Attract, integrate and retain international excellence by 2024

The call for proposals addresses employers with an identified need for international excellence, where financial recruitment support can make a difference. Actors outside academia can apply such as large, small and medium-sized companies, research institutes and public organizations.

Proposal shall apply to the recruitment of an identified MSCA Fellow who has recently completed their dissertation or alternatively completed their postdoc in Sweden. Fellows who have or have had a Swedish host organization during their fellowship but have defended their thesis abroad are also eligible. Proposal can also be submitted shortly before the doctoral degree has been obtained, however a doctoral degree is required to start the project.

In this call for proposals MSCA Fellows means the researchers who, with a Swedish host institution, have been funded by the following parts of the EU's research program Horizon 2020 (Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions), Horisont Europa or Vinnova:

• Innovative Training Networks (ITN) or Doctoral Networks (DN).
• Individual Fellowships (IF) or Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF).
• Cofund Doctoral Programme or Cofund Fellowship Programme.
• European Fellowship Seal of Excellence (Vinnova or the Swedish Research Council).

Proposal requires good anchoring between employer and identified MSCA Fellow. The purpose is to make it easier for foreign researchers who are in Sweden to establish themselves in the Swedish labor market and to demonstrate to the Swedish labor market the competence that the group of MSCA-funded researchers possesses. Vinnova offers recruitment support of a maximum of SEK 500,000 for the equivalent of 6 months of full-time employment.

Please note that this call for proposals focuses on how MSCA Fellows is integrated into the new organization's activities and in Sweden. This results in expected descriptions of support, commitment and activities for this to take place both during and after the project period for which funding is sought.

Sweden attracts successful international researchers who, with funding from the EU's research program Horizon 2020 and Horisont Europa Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), choose to move here to do a doctorate or complete their postdoc stay.

Read more about Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Inom MSCA trains researchers in strategically important areas for business, research institutes and public organisations. Instead of being available for the Swedish labor market after completing their education, statistics show that a large part of MSCA Fellows leaves Sweden. This means that Swedish employers miss out on internationally prominent researchers.

The reasons why MSCA Fellows is leaving Sweden are several, such as difficulties integrating into the Swedish labor market, lack of knowledge about Swedish business life and its actors, limited time in Sweden to build up own national networks and more. There is also ignorance among employers about MSCA Fellows and the skills resource that is actually available for recruitment.

The transformation of society that is underway with digitalisation, globalization and the work to contribute to Agenda 2030, creates an increased need for new skills. This results in both an increased and a changed need for both specific and general competence, which MSCA Fellows should be able to satisfy in several cases.

Read more about Agenda 2030

Through this call for proposals Vinnova wants to lower the thresholds for recruiting international excellence and give Swedish employers the opportunity to offer the employment of an MSCA Fellow. The project period with Vinnova funding is expected to be favorable for developing a long-term relationship between employers and MSCA Fellow aimed at integration in Sweden and increasing employers' interest in MSCA funding specifically within the new Horisont Europa research program.

Read more about Horisont Europa

The call for proposals is addressed to employers in Sweden outside academia who express skills needs that can be met with financial recruitment support. For example, large, small and medium-sized companies, research institutes and public organisations.

Within this call for proposals proposal must apply to the recruitment of an identified MSCA Fellow who has recently completed their dissertation or completed their postdoc in Sweden. Proposal requires good anchoring between employer and identified MSCA Fellow. Fellows who have or have had a Swedish host organization during their fellowship but have defended their thesis abroad are also eligible. Proposal can also be submitted shortly before the doctoral degree has been obtained, however a doctoral degree is required to start the project.

In this call for proposals MSCA Fellows refers to the researchers with a Swedish host institution funded by the EU research program Horizon 2020 or Horisont Europa (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) or Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council:

• Innovative Training Networks (ITN) or Doctoral Networks (DN).
• Individual Fellowships (IF) or Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF).
• Cofund Doctoral Programme.
• Cofund Fellowship Programme.
• European Fellowship Seal of Excellence (Vinnova or the Swedish Research Council).

Activities for which funding can be applied for

Funding for salary costs during an employment period corresponding to 6 months full time.

Funding can be issued as de minimis support or as support for research and development projects in which the recruited researcher will participate. For the latter, it is required that the project has not started before proposal for support is made.

Support grounds and eligible costs

Our funding takes place through funding. Funding for organizations that carry out economic activities is covered by rules on state support. The rules govern, among other things, which types of costs and what proportion of them may be covered by funding.

Funding in this call for proposals will primarily be granted as so-called support of minor importance, de minimis support. Funding according to EU Regulation No. 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to support of minor importance.

Please note that this type of support from various grant funders may amount to the equivalent of a maximum of 200,000 euros during the last three tax years. For this option, the applicant is required to attach a special certificate.

Funding can also be given as support for research and development projects to be started in connection with the recruitment. Funding is provided in such cases as support according to Article 25 of the Commission's EU Regulation No. 651/2014 (GBER). The project's activities must then be covered in their entirety by one of the categories Basic Research, Industriell Forskning or Experimentell Utveckling. Even in these cases, Vinnova's funding must refer to salary costs during an employment period corresponding to 6 months full time. Other project costs require other funding.

Read more about government support on our website
See also general terms and conditions for funding and Instructions for eligible costs

A maximum of SEK 500,000 per project.

Within the framework of this call for proposals 10–20 project are expected to be funded per year.

Vinnova will only assess applications concerning the employment of researchers who meet the following formal eligibility requirements:

• Researchers must be in Sweden and not be employed outside the academy.
• Researchers who completed their doctorate with MSCA funding in Sweden must have obtained a Swedish doctorate in order to be able to start employment outside the academy.
• Disputed researchers who are doing or have done their postdoc with MSCA funding or Seal of Excellence funding in Sweden must have completed their Fellowship in order to start a job outside the academy.
• Funding can only be applied for employment outside the academy.
• Proposal must be written in Swedish or English.

Vinnova will only assess applications from organizations such as:

• does not belong to the academic sector.
• looking for a Swedish workplace.

What do we assess?

Vinnova assesses based on the following criteria how well proposal corresponds to our expectations of the effects of the call for proposals. Please note that the parts of the application that concern scientific issues or challenges must be described in popular science terms.

Potential

• Assessment of how the recruiting organization has clearly identified a skills need and future development opportunities after the end of the project.
• Assessment of MSCA Fellows's future development opportunities after the end of the project and how well MSCA Fellows's competence is expected to strengthen the organization.
• Assessment of the possibilities for long-term establishment of MSCA Fellow in Sweden as well as the relevance of the project in a Swedish perspective through the employment of MSCA Fellow.

Actors

• Assessment of how well MSCA Fellows's skills and experience correspond and match the recruiting organization's needs.
• Assessment of how well MSCA Fellows together with the organization can contribute to solving the need.

Feasibility

• Assessment of the recruiting organization's support in the form of concrete activities and plans for MSCA Fellow.
• Assessment of synergies between MSCA Fellow and the recruiting organization as well as the support the recruiting organization offers in the form of concrete activities.

How do we judge?

Assessment of applications takes place in competition with the help of external evaluator, appointed by Vinnova.

This is how you apply

To apply for funding, you fill in a web-based application form in Vinnova's e-service for applications, which can be accessed via www.vinnova.se.

You also upload attachments there:

1. Project description, which must be a maximum of three A4 pages with 12-point text. It must include the purpose of the project linked to the call for proposals and contain a description that shows how MSCA Fellow's expertise will be utilized within applicant organization's activities, which also includes work efforts for the organization's ongoing sustainability work.
2. Letter from MSCA Fellow describing what employment within a non-academic organization entails and the expected career development as a result.
3. CV for MSCA Fellow
4. CV for mentor at the recruiting organization
5. Letter of support from the prospective employer describing the expected added value of the recruitment of an MSCA Fellow. The letter must state the future agreed salary level. The letter of support must also contain a brief description of the organization so that it is clear which physical environment MSCA Fellow will work in such as physical workplace, financial capacity or resources, date of formation, number of employees and more.
6. Form for de minimis support. Only in relevant cases where you have previously received de minimis support or are seeking funding with this basis for support.

The attachments must be in PDF format. The structure of the project description must be in accordance with the assessment criteria.

Keep in mind that the assessment panel consists of experts with competence in many different areas. In order to be judged fairly, we recommend formulating proposal so that it can be understood by experts who do not have detailed domain expertise. Be clear in describing the proposal's potential based on the assessment criteria.

Keep in mind that it takes time to make a proposal.
You can start filling in information, save and continue at a later time. When proposal is ready, you mark it as done. You can completely unlock proposal and make changes at any time, right up until the application deadline.

Please mark proposal well in advance before the call for proposals closes.

When the call for proposals has closed and proposal has been registered with Vinnova, a confirmation will be sent out by e-mail to you who are responsible for the user account, project manager and company signatory or head of department. It may take a few hours before you receive the email.

If you have not received a confirmation by e-mail within 24 hours after the call for proposals has closed, please contact us.

When the application period has expired, completion of proposal can only take place upon request from us.