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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The ERA Fellowships aim to attract and mobilize top research talents by supporting excellent researchers undertaking cross-border mobility. This grant specifically targets host organizations located in eligible Widening Countries, fostering research and innovation projects in academic and non-academic sectors. It serves as an additional funding opportunity for proposals that apply for, but are not funded under, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025. - Target recipient type: Host organizations (legal entities in academic or non-academic sector) and individual researchers (Postdoctoral Fellows). - Target recipient size: No specific size limitations for host organizations mentioned. - SECTOR-AGNOSTIC: Supports research and innovation across various sectors (academic, business, public, non-profit). - Geographic scope: Host organizations must be in an eligible Widening Country; researchers can be of any nationality moving to or within the EU to a Widening Country. - Key filtering criteria: Host organization location in Widening Country, fulfillment of MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 eligibility, and focus on R&I projects. - Grant frequency: Recurring (part of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, specifically 2025 call). - Program context: Part of Horizon Europe's Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (WIDERA) program, specifically addressing the “Attracting and mobilising the best talents” destination.

Financial Structure

Budget range for ERA Fellowships: Individual grants are expected to be between EUR 100,000 and EUR 500,000.
Total budget for the ERA Fellowships call for 2025 is EUR 8,000,000.
Currency: EUR.
Funding type: Unit-cost based funding. The expected EU contribution depends on the number of person-months requested, based on applicable unit contributions for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Eligible costs: While not explicitly detailed in the provided text for ERA Fellowships, these align with MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships, typically covering researcher's living allowance, mobility allowance, family allowance (if applicable), research, training and networking costs, and management and indirect costs for the host institution.
Ineligible costs: Not explicitly detailed, but generally involve costs not directly related to the fellowship activities.
Matching fund requirements: Not specified as a requirement; MSCA typically provides full funding for eligible costs under its unit cost model.
Financial reporting requirements: Aligned with MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships. Legal and financial set-up of the grants described in 'Annex G' of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Eligibility

Host organizations must be a legal entity located in an eligible Widening Country.
Eligible organization types include those in the academic sector (e.g., universities, research organizations) and non-academic sector (e.g., businesses, industry, start-ups, spin-offs, SMEs, public administration bodies, non-profit organizations).
Host organizations must meet all admissibility and eligibility conditions of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025.
Host organizations are expected to align with principles outlined in the European Charter for Researchers, covering ethics, integrity, gender equality, open science, working conditions, and career development.

Individual Researcher Eligibility

Fellowships are open to researchers of any nationality.
Researchers must intend to engage in R&I projects by coming to the EU from any country in the world or moving within the EU to a Widening Country.
Researchers must be eligible for and apply to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 (Topic HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF-01-01).
Researchers receiving an ERA Fellowship may include a secondment phase in any country worldwide, not exceeding one-third of the fellowship duration.
Researchers may opt for an additional period of up to six months for a placement in a non-academic sector organization (EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country) at the end of the project, if justified in the proposal.

Project/Proposal Requirements

Proposals must be submitted jointly by the researcher and a host legal entity.
Proposals must fulfill all admissibility and eligibility conditions of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 and pass all the thresholds for that call.
The fellowship itself must take place in a Widening Country.

Application Process

Application Process Overview

Applicants (researcher and host organization) must first submit their proposal to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call, specifically Topic HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF-01-01.
Proposals that apply to the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call will be automatically resubmitted to the ERA Fellowships call if they fail to reach an adequate place in the ranking to be funded under MSCA PF. Applicants can opt out of this resubmission during the application stage.

Key Dates and Deadlines

Call opening date (provisional): 2025-05-08 (originally 2025-04-09, delayed).
Application submission deadline: 2025-09-10 00:00:00+0000.

Required Documentation and Materials

Standard application form: A call-specific application form is available in the Submission System.
Part B of the Application Form: Page limits and layout are described here.
Admissibility conditions are described in 'Annex A' and 'Annex E' of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are described in 'Annex C' of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Career Development Plan: Must be established jointly by the supervisor(s) and the researcher, encompassing training, career needs, transferable skills, teaching, publications, conferences, and open science. This plan is a project deliverable.

Submission Format and Platform

Submissions are made via the Electronic Submission Service on the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Applicants must click the submission button next to the relevant type of action and model grant agreement (HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships and HORIZON Unit Grant).

Project Implementation and Reporting

Grant duration parameters: The expected EU contribution depends on the number of person-months requested.
Implementation timeline expectations: Not explicitly stated, but depends on the person-months and project plan.
Reporting obligations: Financial and operational reporting requirements are aligned with MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Post-award requirements: Compliance with legal and financial set-up of grants as described in 'Annex G' of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Application Assistance

Online Manual, Horizon Europe Programme Guide, Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, Research Enquiry Service, National Contact Points (NCPs), Enterprise Europe Network, IT Helpdesk, European IPR Helpdesk, CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk, ETSI Research Helpdesk are available for support.
A 'HE-MSCA-PF Guide for Applicants' and other useful documents are provided.
Partner Search is available on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Evaluation Criteria

General Evaluation

Proposals submitted under ERA Fellowships will be evaluated based on the award criteria, scoring, and thresholds defined for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships.
The ranking order for ERA Fellowships will follow the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call scores and evaluation procedure.
Proposals will retain the scores and comments from the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025 call.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships Evaluation Criteria (general principles based on Charter):

Excellence: Quality of the research project, innovation, methodology, scientific impact, and originality.
Impact: Potential for career development of the fellow, contribution to the host organization's R&I capacity, societal relevance, dissemination, and communication activities.
Quality and efficiency of the implementation: Quality of the host institution and the supervision arrangements, appropriateness of the proposed resources, and management plan.

Specific Scoring Factors (derived from the European Charter for Researchers, which ERA Fellowships adhere to):

Ethics and Research Integrity: Compliance with ethical rules, honesty, reliability, objectivity, impartiality, open communication, duty of care, fairness, and responsibility. Avoidance of plagiarism and proper intellectual property handling.
Freedom of Scientific Research: Demonstration of research fostering human knowledge, freedom of thought and expression, while recognizing limitations.
Open Science Practices: Engagement in open science principles (FAIR data, open access publications, open software, citizen science) and plans for reproducibility and open peer review.
Gender Equality and Diversity: Efforts to foster gender equality and balance in research teams, managerial bodies, and recruitment. Addressing gender-based violence, promoting work-life balance, and embracing diversity (gender, racial, ethnic, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation).
Researcher's Professional Attitude: Familiarity with strategic goals, seeking necessary approvals, ensuring research relevance to society, efficient valorization of results.
Accountability: Responsibility for actions, efficient use of funds, transparency, and cooperation during audits.
Free Circulation of Researchers: Promotion of mobility (geographical, inter-institutional, inter-sectoral, inter-disciplinary, virtual) and its value for professional development.
Sustainability of Research: Promotion of sustainable research activities aligned with initiatives like the European Green Deal and SDGs, aiming to reduce carbon emissions.
Career Progression: Recognition of non-linear, multi-career, and hybrid paths. Clear plans for continuous professional development, training in transferable skills, and entrepreneurship.
Supervision and Mentoring Quality: Clear identification of supervisors, adequate expertise, commitment, feedback mechanisms, and support for researchers' wellbeing and career development.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance Requirements

Proposals must adhere to all admissibility and eligibility conditions of the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2025.
Host organizations must be located in an eligible Widening Country.
Compliance with Annex B (Eligible countries), Annex D (Award criteria, scoring and thresholds), Annex F (Submission and evaluation processes, indicative timeline), and Annex G (Legal and financial set-up of grants) of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes.
Compliance with the European Charter for Researchers (annexed to Council Recommendation C/2023/1640), which outlines principles for ethics, integrity, gender equality, open science, working conditions, and career development.

Ethical Standards and Integrity

Researchers must comply with strict ethics rules (honesty, reliability, objectivity, impartiality, independence, open communication, duty of care, fairness, responsibility).
Adherence to ethical practices and fundamental ethical principles appropriate to their discipline(s) and documented ethical standards.
Commitment to research integrity, including avoiding plagiarism and respecting intellectual property rights.
Promotion of a safe, inclusive, and gender-equal research environment free from discrimination, harassment, or unjustified personal appropriation of data/results.

Data Protection and Intellectual Property

Researchers should be familiar with current national and Union legal requirements regarding data protection and confidentiality protection and undertake necessary steps to fulfil them.
Intellectual property policies for the exploitation of research results, including compensation for researchers and co-ownership of IP rights, should be addressed by employers/funders.
Host organizations should have a publicly available intellectual assets management strategy covering creation, management, ownership, and utilization of intellectual assets (publications, data, know-how, standards) and supporting Open Science practices.

Environmental and Sustainability Requirements

Promotion of sustainable implementation of research activities in line with initiatives like the European Green Deal and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Researchers are encouraged to lead in reducing carbon emissions (e.g., using the MSCA Green Charter as a reference).

Special Considerations

Automatic Resubmission: An ERA Fellowship application is an automatic resubmission of an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025 proposal that did not get funded, providing an additional funding opportunity.
Secondments: Researchers can include a secondment phase (up to one-third of fellowship duration) in any country worldwide, aligned with project objectives.
Non-Academic Placements: An optional additional period (up to six months) for placements in non-academic sector organizations (EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country) at the end of the project, aiming to promote inter-sectoral career moves.
Training Activities: Must include training for key transferable skills, foster innovation, entrepreneurship (commercialization, IPR), good scientific conduct (research integrity), and Open Science practices (open access, FAIR data, citizen science).
Career Development Plan: A mandatory deliverable, jointly established by supervisor(s) and researcher, covering research objectives, training needs, transferable skills, teaching, publications, and conference participation.
Focus on Widening Countries: A core objective is to attract and retain talents in Widening countries and revert brain drain.
Cross-cutting themes: Strong emphasis on gender equality, inclusivity, Open Science, and sustainable research practices.

Grant Details