Supplementary guidance on Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) program

Scheme Guidance for Applicants

Having been awarded Horizon 2020 funding, you need to read and understand your obligations to the scheme so that you can comply with the terms and conditions of the grant. You can do this by reading the following EC documents for your relevant scheme.

You also need to read and understand the following EC guidance on implementation

Your MSCA Individual Fellowship: A Guide to Implementation

Secondments

MSCA schemes actively encourage optional secondments during fellowships (subject to specific conditions). To help you manage this process, the Research Office have produced some new additional notes on secondments for Horizon 2020 MSCA actions.

Audit Guidance

All Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) grants including Individual Fellowships (IF), Innovative Training Networks (ITN), Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) scheme and Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes (COFUND) can be audited during the lifetime of the project or at any time up to 2 years after the final payment.

The audit process involves two main elements: financial and researcher related

Financial: the auditors will examine both the declared researcher months and the eligibility of the recruited research or seconded staff member
Researcher-related: the auditors will check to ensure the obligations relating to the researchers/seconded staff have been met (as set out in the grant agreement)

The EC provides a comprehensive list of documents required for an MSCA audit and the Research Office have produced guidance on what the auditors will be looking for.

Record Keeping

It is a requirement of EC funding that beneficiaries must maintain clear and specific documentation for at least five years after the final payment. Departments should also follow the University's Retention Schedule (page 8, para 6) which states that

Staff may be justified in applying different Retention Periods where other factors require consideration, such as an audit investigation, a court case, or on-going institutional requirements.

It is the responsibility of the Department to determine whether a longer retention period be applied to specific records, which should also comply with the University’s Data Protection Policy.

If you have any queries or need assistance please contact mscagrants@admin.cam.ac.uk.