1.
Q. Is there funding for a research fellow to stay within one of the FINSysB Partner institutes after the project ends?

A. Any of our ITN ESRs who have received their doctoral degree, and have participated in the ITN for at least 18 months, can apply for a MC re-integration grant.  The application must be submitted (with their proposed host insitution) either in the last 12 months of the FINSysB project or within six months following its end. 

Note: 1. There are no mobility rules, so the researcher would be able to stay at their host institute. 2. The re-integration grant requires financial support from the host institution.

 

2.
Q.  Can funds in Budget Category D be (partly) spent on consumables in the host lab?

A.  Yes we have been advised that this is acceptable (page 68 of the FP7 People Work Programme).

 

3.
Q.  Where can I find the eligibility criteria for the FINSysB Experienced Researcher/Postdoc?

A.  This is detailed in Annex 3 of the Grant Agreement – in particular refer to sections III. 1 (point 3) and III. 3.  One thing to realise is that in section III. 3 point c the five years experience referred to includes the time spent by the researcher doing a PhD.  So, assuming a 3 year PhD programme, a researcher is only eligible with with less than 2 years postdoc experience.

 

4.
Q.  How should we use the management budget (Budget Category G). What are the eligible costs under this budget?  Can we pay an administrator from this budget?

A.  The specifics of the actual allowable costs are best advised by your local finance department.  We have realised that each local financial department seems to give slightly different advice on allowable costs, so it would be risky to provide a yes/no answer from the Co-ordinator’s own finance department on any specific budgetary questions.

The general advice from UKRO is that travel to consortium meetings would be allowed within this budget, but again a yes/no should come from each institute’s finance section.

Note: this budget is not generous and will have to cover at least 2 financial audits, which have significant costs.

 

5.
Q.  Can we transfer money into Budget Category B to cover the entire costs of a researcher’s trip home?

A.  The researcher allowance that is allocated by the EC for travel back home each year is quite generous.  Our researchers will be paid a generous salary, and in addition, will receive generous allowances for travel to conferences, training courses, etc.  Indeed our ESRs will be significantly better off than other PhD students, at least in some laboratories.  Whilst we are happy for our researchers to receive all these benefits, we are not inclined to top them up further.  Rather, we would encourage our researchers to find ways of keeping their travel costs to a minimum.  If researchers want to go to additional courses / conferences (over and above those that will already be funded by their generous travel allowances) then they can apply for travel grants as other PhD students and postdocs have to do. This should also be regarded as a career development exercise as travel awards will strengthen a Researcher's CV.

 

6.
Q.  Can the budget cover tuition fees?

A.  PhD fees cannot be charged to the PhD fellow or to the allowances which are for the direct benefit of the fellow (Budget Category A, B and C). It is expected in most circumstances that they will either be waived by the institute, or paid from out of the overhead contribution.  This is part of the expected institutional commitment to the fellow. The Coordinator cannot decide for our Partners which other budget headings they cannot use, as tuition fees are an allowable cost. If Partners want to use Category D or E this is likely to be difficult to prove to auditors; it would be preferable to use overheads or waive the fee.  An EC letter of communication dated 3rd March 2009 attempts to provide some clarification on this issue.

 

7.
Q.  In the guidelines on the eligibility of researchers, it states 'ITNs support the initial training of researchers who are still within the first five years (or full-time equivalent) of their careers in research, at the time of their appointment.'  When it says 'at the time of their appointment', does this mean:
(a)  the start date of their contract,
(b)  the date on which their employment contract is signed, OR
(c)  either of the above.

A.  'at the time of their appointment' is fulfilled by(a) (b) and (c) in the text above.  It is permissable to sign an appointment letter within the first five years of their research career even if the start date of their contract is after the five year period of eligibility.

 

8.
Q.  Can an ExR be hired part-time?
A.  Annex III explains that only in personal or family circumstances can the requirement for a full-time  appointment be reconsidered.  In this case the amount of the contribution may be adjusted pro rata to the time actually spent on the project.

 

9.
Q.  Can the Career Exploratory Allowance be used to buy a computer?
Q.  I have been asked if it is allowable for a Marie Curie Fellow to purchase a computer with part of their Career Exploratory Allowance.  The University has supplied a computer for their work at the lab and they would like an additional computer to work remotely. I’m thinking yes as it is a personal allowance and we have already supplied one for their work.

A.  The EU considers that computers should be supplied at the cost to the ins titute and therefore should be paid from the overhead contribution.

 

10.
Q.  What is the normal practice regarding employment status while a researcher is on secondment?

A.  It is normal practice in Marie Curie for the researcher to remain employed by their host institution while on secondment, and therefore to benefit from a type of honorary staff status at the institute to which they are seconded.  This honorary status might be required to ensure that the researcher is covered for insurance purposes.  A word of warning: some paperwork may need to be completed before arrival in the host lab, so please prepare for this early on.

 

11.
Q.  Are timesheets necessary to account for salaried staff costs?

A.  If your institute currently uses timesheets then all costed staff (ie all researchers) need to complete a timesheet and have it signed off.  For institutes where timesheets are not already in use, researchers should be able to present their lab books as evidence of their work patterns.

 

12.
Q.  Can we have an explanation of the budget categories?

A.  The best explanation of eligible costs under each budget category is on page 68 of the FP7 People Work Programme.  This table shows that the budget is divided broadly into two sections: categories A to D are ONLY for use by the researcher; categories E to F are managed by the institute and can be spent on the PI and/or researchers costs.  Categories A to C are fixed costs paid directly to the researcher.  Category D covers the researcher’s training workshops and conference attendance.  Category E covers research costs ie consumables, and can be used for PI travel.  Category F is allocated to each training workshop host to cover event costs.  Category G covers management costs (e.g. administration costs, audit costs, network management activities).  Category H goes directly into each institute’s central funds to cover overheads.

 

13.
Q.  Can an ESR spend his/her travel allowance on the travel home for their spouse as well as themselves?

A.  Yes, the researcher’s travel allowance can be used to cover spouse's expenses as well as their own.

 

14.
Q.  Are Partners obliged to pay their ESR the monthly mobility allowance at monthly  intervals from the start of their contract, or do they have the flexibility to pay this at the end of the contract?

A. It is stated in the Model Contract for ITNs that they should be paid monthly, unless there are legal reasons in the host country why they cannot be.