Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions under Horizon 2020 - KoWi

KOWI Annual Conference
Heidelberg 28 June 2012
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
under Horizon 2020
Alessandra Luchetti
Head of Unit, DG EAC.C3
Education
and Culture
Date: in 12 pts

Education
and Culture
Agenda
Marie Curie achievements
Horizon 2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions:
Objectives and rationale
Feedback received
Key features
MSC Actions under H2020
Expected impact

Education
and Culture
Marie Curie Actions
Basics
Pierre and Marie Curie honeymoon, 1895
Significant EU fellowships programmes since
1990 (FP3) for researchers’ mobility
Marie Curie label since 1996 (~60.000 fellows to
date)
Actions aimed at structuring training, mobility
and career development for researchers
Under FP7, implemented through the People
Programme (2007-2013)

Key features
• Bottom-up approach
• Mobility, both transnational and intersectoral
• Main EU programme providing structured doctoral training,
including industrial doctorates
• Opening research careers at European and international level
• Enhanced business-academia collaboration and staff exchange
• Excellent employment and working conditions, in line with the EU
Charter and Code for Researchers
Education
and Culture
Date: in 12

FP7 MCA Achievements
35000
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
1996-1998 1999-2002 2002-2006 2007-2010 2011-2013
COFUND
8%
Economics 2%
Mathematics
3%
Social Sciences
and Humanities
9%
Chemistry
10%
1996-2010
50 000 Marie Curie Researchers
Life Sciences
27%
Environmental and
Geo-sciences
11%
Physics
13%
Information Science
and Engineering
17%
- 60 000 researchers financed since the
creation of the Marie Curie Actions
- More than 10 000 PhD supported in FP7
- Marie Curie researchers coming from all
over the world (around 130 nationalities)
- Marie Curie host organisations in more
than 80 countries
- 46% of researchers coming to EU from
industrialised countries stay in Europe
after the end of the IIF fellowship
- 38% women participation in FP7 MCA,
close to the 40% target
Budget distribution by scientific panel
in FP7 (bottom up approach)
Education
and Culture

Education
and Culture
FP7 MCA Achievements
Ageing Population
€36m; 2% Climate change
€106m; 6%
Energy shortage
€177m; 9%
- More than 50% of the budget
dedicated to research on societal
challenges
Other
€911m; 49%
Food supply
€77m; 4%
- Bridging the academia-business gap:
~6.000 secondments / recruitments in
~350 FP7 MCA projects
Water supply
€32m; 2%
Health
€534m; 28%
- SMEs play a major role: in IAPP and
ITN they account for more than 50%
of all businesses participating
Budget dedicated to societal challenges under
FP7 MCA (2007-2011)

Education
and Culture
FP7 MC Actions
ITN (Initial Training Networks)
including EID and IDP since 2012
IEF
(Intra-European Fellowships)
IOF
(International Outgoing Fellowships)
IIF
(International Incoming Fellowships)
CIG
(Career Integration Grants)
IAPP
(Industry-Academia Partnerships
and Pathways)
IRSES
(International Research Staff
Exchange Scheme)
COFUND
(Co-funding of regional, national,
international programmes)
Research networks supporting initial and doctoral training
43% of FP7 MCA budget, 9-10% success rate
Support for researchers moving inside Europe
Support for researchers moving away from Europe
Support for researchers moving to Europe
Support for researchers starting a permanent position in Europe
Industry-Academia cooperation through exchange of staff
International cooperation between MS/AC & other third countries through
exchange of staff
Co-funding of regional, national and international research funding
programmes for experienced researchers

Horizon 2020
International cooperation
Europe 2020 priorities
European Research Area
Shared objectives and principles
Common rules, toolkit of funding schemes
−
−
−
−
−
−
Societal Challenges
Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Food security, sustainable agriculture,
marine and maritime research, and the
bio-based economy
Secure, clean and efficient energy
Smart, green and integrated transport
Climate action, resource efficiency and raw
materials
Inclusive, innovative and secure societies
−
−
−
Industrial Leadership
Leadership in enabling and industrial
technologies (ICT, nano, materials, bio,
manufacturing, space)
Access to risk finance
Innovation in SMEs
Simplified access
Excellent Science
− European Research Council
− Future and Emerging Technologies
− Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions on skills, training and
career development
− Research infrastructures
Supporting the objectives:
European Institute for Innovation and Technology
Joint Research Centre
Dissemination &
knowledge transfer

Education
and Culture
MSCA Objectives
• Main objective
Ensure the optimum development and dynamic use of Europe’s
intellectual capital in order to generate new skills and innovation
• Rationale
Encourage new, creative and innovative types of training
Identify excellent talents in research and innovation in
international competition
Make best researchers in Europe and the world work together
across countries, sectors and disciplines
Create a whole new mind-set in Europe, crucial for creativity and
innovation
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions = excellent researchers’ training
and mobility for career development

Education
and Culture
MSCA in H2020
Proposed Budget (2014-2020): € 5.75 billion
Marie Curie Actions - budget evolution
7000
6000
5000
€ Million
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
1994-1998 1998-2002 2002-2006 2007-2013 2014-2020
FP4 FP5 FP6 FP7 H2020
Framework Programme
~7% of H2020 budget

Education
and Culture
Stakeholder feedback
Top 5 most frequent comments on MCAs:
1. One of the most successful
programmes; call for an increase of
the budget allocated
2. Knowledge triangle to be reinforced
3. Importance of mobility
'The Marie Curie scheme is one of the most
efficient programmes, both in terms of support
from the scientific community and of outcome in
reinforcing the quality and excellence of scientific
staff. Compared to many other programmes in
H2020, it has a long and proven track record.'
(LERU)
‘The Marie Curie scheme has been particularly
successful in encouraging the mobility of
researchers across the European Research Area,
and providing valuable research training for the
predominantly young researchers who form the
future of the EU's science base.'
(UK Higher Education Sector)
4. Bottom-up approach
5. Streamlining
‘The MCA research training and mobility
programme is one of the clear success stories of
the previous Framework Programmes. It has
effectively reached out to and gained
respectability amongst the research community.'
(VRWI)

Education
and Culture
MSCA – Key Features
• Bottom-up approach remains
• Fostering key skills and competences for research and innovation
• Main EU programme providing structured doctoral training, including industrial
doctorates
• Mobility, both trans-national and inter-sectoral
Opening research careers at European and international level
Enhanced business-academia collaboration and staff exchange
• Excellent employment and working conditions, in line with the EU Charter and
Code for Researchers
• Role model with pronounced structuring effect on regional, national and other
international programmes

Education
and Culture
MSCA – Key Features
• Cross-cutting issues
Gender balance
Strengthening the participation of SMEs
Synergies with the societal challenges and the industrial technologies
• Broad participation of businesses and other socio-economic actors
• Increased possibility of the portability of grants
• Stronger emphasis on communicating results and on outreach activities
• Extended use of the scale of unit costs (including indirect costs)

Education
and Culture
MSC Actions
ITN
(including EID and IDP)
IEF
IOF
IIF
CIG
IAPP
IRSES
COFUND
Action 1
Early-stage
Researchers
Action 2
Experienced
Researchers
Action 3
Exchange of
Staff
Action 4
COFUND
Doctoral and initial training of researchers
proposed by international networks of
organisations from public and private
sectors
Individual fellowships for most
promising experienced researchers to
develop their skills through
international or inter-sector mobility
International and inter-sector
cooperation through the exchange of
research and innovation staff
Co-funding of regional, national and
international programmes covering
actions 1 & 2

MSCA – Doctorate level
Based on FP7 ITNs best practice
Structured doctoral training, including industrial and
joint doctorates
Combining scientific excellence with business
innovation
Aiming to develop research competences
Equip PhD holders with skills matching public and
private sector needs
Addressing triple 'i' dimension of mobility
Joint research training programmes with
transferable skills modules and exposure to other
sectors and disciplines
Education
and Culture

Education
and Culture
MSCA – Post-doc level
Individual Fellowships to promote
international and inter-sector mobility
Aiming to support attractive career
opportunities and facilitate career moves,
also between public and private sectors
Enhance competences and creative
potential of best researchers, European and
non-European willing to work in the EU
In-built possibility of outgoing phase in TC
or in private sector

Education
and Culture
MSCA – Exchanges
New type of exchange of staff action to stimulate transfer of
knowledge
Flexible exchanges of highly skilled research and innovation staff
Aiming to enhance cross-border and cross-sector collaboration
Exchanges within Europe (cross-sector) and with third countries

Education
and Culture
MSCA - COFUND
Stimulating regional, national and international programmes
to foster excellence
Spreading best practices of MSCA in terms of international
mobility, research training, career development
Increasing numerical and structural impact of MSCA
Building on experience from FP7 COFUND – evaluation
results available:
• Both (IxF and COFUND) mechanisms are achieving their objectives and
are strengthening the research capacity of the EU
• COFUND is enhancing the international dimension of a number of national
and regionally-based fellowship programmes in ways that are not open to
Individual Fellowships
• Modest positive impact on operational and administrative procedures of
host institutions (COFUND)
• Contributing to a gradual ‘levelling up’ in employment conditions for
researchers

Education
and Culture
MSCA - Expected Impact
2014-2020
• ~ 65.000 researchers to be supported, including 25.000 PhD candidates
• ~ 200.000 scientific publications in high impact peer-reviewed journals
• ~ 1.500 patent applications
• ~ 100 spin-offs created
• ~ 350-400 new regional / national / international programmes to be
created targeting international and intersectoral training, and career
development of research and innovation staff

Education
and Culture
Position of the Council
and the Parliament
Council Partial General Approach on H2020 Regulation:
MSCA:
Initial position, subject to future discussions on budget
Impact across the programme on the innovativeness of the private sector
Mobility for European brain gain – importance of (re)integration
Extension of co-funding, involve private sector
Synergies with Erasmus for All, Structural Funds, KICs
EP draft reports on the H2020 package:
MSCA:
Budget share of 9.1% of Horizon 2020, compared to 7.4% in the proposal of the Commission
Specific measures to remove obstacles to the mobility of female researchers
Joint or multiple doctoral degrees added as examples of innovative research training
Support for outgoing mobility followed by return to Europe
"Seal of excellence" on positively evaluated projects (not funded)

Education
and Culture
Marie Curie Actions Website
http://ec.europa.eu/mariecurieactions
Horizon 2020
http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020

Education
and Culture
Thank you for your attention
alessandra.luchetti@ec.europa.eu