Cooperation and Support for MSCA NCPs

Project Information

MSCA-NET

Grant agreement ID: 101054477

DOI

10.3030/101054477

Project closed

EC signature date 18 February 2022

Start date 1 March 2022

End date 28 February 2025

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

€ 1 870 356,90

EU contribution

€ 1 870 356,90

Coordinated by

VEREIN EURESEARCH
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MSCA-NET (Cooperation and Support for MSCA NCPs)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The first objective of MSCA-NET is to facilitate the transnational cooperation between National Contact Points (NCPs) for the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) in order to achieve a professional, consistent and harmonised level of NCP support and services across Europe and globally via trans-national cooperation.

As a second objective, the project aims at simplifying the access of potential applicants to the MSCA Horizon Europe calls. In the long run, the consortium aims at raising the average quality of submitted MSCA proposals.
The target groups - the NCPs, facilitators, scientific community and stakeholders - will receive concrete, timely and efficient support to apply to the MSCA, to implement the actions successfully, and to contribute to a global exchange of knowledge.

As the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are a competitive and complex programme which evolves with each framework programme, there is a high entry barrier for newcomers to the EU funding landscape, and in particular for those from widening or third countries. This requires concentrated efforts to inform applicants and stakeholders alike about the actions’ changes and evolutions. There is also a high fluctuation of MSCA NCPs, which the project mitigates with a welcome package and continous trainings and twinnings.

The overall outcome of the project is a community of well trained and knowledgeable MSCA NCPs, who support each other and are recognized among other stakeholders, in the scientific community, by facilitators or first contact points, who are competent in all MSCA matters and are well connected on the national and international level.

The project is structured into 5 Work Packages and has 26 Beneficiaries and 4 Associated Partners with different levels of experience and from all Horizon Europe country groups.
MSCA-NET has a duration of 36 months and an overall budget of 1'870'357 Euro. The action is under the coordination of Euresearch in Switzerland.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

MSCA-NET is structured into the 5 following work packages:
WP1, management and coordination (Lead: Euresearch - CH)
WP2, training , mentoring and support (Lead: APRE - IT)
WP3, tools (Lead: InnovationAuth - IL)
WP4, strategic capacity development (Lead: NKFIH - HU)
WP5, synergies and collaborations (Lead: FMID - ES)

The MSCA-NET project successfully advanced professionalisation and harmonisation among Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) National Contact Points (NCPs), facilitating a coherent support framework across EU Member States, Associated Countries, and Third Countries. Across 36 months, the consortium coordinated five work packages with 26 beneficiaries and 4 associated partners. Highlights include the launch of a benchmarking-based twinning scheme, extensive training modules, and the development of high-impact knowledge tools.
A total of 17 evaluated training events, 12 twinning visits, and 4 Meet & Exchange workshops were held, involving over 300 participants, many from widening and third countries. The dashboard, launched in May 2022, aggregated internal metrics and served as a real-time project monitoring tool. The matchmaking platform, replacing the previous Expression of Interest tool, significantly enhanced stakeholder engagement and visibility for MSCA calls. Online dissemination reached 44,041 views, with 14,376 unique users accessing the website. The most popular resources were the homepage (9,993 views), FAQ blog (5,592 views), and PF handbook (6,307 downloads).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

MSCA-NET introduced several innovations in NCP capacity building, community engagement, and applicant support. Notably, 90% of respondents used the PF and DN handbooks, with 96% indicating a significant improvement in their MSCA confidence, making it the project’s most effective knowledge tool.

The Matchmaking Platform proved groundbreaking by directly linking researchers, hosts, and stakeholders across all MSCA schemes. Registrations increased in line with the PF, DN, COFUND, and SE call cycles, demonstrating a strong uptake.

Capacity-building efforts were systematically tailored based on feedback from 89 MSCA NCPs via a comprehensive questionnaire. These insights led to personalised training and mentoring strategies, especially supporting NCPs from widening countries (with a 68% mentee interest rate) and third countries (69%).

The feedback analysis revealed that tools with physical engagement (trainings, twinnings) had a particularly high impact on newcomers. The average participant satisfaction rating for trainings and workshops was above 4.6 out of 5, reflecting the quality and relevance of content.

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