MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2026
The MSCA PF is an individual research project, in any area of research, prepared by the postdoctoral researcher in cooperation with the supervisor based at the host institution.
PIC Jihočeské univerzity v Českých Budějovicích: 999876292
Abbreviations:
MSCA = Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
PF = Postdoctoral Fellowship
EF = European Postdoctoral Fellowship
GF = Global Postdoctoral Fellowship
FTPO = Funding&Tenders Portal
HE = Horizon Europe
VP = researcher
Call: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2026 (HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF-01)
- opening date: 9.4.2026
- deadline for applications: 9.9.2026 17:00:00 (Brussels time)
- indicative budget EUR 399.05 million
MSCA PF call is an interesting opportunity for:
- researchers who intend to go on postdoctoral research stay abroad,
- researchers who have been doing research abroad (for at least 2 years) and are returning or researchers who have recently come (or returned) from abroad,
- team leaders who want to bring to their research group a postdoc from any foreign country
Project types:
| European Fellowships | postdocs of any nationality | ||
| host organisation in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe Associated Country | |||
| duration of fellowships 12 - 24 months | |||
| Global Fellowships | postdocs only EU nationals or long-term residents | ||
| host organisation in other (third) countries | |||
| an outgoing phase 12 - 24 months in a non-associated Third Country, and a mandatory 12-month return phase to a host organisation based in an EU Member State or a Horizon Europe Associated Country | |||
Eligibility criteria
| PhD | awarded by 9 September 2026 (PhD thesis successfully defended) | |||||
| 8 year rule | the period may be extended by periods of maternity leave, long-term sick leave at least 30 consecutive days, work outside the research, mandatory military service, research conducted in the third country if the researcher returns to the third country and is EU national or long/term resident | |||||
| mobility rule | in the country, where the fellowship takes place, the researcher must fulfil the mobility rule: He/she must not have carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in this country for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately prior to the 2026 call deadline. By the “country of the main activity” is meant both the country where the researcher was physically based and the country of the institution for which the main activity was performed |
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| restriction | proposals submitted in MSCA PF 2025 and having received a score of less than 80% must not be resubmitted in 2026 with the same host organisation and individual | |||||
Budget of the grant
In principle, the budget of the grant is automatically calculated based on the months and full-time workload performed on the grant (Unit costs). The fixed rate allocated for personnel costs is recalculated by the coefficient of the respective country.
It consists of two parts. Part A for a researcher (Living Allowance, Mobility Allowance and Family Allowance , if applicable), the mandatory employer's social and health insurance is included. The above mentioned allowances are meant to be the salary of the researcher and can cover living costs of the researcher, costs related to moving, etc. The work contract or the Supplement to the Work contract needs to be signed.
Part B is allocated to the host organisation and covers research, training and networking activities, as well as management and indirect costs. The research stay and other research-related expenses (such as materials and services) are funded from this category, which also includes compensation for the organisation’s indirect costs. The conditions for the use of these funds are stipulated in the Hosting Agreement
Secondments:
Within the project, it is possible to plan one or more short-term secondments (optional) lasting several months, carried out under the supervision of another supervisor at an institution other than the main host institution. The proposal must clearly demonstrate their added value both for the project and for the researcher’s professional development. The total duration of such secondments must not exceed half of the duration of the European Fellowship (EF) or the outgoing phase of the Global Fellowship (GF). The country of the secondment is not restricted. In the case of the Global Fellowship, secondments are not allowed during the return phase.
Placement in the non-academic sector:
A placement in the non-academic sector may last up to 6 months, and this period extends the overall duration of the project accordingly. According to the MSCA call, non-academic sector institutions include, for example, companies, non-governmental organisations, public authorities, museums, libraries, etc
Grant beneficiary are institutions [universities, research institutions, companies etc.] not individual researchers. Hosting organisation in the third country [typically USA, Canada, Switzerland] are associated partner and cannot receive funding from the action.
The beneficiary (in the case of Global Postdoctoral Fellowships, the host institution for the return phase) will appear as the coordinator in the administrative section A. The host institution for the outgoing phase in GF must be entered as an associated partner. If the principal investigator (PI) plans to carry out a standard secondment, the organization is not entered as an associated partner in administrative section A, but in the section 5 the duration of the secondment in months is indicated. However, if the PI intends to spend up to 6 months at the end of the project in a non-academic placement, the organization must be entered as an associated partner.
ERA Fellowships—like MSCA—are implemented by the European Research Executive Agency (REA); however, they are not a standard MSCA grant but one of the instruments of the Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation programme. These grants are targeted at researchers of any nationality who apply for individual research stays at institutions in countries listed in the work programme for Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation, i.e. countries with long-term low participation in EU framework programmes, which also includes the Czech Republic.
If PIs receive a score above the minimum threshold (70%) but are not funded from the budget allocated to MSCA – European Fellowships, they can (unless they opt out during submission) be placed on the reserve list for ERA Fellowships. Depending on the available budget, their project may then be funded as an ERA Fellowship. Project proposals are not re-evaluated; instead, the evaluation received under MSCA is used. ERA Fellowships follow the same model grant agreement and unit contributions as MSCA PF.
ERA Fellowship is a part of MSCA PF call [not separted call]. In the administrative forms (Part A) of the MSCA PF proposal (section “Other Questions”), applicants answer “yes” to the question: “Do you wish to participate in the ERA Postdoctoral Fellowship and thus increase your chances of being funded?”
MSCA Fellowships CZ – projects having achieved a minimum score of 70% but were not selected for funding due to insufficient budget allocation may apply for support from structural funds through calls under the Jan Amos Komenský Operational Programme (OP JAK), details.
The following supporting documents must be attached:
| Ph.D. | PhD diploma (scan). Replaced by an official confirmation by the Faculty/University of the successful PhD thesis defence in case of a pending diploma award. | |||||
| 8 -year rule | If the 8-year period was extended because of the reasons stipulated above, please provide documents (translated in English), incl. exact dates justifying the reasons. Please see details in the section Documents. | |||||
| mobility rule | It is sufficient if you provide the extact list of countries and dates you have legally resided in the last 5 years immediately before the call deadline. | |||||
| Family Allowance | scans of the respective documents (Marriage certicificate or equivalent, child´s birth certificate) translated in English, if possible | |||||
| GF - hosting organisation | The associated partner from the third country must attach the Letter of Commitment. | |||||
Useful links:
Call FTPO: MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship 2026 (HORIZON-MSCA-2026-PF-01)
Basic information in the nutshell: Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025
Evaluation criteria (Technologické centrum Praha): MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship - evaluation criteria
Information on MSCA PF from the European Commission
Information about MSCA (Technology Center Prague)
Open Research Europe: https://open-research-europe.ec.europa.eu/
Dokumenty ke stažení:
