Proposals for the next call for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF) under Horizon Europe are due at 11 a.m. EST on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. Please note that this means proposals are due to OSP/SPA/ORA at 11 a.m. EST on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Specific information about the call can be found on the European Commission Participant Portal.
The full application inclusive of all annexes must be attached in the GMAS document repository and the application will be subject to all University proposal review policies, including but not limited to five-day review policy and international collaborations and activities review.
Harvard is once again anticipating a high volume of interest in participation across the University. Please note that these fellowships are to be submitted through the President and Fellows of Harvard College and should not be linked to Harvard Global Research and Support Services, Inc. Please ensure that applications reference the Participation Identification Code (PIC) for the President and Fellows of Harvard College, which is 992204077. Please instruct all applicants to add your Pre-Award Contact in the Partner description for President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Please note there is a change in eligibility for PF proposals under Horizon Europe. To apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, applicants need to have acquired a PhD degree at the time of the call deadline. In addition, applicants can have a maximum of 8 years full-time equivalent research experience after their PhD. The latter may require careful calculation in case of career breaks.
The postdoctoral fellowship aims to enhance the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers wishing to diversify their individual competence in terms of skill acquisition at multi- or interdisciplinary levels through advanced training and international and intersectoral mobility. Such postdoctoral fellowships are expected to add significantly to the development of the best and most promising researchers active in Europe in order to enhance and maximize their contribution to the knowledge-based economy and society as well as strengthen the contact network of both the researcher and the Third Country partner organization (i.e., Harvard).
The structure of the fellowship is as follows: funding salary for a European researcher and a contribution to research-related costs during an initial outgoing phase of 1-2 years in a Third Country partner organization with a mandatory reintegration phase at the researcher’s Home Institution. Fellowship applicants are able to create and submit their own proposals independently, but schools and departments should be aware of a few key points at the proposal stage. Harvard must include an up-to-date letter of commitment to host the applicant in order to "demonstrate their real and active participation in the proposed action." This letter must be signed by a legal representative of the Third Country partner organization (either in OSP or the appropriate SPA/ORA Office) and co-signed by the Faculty Mentor. OSP has developed a standard letter of commitment template to use for these applications. If funded, Harvard is responsible for negotiating an acceptable Partnership Agreement, which flows down prime award terms from the EU, with the researcher’s Home Institution.
For the purposes of tracking, and also to ensure that the applicant has the appropriate letter and approvals from both the Faculty Mentor and the school or department, OSP is requesting that a proposal be submitted into GMAS for each PF. The Prime Sponsor should be the European Commission, and the Sponsor should be the researcher's Home Institution. At this time, there is no need to submit a budget with the proposal.
As you may remember, one challenge with these fellowships arose from the strict intellectual property terms. The current terms are more broadly defined, and as a result, we will not be requiring that the researcher’s statement of work be sent to OTD for review prior to the submission of an application. However, Faculty Mentors supporting the application of a proposed Fellow should be aware that public access dissemination requirements exist and IP negotiations with European Home Institutions are likely to occur. Faculty Mentors with complex IP portfolios should reach out in advance to discuss the IP implications of hosting a Fellow. Over the past several years, OSP/ORA/SPA have successfully negotiated terms and conditions consistent with the Harvard IP Policy, but because every Home Institution differs, we cannot guarantee success.
If grants administrators receive any new inquiries about the Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral applications, please begin to build a proposal for the PF in GMAS and provide the applicant with the information herein. Above all, explain that although the Faculty Mentor/department may be interested in hosting such a Fellow, Harvard cannot guarantee that we will be able to negotiate acceptable terms and conditions under the Marie Curie program to host the Fellow as a Harvard visitor.
Please do not hesitate to contact OSPProposalAssistance@harvard.edu with any questions or to request a letter of commitment.
For applicants who have any questions regarding the completion of the Partner description portion of the online proposal, should refer to the Faculty Mentor’s website and reach out to the Faculty Mentor’s grants administrator. Additional resources that may be helpful in completing portions of the online proposal are found on Harvard’s institutional website, as well as the Harvard University Fact Book.