MSCA COFUND FAQ
In its capacity as UK MSCA NCP, UKRO has created the following list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and their responses:
1.What are the basic principles of the COFUND scheme?
MSCA COFUND is a mono-beneficiary action that provides co-funding to new or existing regional, national and international doctoral and postdoctoral programmes through a co-financing mechanism. Organisations and institutions, rather than individual researchers, apply to this funding scheme by outlining their proposed doctoral or postdoctoral programme and the costs associated with running it. If successful, the EC provides a fixed amount of co-finance to support the programme.
It is important to note that the co-funding does not cover all costs associated with the programme. The remaining ‘match’ or ‘top-up’ funding must be obtained from other funding sources.
2. Where can the additional funding come from? Are there any rules on who cannot co-fund COFUND projects?
The MSCA guidance does not set out any restrictions as to where the match funding can or cannot come from, provided it is not another Horizon Europe or EU-funded project. If another funding source is used, then it will need to be ensured that their specific funding rules are followed, which may require their permission.
3. How much funding does the EC contribute?
The EC provides a fixed amount to all COFUND actions. For the 2024-2025 calls, the EC contribution amounts to €3300 per-researcher per-month for doctoral programmes and €4700 per-researcher per-month for postdoctoral programmes.
The beneficiary needs to make sure that the researchers receive this monthly gross remuneration in full. It is important to make sure that the beneficiary keeps an audit trail (e.g., employment contracts and pay slips) in case of an audit check.
4. What is the difference between the “COFUND allowance” and the “match funding”?
COFUND works through a co-financing mechanism. The term “COFUND allowance” refers to the fixed amount that the EC contributes to each COFUND project per-researcher, per-month. Please see FAQ 3.
The terms “match funding”, “top up funding” or “additional funding” refer to the monetary amount obtained and contributed from other sources to run the COFUND programme.
5. What does “flexible EC contribution” mean?
The EC contribution to a COFUND programme is described in the Work Programme and other guidance documents as ‘flexible’. This is because, despite being a fixed amount, the EC does not stipulate what costs this funding must cover. It is up to the institution/beneficiary to decide how to spend the COFUND allowance.
For example, the EC contribution could cover any of the following (or a combination of the following):
- The monthly salary and gross remuneration of the recruited researcher (inc. tax, social security contributions and any other compulsory deductions under national legislation)
- Any additional costs related to the fellow’s recruitment (e.g., visa costs, NHS surcharges, relocation costs)
- The research, training, and networking costs
- The management and indirect costs (e.g., the institution’s overheads)
6. Why does the EUR XX per recruited researcher correspond to the monthly gross remuneration of said researcher?
Although the EC outlines a minimum salary that it expects COFUND fellows to be paid, the unit costs they provide are flexible in how they can be used. While the researchers must receive a minimum salary (please see FAQ 3), the EC contribution doesn’t have to be used directly for this.
For example, if you have external match funding that can only be used for personnel costs, you could use this to pay the researchers’ salaries and then allocate the EC contribution to other expenses like research, training and networking or management and indirect costs. The key requirement is that the researchers receive the minimum salary, but how the funding is split to achieve this can be decided by the programme.
7. Is there a minimum percentage that UK institutions must contribute?
No, there is no minimum and there is no maximum. Whilst the EC provides a fixed contribution, the match funding that is covered by the institution/beneficiary is entirely dependent on the needs and size of the programme. Some beneficiaries only cover 30% on top of the EC contribution, while others may contribute closer to 70%.
For example, if COFUND is being used to establish a doctoral programme whereby only a desk space, reading material and internal training activities are required, a 30% top-up may be adequate. For a postdoctoral programme requiring lab equipment, frequent fieldwork excursions and international secondments, a 70% match fund may seem more reasonable.
The most important thing to remember is that the amount of match funding the beneficiary must obtain and contribute is appropriately justified in the proposal, in-line with the project’s objectives, and that the costs are adequate to fulfil the needs of the proposed programme.
8. Can one institution submit multiple COFUND proposals per call?
Yes, a beneficiary can submit more than one COFUND proposal per call. However, a beneficiary can only receive a maximum of €10 million per COFUND call.
9. How many PhD or Postdoctoral Fellows can be recruited?
Each COFUND action must recruit a minimum of three researchers. Proposals foreseeing fewer than three recruited researchers will be deemed ineligible for funding. Whilst no maximum number of recruited researchers is stipulated, the EC contribution per call per beneficiary cannot exceed €10 million.
10. How long can a COFUND project run for?
A COFUND programme can run for a maximum of 60 months (5 years) from the start date set out in the Grant Agreement. Please be aware that this 60 month period includes the time it takes to recruit and employ the researchers.
Normally, the duration of a COFUND programme would be between 36 and 60 months from the starting date specified in the GA. Once recruited, the duration of each researcher’s fellowship must be a minimum of three months (on the basis of FTE).
11. Are there limits to collaboration? What is an ‘implementing’ and an ‘associated partner’ in COFUND?
Participating organisations in COFUND are legal entities that fund or manage the doctoral or postdoctoral programme, or that recruit, supervise, host and/or train the recruited researchers. Participating organisations can be from the academic sector or the non-academic sector.
COFUND programmes can be implemented by a sole beneficiary who recruit, employ, train and host their own researchers. Beneficiaries directly claim their unit costs from the EC.
COFUND programmes can also be implemented by a beneficiary in conjunction with associated and/or implementing partners. Associated/implementing partners can be added into the programme at any time, but they must provide letters of commitment. There are no restrictions on the number of associated or implementing partners included in a COFUND proposal.
Associated Partners
Associated partners in COFUND can be established anywhere in the world and be from any sector (academic or non-academic). They cannot recruit researchers but can train researchers and/or host secondments. They do not sign the GA and therefore cannot directly claim EC unit costs. The funding distribution should be agreed upon with the beneficiary and is usually formalised within a partnership agreement.
Implementing Partners
Implementing partners in COFUND must be established in an EU Member State, Horizon Europe Associated Country, or Third Country eligible for EC funding. They can be from any sector. They can recruit/employ researchers on behalf of the beneficiary as well as provide training and host secondments. They do not sign the GA, but they are able to claim their costs through the beneficiary.
12. Can you point me to UK COFUND funding sources and/or successful UK-based COFUND projects?
Some examples of where you could find match funding sources are:
- National funding grants
- Regional government funds
- International agencies or institutions
- University budgets
- Private sector or public-private partnerships
- Charitable foundations
You can view all previous EC funded projects, including MSCA COFUND projects, under ‘projects and results’ on the CORDIS database.
Please note that for the period 1 February 2020 – 1 January 2024 the UK was not associated to Horizon Europe, and therefore there were no UK-coordinated projects during this time.
13. Do we need a letter of commitment as part of the proposal?
As detailed in the COFUND 2024 Guide for Applicants, letters of commitment are not required at the evaluation stage for any partner (associated or implementing).
However, if the proposal is shortlisted for funding, implementing partners identified in the proposal will be asked to provide a letter of commitment to ensure their active participation in the action before the grant signature. Without provision of the required letters of commitment, the grant will not be signed.
Associated partners are not required to provide a letter of commitment, however they must be included under the ‘participants’ section in Part A of the proposal as well as in section 5 of Part B2.
14. Do the other funding sources have to provide their funding as a monetary contribution?
No, whilst match funding can be provided in the form of money, it does not have to be. In fact, it is not uncommon to see COFUND participants provide in-kind contributions free of charge, particularly when the host institution already owns the resources, facilities and infrastructure needed to support the researcher and COFUND project.
In-kind contributions are often in the form of admin costs, supervision costs, internal training opportunities and access to resources and facilities. In-kind contributions can be monetized and included in the budget table so that, in essence, the beneficiary declares how much the institution would be “paying” for these services, if the beneficiary or partner organisation didn’t provide them free of charge.
Including in-kind contributions in the budget is important as it helps the evaluators assess the resources available for the successful implementation of the COFUND training programme, and the appropriate working conditions for the recruited researchers.
15. What do applicants need to list in the budget table? Associated Partners? Monetized contributions?
Applicants must specify in their proposal the total cost of the proposed programme and the amounts that will be provided for the benefit of the researchers and for the organisation(s) that will be implementing the programme. It is important to provide accurate estimates and justifications for the budget so that the evaluators can assess the employment and working conditions for the recruited researchers.
The budget table will need to identify which costs will be covered by the EC contribution and which costs will be covered via the top-up funding. These amounts then need to be multiplied by the total amount of person-months for the programme. For example, if there were 5 doctoral researchers working on the COFUND action for 36 months each this would amount to 180 person-months. The monetary contributions would then be multiplied by 180 to calculate the total estimated cost of the action.
As many rows can be added to the budget table as is necessary to reflect the COFUND programme’s required resources. The EC contributions for MSCA Doctoral Networks and Postdoctoral Fellowships can be referenced for cost categories and amounts.
For any further questions on the MSCA COFUND scheme, please contact the UK MSCA NCP at mariecurie-uk@ukro.ac.uk