Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020
Roma 24 marzo 2015 - CNR
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
experiences and indications
Dr M. Lucia Curri
Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
IPCF CNR
Outlook
Horizon 2020
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MSC Individual Fellowships (IF)
MSC IF Evaluation process
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020 is the EU’s funding instrument for research and innovation from 2014 – 2020
Overarching priority: exiting economic crisis through sustainable growth. Three pillar structure.
Excellent Science
European
uropean Research Council
Frontier research by the best
individual teams
Future and Emerging
Technologies
Collaborative research to open
new fields of innovation
Marie SkłodowskaSkłodowska-Curie actions
Opportunities for training and
career development
Research Infrastructures
(Including
e-infrastructures)
Ensuring access to world class
facilities
Industrial
Technologies
Societal Challenges
Leadership in enabling and
industrial technologies
•Health
Health,
Health, demographic change
and wellbeing
ICT, nanotechnologies, materials,
biotechnology, manufacturing, space
Food
Food security, sustainable
agriculture,
marine
and
agriculture,
maritime
research
and
bioeconomy
Secure
Secure,
Secure, clean and efficient
energy
Smart,
Smart, green and integrated
transports
transport
Climate
Climate action,
action, resource
efficiency and raw materials
Inclusive,
Inclusive, innovative and
reflective societies
Security
Security society
Access to risk finance
Leveraging private finance and
venture capital for research and
innovation
Innovation in SME
Fostering all forms of innovation
in all types of SME
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
The goal of the MSCA is to support the career development and training of researchers through
inter--sector mobility
international and inter
•Open to all domains of research and innovation from basic research up to market take-up
•Entirely bottom-up
•Partecipation of non-academic sector strongly encouraged, especially industry and SMEs
•Mobility as a key requirement
•Promotion of attractive working and employment conditions
•Particular attention to gender balance
•Public engagement of supported researchers
•Attract and retain research talent
•Develop state-of-the-art, innovative training scheme, consistent with the highly competitive and increasingly
inter-disciplinary requirements of research and innovation
•Promote sustainable career development in research and innovation
•Focus on delivering new knowledge and skills
•Contribute to a strong partnership with MS via the co-funding mechanism
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
Support to researchers in all stages of their career, from PhD candidates to
experienced researchers, via different schemes:
Innovative Training Networks (ITN)
Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE)
Individual Fellowships (IF)
Co-funding of national etc PhD and post-doctoral programmes (COFUND)
Co-funding of regional, national and international
programmes funding doctoral and post-doctoral
researchers
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
ITN SCHEME
•Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial
and innovative early-stage researchers (PhD and Masters’ Degree students)
•Raise excellence and structure research and doctoral training, extending the traditional
academic research training setting, and equipping researchers with the right combination of
research-related and transferable competences
•Provide enhanced career perspectives in both the academic and non-academic sectors through
international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility combined with an innovation-oriented
mind-set
•ITN consortium formed of host organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors,
including organisations based in MS and AC, but can also include participants from organizations
outside Europe
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
RISE SCHEME
The scheme aims at promoting international and interinter-sector collaboration through research and innovation staff
exchanges.
exchanges. It also encourages knowledge sharing and bringing ideas from research to market
Scope
International and inter-sector transfer of knowledge and sharing shared culture of research and innovation, supports
creativity and entrepreneurship, and helps to turn creative ideas into innovative products, services or processes
• RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in particular SMEs), based both within and
without Europe
•Participating organisations contribute directly to the implementation of the joint research and innovation activities by
seconding and/or hosting eligible staff members (no secondments between institutions located outside Europe or within
the same MS/AC
Expected impact
• Build new – or enhance existing – networks of international and inter-sectoral cooperation
• Strengthen the interaction between organisations in the academic and non-academic sectors, as well as between
Europe and third countries
• Align different cultures and expectations with a view to ensuring a more effective contribution of research and
innovation to Europe's knowledge-based economy and society
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC Individual Fellowships
MSC IF Expected Impact
•Development of the best and most promising researchers active in Europe, in order to enhance and
maximise their contribution to the knowledge-based economy and society
• For researchers with a PhD degree (or have at least 4 years of research experience; there are no
restrictions on age) who wish to acquire new knowledge and skills, open to all fields and disciplines
•Strengthen the contact network of both the researcher and the host organisation
•Realising the full potential of researchers and catalysing significant development in their careers in both
the academic and non-academic sectors
•Resuming a research career in Europe after a break, or reintegrating within Europe after living abroad
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC Individual Fellowships
The IF proposals may take one of the following forms:
• European Fellowships (EFs)
• Global Fellowships (GFs)
European Fellowships (EFs)
EFs)
For European Fellowships proposals are allocated for evaluation either to one of the 8 main scientific
panels or to one of the 2 multidisciplinary panels Career Restart Panel (CAR) and Reintegration Panel
(RI).
Career Restart Panel (CAR) multidisciplinary panel of the EFs which provides financial support to individual
researchers who want to resume research in Europe after a career break (e.g. after parental leave, working
outside research etc.).
Reintegration Panel (RI) multidisciplinary panel of the European Fellowships dedicated to researchers who
want to return and reintegrate in a longer term research position in Europe. 1. The researcher must be an
Experienced Researcher; 2. The researcher must be a national or long-term resident of the MS or AC. 3. The
researcher must move or have moved (transnational mobility) from a TC to the MS or AC where the
beneficiary is located.
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC Individual Fellowships
Global Fellowships (GFs)
GFs)
Global Fellowships are composed of an outgoing phase during which the researcher undertakes a
secondment to a partner organisation in a Third Country, and a mandatory 12-month return period to
a host organisation (the beneficiary) located in a Member State or Associated Country.
All GF proposals are allocated to one of the 8 scientific panels, the same as for the standard European
Fellowships. Each panel has a separate ranked list
Eligibility:
Eligibility: 1. The researcher must be an Experienced Researcher
2. The researcher must be national or long-term (at least 5 consecutive (without breaks in research years)
resident of a MS or AC
3. The researcher must move or have moved (transnational mobility) from any country to the partner
organisation located in the TC
The mandatory return phase for the researcher (future fellow) in the European host organisation is essential
for the successful achievement of the objectives of this action
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships
Research Executive Agency (REA)
The Research Executive Agency (REA) is a funding body created by the European Commission to
maximise the efficiency and impact of EU research and innovation programmes
The Agency has no political mandate and instead focuses on managing the research proposals and
funded projects
The core parts of REA mission are:
to deliver efficient and effective support to applicants, beneficiaries and independent experts; and, to
establish close contact with final beneficiaries.
Fully operational since mid-2009, the Agency was set up in 2008 in Brussels to manage large parts
of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration
Activities, which runs until the end of 2013.
As from 2014, the Agency manages a large share of Horizon 2020
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC Fellowships
Evaluation
Proposals are evaluated in 8 panels:
–Chemistry (CHE)
–Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC)
–Economic Sciences (ECO)
–Information Science and Engineering (ENG)
–Environmental and Geosciences (ENV)
–Life Sciences (LIF)
–Mathematics (MAT)
–Physics (PHY)
•Every researcher selects the panel by themselves
•For the CAR and Reintegration panels, one multidisciplinary ranking list each will be made
•The budget of the call will be distributed proportionally according to the number of
applications submitted to each panel
•Each application will be evaluated by at least 3 experts
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships
New in H2020
1.
Name change
2.
Operational capacity check: capacity of each beneficiary to be carefully demonstrated in the proposal
3.
No negotiation: only grant preparation, proposal evaluated to be transferred without changes
4.
Criteria reduced in number (5 3) and simplified (to avoid repetition as much as possible)
5.
Resubmission is allowed, but it is evaluated as a new proposal (H2020 versus FP7: different criteria)
6.
It is possible more work will be done remotely (hard work for evaluators to reach consensus remotely)
7.
Level of funding may change (increase?) from one year to the next
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships
Secondments
Experienced Researcher may be seconded to another institution in Europe
Secondments must significantly contribute to the impact of the fellowship (in certain research fields
expected in the non-academic sector)
The organisation where the secondment takes place is a partner organisation and must be located in
a MS or an AC
If the partner organisation where the secondment takes place is not identified at the proposal stage,
it is essential that Part B of the proposal contains information on the sector to which this entity
would belong, in addition to the timing and duration of the secondment and its overall purpose
Partner organisations do not sign the Grant Agreement
The secondment phase can be a single period or divided into shorter mobility periods
Secondments needs to be mentioned in the proposal, otherwise will not be taken into account for
costs claiming
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
Candidates submit proposals to a specific panel among 8:
CHE, ECO, ENG, ENV, LIF, MAT, PHY, SOC
Evaluators are asked to declare any conflict of interest, select proposals
(ca. 100) to evaluate based on the abstract and rank them according
to degree of matching with the expert’s field of expertise
"1" denotes that the proposal is exactly in the expert's field of expertise;
"2" denotes that the proposal is in the expert's broader field of expertise;
"3" denotes that the proposal is not exactly in the expert's field of expertise s/he could evaluate it if
necessary;
"No" "No expertise" (by default this option is selected in all proposals). Evaluator can be asked to evaluate a
proposal which is non exactly in his/her
• Project officer/s
expertise field
• Panel Chair
• Vice-chairs (normally 1 to 8-15 evaluators)
• Expert evaluators (several and from all fields within the panel topic)
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
Remote Evaluation Phase
Depending on range of expertise, evaluators are selected and assigned
up to ca. 20 proposals to evaluate in a relatively short period
(3-4 weeks)
•
Each proposal has 3 evaluators
•
They do not have contact with each others
•
They are not allowed to contact the applicant/s
•
Proposals are evaluated tightly against the
Individual
Evaluation
Report
evaluation criteria
•
Anything over the page count will NOT be read
and/or evaluated
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
Remote Evaluation Phase
Scoring
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
The proposals have a maximum of 10 pages,
excluding the CV of the researcher
and the annexes.
Experts will be instructed to disregard any
excess pages.
Please note that the following supporting
documents will be required in order to
determine the operational capacity:
• A curriculum vitae of the researcher;
researcher ;
• A description of any significant infrastructure
or any major items of technical equipment,
relevant to the proposed work;
work;
• A description of any partner organisations
which will be contributing to the work
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
All pages should be numbered in a single series on the
footer of the page to prevent errors during handling.
(Part B - Page X of Y)
Please make sure that the Part B of your proposal carries
as a header to each page the proposal acronym and the
implementation mode to which you are applying (i.e.
Standard EF, CAR, RI, GF)
Regardless of the format used, all footnotes will count
towards the page limit.
Literature references should be listed in footnotes, font
size 8 or 9
The minimum font size allowed is 11 points. The page size
is A4, and all margins (top, bottom, left, right) should be
at least 15 mm (not including any footers or headers).
Ensure that the font chosen is clearly readable (e.g. Arial
or Times New Roman)
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
For the GF the partner organisations in TC must include a letter
of commitment in the proposal to demonstrate their real and
active participation.
The experts will be instructed to disregard the contribution of
any partner organisations for which no such evidence of
commitment is submitted
Letters of Commitment
Scientific misconduct very seriously.
In line with the Horizon 2020 Rules
for Participation, appropriate action will
be taken against any applicants found
to have misrepresented, fabricated or
plagiarised any part of their proposal.
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
Consensus Report and Ranking
The
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
rapporteur is one of the 3 evaluators of a proposal. He/she has the responsibility to:
Collate a draft CR taking into account all of the 3 evaluators’ comments
Lead the consensus meeting (normally in Brussels)
Write up the final CR and get it approved by other evaluators and proof-read by his/her vice-chair
before final submission
Remotely or in Brussels, consensus meeting among 3 evaluators takes place.
The 3 evaluators discuss the contents of the 3 IERs and draft CR
Comments in agreement are normally included in CR
Conflicting evaluations are discussed in more detail until (if) agreement among evaluators is reached;
Marks for each criterion are then decided on the basis of the evaluations
All proposals in panel are ranked
•
•
•
Those with an overall mark below threshold are out
Those with any mark below the threshold for specific criteria are out
Funding is allocated from highest scoring proposal going down, depending on funds (this changes from
one year to the next)
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
Describe the proposed activity in the frame of European, international initiatives
Useful to refer to European recommendations and roadmaps related to the specific topic
reference list)
Originality neatly described against the state of art in the field (recommended a significant and relevant
Approach should be realistic and not too ambitious
Methodology clearly and simple explained
• Originality and innovative aspects of the research programme
• Research methodology and approach
• Introduction, state-of-the-art, objectives and overview of the action
inter/ multidisciplinary aspects)
1.1 Quality, innovative aspects and credibility of the research (including
(
1- Excellence
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
1.2 Clarity and quality of transfer of knowledge/training for the development of the researcher in light of the
research objectives
• The text must show how the Experienced Researcher will gain new knowledge from the hosting
organisation(s) during the fellowship through training.
• These organisations may also benefit from the previous experience of the researcher. Outline the capacity
for transferring the knowledge previously acquired by the researcher to the host organisation(s).
For Global Fellowships explain how the new acquired skills and knowledge in the TC will be transferred back
to the host institution in Europe.
•The Career Development Plan must be produced by the Experienced Researcher and the supervisor prior to
the start of the fellowship
•Illustrate and clearly define the mechanisms and tools that will be used for formation and/or transfer of
knowledge
•Typical training activities may include:
•training-through-research under the direct supervision of the supervisor via individual personalised action
•Hands-on training activities for developing scientific and transferable skills
•Communication, outreach activities and horizontal skills;
•Training dedicated to gender issues.
•For the Transfer of Knowledge teaching could be an effective tool, therefore a pedagogical background helps
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
1.3 Quality of the supervision and the hosting arrangements
• Qualifications and experience of the supervisor(s) the level of experience on the research
topic proposed and document its track record of work, including the main international
collaborations. Information provided should include participation in projects, publications,
patents and any other
relevant results.
The text must show that the Experienced Researcher should be well integrated within the
hosting organisation(s) in order that all parties gain the maximum knowledge and skills from
the fellowship.
•Provide a list of post-doc that have been supervised by the Supervisor and their current
position
•Experienced supervisor better than young one?
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
1.4 Capacity of the researcher to reach and rere-enforce a position of professional maturity in
research
Please keep in mind that the fellowships will be awarded to the most talented
researchers as shown by their ideas and their track record, where it is a fair indicator
given their level of experience.
The evaluation is made on the basis of the CV of the candidate:
•has he/she already proven his/her attitude to autonomy and initiative?
•which is his/her role in the publications
•no disadvantage for young researcher: CV evaluated against the stage of the career
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
2. Impact
2.1 Enhancing researchresearch- and innovationinnovation-related human resources, skills, and working conditions
to realise the potential of individuals and to provide new career perspectives
In this section, please explain the impact of the research and training on the Experienced
Researcher’s career. The fellowship, including any secondments in Europe should maximise the
impact on the researcher’s activity on European society, including the science base and/or the
economy, in a manner appropriate to the research field.
•In this section the competences that the fellow is going to acquire should be clearly defined,
along with their scheduling along the fellowship duration
•It is useful to comment how such competences will be used for progressing in academic or
industrial career
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
2.2 Effectiveness of the proposed measures for communication and results dissemination
Required sub-headings:
• Communication and public engagement strategy of the action
• Dissemination of the research results
• Exploitation of results and intellectual property
Do not overlook this section
•Communication and public engagement strategy:
• Dissemination of the results: try to provide details on the type of journal and
conferences …
• Exploitation of results and IP issues: try to anticipate to some extent the background
and foreground knowledge
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
3.1 Overall coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the
allocation of tasks and resources
The proposal should be designed in the optimal way to achieve the desired impact.
A Gantt Chart should be included in the text where the following should be listed:
• Work Packages description
• List of major deliverables
• List of major milestones
• Secondments if applicable
•Workplan should be reasonable and realistic, not overambitious
•Sound scheduling (balanced over the different activities, not too tight)
•Include a Gannt diagram
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
3.2 Appropriateness of the management structure and procedures, including quality management and risk
management
Develop your proposal according to the following lines:
• Project organisation and management structure, including the financial
management strategy, as well as the progress monitoring mechanisms put in place;
• Risks that might endanger reaching project objectives and the contingency plans to
be put in place should risk occur
The following could be also included in the Gantt Chart:
• Progress monitoring
• Risk management
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
Take care in writing this part: it is not so obvious
• Make a careful risk analysis and provide a consistent contingency plan
• Provide a concise but effective description of the administrative and scientific management
• IPR: describe how IPR will be handled in the project and point out that a consortium agreement will
acknowledge rights according the rule of H2020 programme
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
3.3 Appropriateness of the institutional environment (infrastructure)
Give a description of the legal entity/ies and its main tasks (per participant).
Explain why the fellowship has the maximum chance of a successful outcome.
NB: Each participant is described in Section 6. This specific information should not be repeated
•Do not provide too much redundant details
•Common sense in not duplicate information
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
3.4 Competences, experience and complementarity of the participating organisations and institutional
commitment
Here describe how the fellowship will be beneficial for both the Experienced Researcher
and host organisation(s).
• Commitment of beneficiary and partner organisations to the programme (for partner
organisations, please see also section 6 and 8)
Partner organisations: The role of partner organisations in Third Countries for GF
and their active contribution to the research and training activities should be described. A
letter of commitment shall also be provided in Section 7 (included within the PDF file of
part B, but outside the page limit).
• Clearly point out complementarity of expertise and competences
• Attach a Letter of Commitment (not legally binding) in the case of a GF
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
MSC fellowships: evaluation process
•Follow the Guide for Applicants and the Work Programme (relevant section)
•Follow all award criteria (and stick tightly to those)
•All sub-criteria are equally important
•Ensure consistency within the different sections in the proposal
•Page limit
•Clear and structured information -less is sometime more •Impartial view (e.g. to request a view or check from a colleague and/or
evaluators)
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR
Thank you
IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 24 Marzo 2015 - CNR