MSCA Staff Exchanges 2026 / HORIZON-MSCA-2026-SE-01

Eligibility

Minimal conditions for forming an MSCA Staff Exchanges consortium

• Members: At least three independent legal entities.
• Countries: Each entity must be established in a different country; at least two must be in different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries.
• Sectors: The consortium must include both academic and non-academic organisations.

Eligible staff include researchers at any career stage, as well as administrative, managerial, and technical personnel supporting the project’s R&I activities.

The project is implemented through secondments of staff to other beneficiaries or associated partners in different countries. Secondments between two non-associated third countries are not eligible.

After their secondment, staff must return to their sending institution to maximise knowledge transfer and support long-term collaboration.

The project should inter alia enable networking activities and the organisation of workshops and conferences, to facilitate sharing of knowledge and testing of innovative approaches for specific R&I topics.

Participating organisations must ensure that the seconded staff are adequately mentored.

Summary

MSCA Staff Exchanges promote innovative international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration in research and innovation by enabling staff exchanges and the sharing of knowledge across all stages of the innovation chain.

The objective is to support joint research and innovation projects through staff exchanges within partnerships involving universities, research infrastructures, businesses, and other socio-economic actors in Europe and beyond. These collaborations aim to build interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral (academic and non-academic) and international (EU Member States/Associated Countries and non-associated third countries) partnerships, while enabling participating staff to acquire new skills and competences.

Indicative timeline

• 16 December 2025: launch of the call for proposals
• 2 April 2026: deadline for internal submissions to RSO
• 16 April 2026: deadline for submitting proposals
• September 2026: notification of call results to applicants
• November 2026: grant agreement signature for successful projects
• January 2027: first EU-funded projects start 

Indicative budget

EUR 97.92 million (TBC)

How to apply

Learn about the next steps to apply for funding under this call.

Full call details

For full details of this call, visit the call page on the EU Funding & Tenders portal.

Overhead

25% 

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST).

Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application