Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship Proposals Due September 9, 2020

Proposals for the next call for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) under Horizon 2020 are due at 11am EST on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Please note that this means proposals are due to OSP/SPA/ORA at 11am EST on Wednesday, September 2, 2020. Specific information about the call can be found on the European Commission Participant Portal.

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 your fellows to add your Pre-Award Contact, as well as Harvard University's EU point of contact, Carolina Harvey.

The Individual 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 Individual 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. Fellows 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 Fellow in order to "demonstrate their real and active participation in the proposed action." This letter must be signed by a legal representative of the partner organization (either in OSP or the appropriate SPA/ORA Office) and co-signed by the Principal Investigator. 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 Principal Investigator and the School or Department, OSP is requesting that a proposal be submitted into GMAS for each IF. 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, Principal Investigators supporting the application of a fellow should be aware that public access dissemination requirements exist and IP negotiations with European Home Institutions are likely to occur. Principal Investigators 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 you receive any new inquiries about the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship Application, please begin to build a proposal for the IF in GMAS and provide the fellow with the information herein. Above all, explain that although the PI/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 Carolina Harvey in OSP with any questions or to request a Letter of Commitment.