
Academic and non-academic organisations can take part as either a beneficiary or a partner organisation:
NB. Each partner organisation must include a letter of commitment in Part B of the proposal.
Network Status
Signs the
Grant agreement
Sends Researchers
Hosting of Seconded Researchers
Directly Claims Costs
Beneficiary 
Partner org. X
Beneficiaries: full participants of a network and signatories to the grant agreement. Receive funding, claim costs, and take complete responsibility for executing the proposed programme. Recruit, supervise, host and train researchers and may also provide secondment opportunities.
Partner organisations: do not sign the grant agreement and do not recruit any researchers. Provide additional research and transferable skills training and/or secondment opportunities. Do not directly claim any costs and beneficiaries would need to reimburse the partner organisations for their activities in the research training programme.

12. - Types of staff members:
- Actively engaged in or linked to research/innovation activities for at least 6 months prior to first secondment
- Types of staff members:
ESR (no PhD and < 4 years experience)
ER (PhD or > 4 years experience)
Managerial staff
Administrative or Technical staff
- In-built return mechanism
Staff members eligible for the secondments must be actively engaged in or linked to research and/or innovation activities at the sending institution for at least six months (full-time equivalent) prior to the first period of secondment.
Staff members can be ESRs, ERs Managerial, Administrative or Technical staff. In all cases, the staff seconded must support directly the research and/or innovation activities of the project. ESRs and ERs defined as in FP7, so PhD candidates are typically considered as ESRs.
Staff members are expected to be reintegrated in their seconding organisation after the end of the exchange period, to maximise the transfer of knowledge.
Two situations usually raise questions by the applicants about being staff or not, so I will give clear instructions on those two: 1) Undergraduate or Master Students not connected to the institution by any other type of link are not considered as staff. 2) Consultants are also not considered as staff.
As a general rule, links to the organisation should be something similar to an employment contract, a stipend, a fellowship, etc.

13. Minimum Eligibility Conditions
- At least 3 independent participants in 3 different countries
- At least 2 participants from 2 different MS/AC
- If all in MS/AC: at least 1 academic and 1 non-academic (intersectoral)
In practice, 2 possible minimum settings (or a combination of the 2): + + 1.
MS/AC 1
MS/AC 2 TC
In practice, there are 2 possible minimum settings: either 2 institutions established in different MS/AC plus one in a TC or 3 institutions established in 3 different MS/AC and at least one from the academic sector and one from the non-academic sector, in different countries. Above these minimum requirements the participation of other institutions from any sector or country is possible.
All participants exchanging staff between themselves must be independent from each other.
A partnership might focus only on exchanges between sectors, only on exchanges between Europe (MS/AC) and TCs or on both aspects. None of the 3 possibilities will be favoured over the other 2 during the evaluation. or + +
MS/AC 1
MS/AC 2
MS/AC 3 2.
Academic
Non-Academic

14. Eligible Secondments 1: Intersectoral
Country
Non-Academic
MS/AC 1
Academic
Sector
MS/AC 2
MS/AC 3 C B A X
Same sector D
Same
Intra-European Exchanges
Exchanges between European organisations (MS/AC) are possible if there are established in different countries and are from different sectors.
Intra-European secondments within the same sector or within the same country are not eligible for funding and must not be listed in the proposal (neither part A or Part B).

15. Eligible Secondments 2: International
Europe-Third Countries Exchanges
Country
MS/AC 1
Sector
is not
relevant
MS/AC 2 B A X TC C D
Same or
Different
Third !
Secondments from a TC to a MS/AC are not always eligible for EU funding but all of them must be described in the proposal.
Secondments between MS/AC and TC are not dependent on the sector of the organisations. Secondments from a TC to a MS/AC are only eligible for funding for some TC (listed in Annex A of the WP). However, all secondments from TC to MS/AC must be indicated in the proposal as they will have an influence on the evaluation, even for those not eligible for EU funding.
Secondments between TCs or within the same TC have no influence on the evaluation and therefore must not be included in the proposal (neither part A or Part B).

16. Secondments Described
Secondments that must be described in the proposal:
MS/AC 1
Academic
MS/AC 2
Non-Academic
Eligible for EU Funding
MS/AC TC
Eligible for EU Funding TC
MS/AC
Eligibility for EU funding depends on the TC
Secondments that must not be described in the proposal:
All other possibilities, such as:
MS/AC 1
Academic
MS/AC 2
Academic
Only the secondments in line with the objectives of the programme, i.e., international secondments either between sectors or between Europe (MS/AC) and TCs are to be listed in the proposal. Other possibilities won't influence the evaluation and will not be funded by EU, and therefore must not be included in the proposals (neither in Part A or Part B).
MS/AC 1
Non-Academic
MS/AC 2
Non-Academic
MS/AC 1
MS/AC 1 TC TC

17. Countries Eligible for EU Funding
1. EU Member States (MS)
2. Overseas Countries and Territories linked to the MS
(As defined on page 3 of General Annex A to the Horizon 2020 Work Programme )
3. Associated Countries to Horizon (AC)
(In principle, the same as FP7, but subject to the adoption of the association agreements)
4. The Third Countries listed (TC)
(On page 3 of General Annex A to the Horizon 2020 Work Programme )
Eligible secondments where the sending organisation is established in one of those countries will be supported by EU funds.

18. Countries NOT eligible for EU funding
Countries not listed above are not eligible for EU funding
In practice, those countries are mainly:
- the BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China;
- « industrialised » countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, United States.
In very exceptional cases, partners from those countries might be funded. But the following conditions have to be fulfilled:
a) This partner has competences/expertise that no organisation in MS/AC has
b) The relevant transfer of knowledge can only be done via a secondment in the direction TC MS/AC
c) Points a) and b) must be endorsed by the expert evaluators and confirmed by the REA
Secondments where the sending organisation is established in one of those countries will NOT be supported by EU funds.
The rules allow very exceptional cases where those countries could be financed, if a participant is essential to the implementation of the project. However, the experience from FP7 where a similar rule applied for ITN, indicate that those cases will be quasi-inexistent. Therefore, applicants should be aware that most likely, organisations from those countries will NEVER be eligible for funding in RISE.

19. Unit costs per researcher per month of secondment
EU Contribution
Unit costs per researcher per month of secondment
(eligible for funding)
1 unit =
1 month of eligible ESR
Marie Skłodowska- Curie
Action
 Staff mber unit cost *
person/month
Top-up allowance
Institutional unit cost *
Research, training and networking costs
 Management and indirect costs
Research and Innovation Staff Exchange
2 000
1 800
700
The Staff member unit cost is intended to support the travel, accommodation and subsistence costs linked to the respective secondment. Participants are expected to continue paying the salary of the seconded staff during the period of exchange.
The payment of each categories is linked to the execution of the secondment. If the secondment is not implemented none of the 3 categories is paid.
The financial relationship between beneficiaries and partner organisations is governed by internal arrangements (for example set by a Partnership Agreements).
*These unit costs are subject to a funding rate of 100% and no country coefficients apply.

20. Total = unit costs* x number of units
Financing
Funding mechanism
Funding mechanism
Fully based on unit costs
Unit cost is a pre-calculated cost
for the implementation of the action
Total = unit costs* x number of units
Advantage when applying
Automated calculation of budget when computing ESR months in your proposal Part A
*defined in the Work Programme
1 unit =
1 month of eligible ESR
**** Total = Costs per unit x Number of units (researcher months)

21. 8 thematic areas - evaluation Panels:
- Chemistry (CHE)
- Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC)
- Economic Sciences (ECO)
- Information Science and Engineering (ENG)
- Environment and Geosciences (ENV)
- Life Sciences (LIF)
- Mathematics (MAT)
- Physics (PHY)
Evaluation Criteria:
- Award Criteria
- Selection Criteria
Proposals will be allocated by the applicant to one of the eight evaluation panels. Research fields covered by each panel are described in a list available on the Participant Portal. Multidisciplinary project will be properly evaluated by experts covering the different panels.
Evaluation criteria are divided in Award and Selection Criteria.

22. Award Criteria
Proposals are evaluated on the basis of the 3 award criteria defined for the framework programme: Excellence, Impact and Implementation. Each proposal is assessed by independent experts.
Evaluation scores are awarded for each of the criteria, not for their individual elements. Each criterion will be scored from 0 to 5 and the total score will be subject to a threshold of 70%. The guide for applicants gives clear instructions on how to address each criteria and its individual elements in part B of the proposal.
Weightings for each criteria and priority in case of ex aequo are also indicated in the table.
Note in particular that the involvement of all participants will be assessed under the excellence criterion.

23. Operational capacity has to be checked
Selection Criteria
Operational capacity has to be checked
- Proposals must include a description of:
The profile of the people who will be primarily responsible for carrying out the proposed work
Any significant infrastructure or major items of technical equipment, relevant to the proposed work
Any partner organisations (not beneficiaries) contributing towards the proposed work (letter of commitment)
Selection criteria are meant to guarantee the operational capacity of the consortia and are not subject to scores. They are addressed with a “Yes” or “No” decision, where “No” excludes the participant from the project.
Additional information will be requested for non-academic beneficiaries in Part B of the proposal. This information will include for example the annual turnover or the number of employees in R&I and will be used to assess the capacity of the participant.
Exclusion from funding can also be decided if scientific misconduct is detected (for example in cases of plagiarism). The Coordinators will be required to submit a declaration on the honour in Part A of the proposal.

24. - Section 1: General information (including abstract)
Proposal Part A
- Section 1: General information (including abstract)
- Section 2: Information on participants
- Section 3: Budget and Secondments tables
- Section 4: Ethics table
Part A of the proposal is divided in 4 sections.
Each section is filled directly in the relevant interface of the Participant Portal.

25. 30 pages limit Proposal Part B
(including data for non-academic beneficiaries)
30 pages limit
Part B of the proposal is a PDF document structured as indicated here. It is very important that applicants use the template provided.
A limit of 30 pages applies to the total of sections 1 to 4.
As regards the ethical aspects, if the proposal has ethical issues, the applicant must submit an ethics self-assessment, and address the ethical aspects in section 7 of Part B. Guidelines for the ethics self-assessment under Horizon 2020 will be available on the Participant Portal.
Applicants must be aware that proposals from all scientific panels might raise ethical issues. Therefore, all applicants must check carefully the guidelines on ethics.

26. Useful Links Guide for Applicants Work Programme General Annexes
Work Programme
General Annexes
Rules for participation
List of fields covered by the Evaluation Panels
Useful links to important documents.

27. Tricks and tips

28. Drafting a proposal Tricks and tips Essential reading Basics
- Read WP "2014" and Guide for Applicants
- Meet the minimum eligibility requirements
- Consider all evaluation criteria
- Follow the template' guidance and format
- Respect PAGE LIMITS
- Consistency Part A and Part B (# res.-months, #partners)
- Check Part B formatting before submission
- Partnership arrangements recommended (budget distrib arrang.)
Essential reading
MSCA H2020 Work Programme 2014
Guide for applicants
Common part
Ethics part
Specific part
Part A A1: General information on the proposal
A2: Info on participants
A4: Requested fellows
A5: Info on associated partners
Part B Description of the programme (submit as PDF

29. Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Tricks and tips
Marie Skłodowska-Curie
Participants
- Clear evidence of partner' organisations commitment
- Capacity of the participant to be clearly demonstrated
- letter of committment
Project
- Compliance with ethical principles
Non-academic sector
Non-academic sector: includes any entity not included in the academic sector, e.g. large companies, SMEs, NGOs, museums, hospitals, international organisations (e.g. UN).
The following information will be required to determine the operational capacity (in part B of the proposal):
 A description of the profile of the persons who will be primarily responsible for carrying out the proposed work;
 A description of any significant infrastructure or any major items of technical equipment, relevant to the proposed work;
 A description of any partner organisations that are not represented as beneficiaries, but who will nonetheless be contributing towards the work.
Non-academic Sector Participation
Level of non-academic sector participation to be clearly described
Resubmission
Resubmissions are ok – to be noted that the H2020 objectives and evaluation criteria are modified, therefore applicants need to update the proposals accordingly
Capacity of the host: expert evaluators will carefully consider the requested number of researcher months in the light of the capacities of the host.
Letters of commitment: Partner organisations must include a letter of commitment in the proposal to demonstrate their real and active participation in the proposed network. The experts will be instructed to disregard the contribution of any partner organisations for which no such evidence of commitment is submitted. Letters should be included directly in the Part B PDF file (shall be visible directly in the file - no hidden embedded file).

30. Success with your application!
Tricks and tips
6 Tips for success
Make it easy for the evaluators to find
the information in the proposal!!!
- Structure and organise the information well
- Be precise, less is sometime more…
- Start writing the proposal early
- Avoid last minute submission
Impartial view… ask your colleagues to read it before…
Success with your application!
Have applicants maximised their chances? There will be strong competition. Therefore, proposals should be edited carefully, and weak points should be eliminated. Applicants shall put themselves in the place of an expert evaluator.
Respect the structure of the template and the guidance provided
Less is more: Proposals should be concise and precise. Make it easy for them to find the relevant information.
Arrange for your draft to be evaluated by experienced colleagues, use their advice to improve it before submission

31. Disclaimer:
The slides were provided by the REA but the speaker is responsible for the delivered message. REA takes no responsibility on it.
Thank You
End of presentation.