Researchers Frustrated by MSCA Grant Odds
What happened
The latest round of the EU's Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) postdoctoral grants has generated frustration among researchers due to intense competition and low success rates. The sentiment reflects a common pain point for academics navigating highly competitive public funding systems, where demand for grants significantly outstrips supply.
Why it matters
- In the MSCA 2023 call, 8,039 proposals were submitted, with 1,249 researchers receiving funding from a €260 million budget, resulting in a 15.8% success rate. - A more recent round saw applications jump to over 17,000, causing the success rate to plummet to 9.6% and leaving proposals that scored as high as 97 out of 100 unfunded. - The fellowships are divided into European Postdoctoral Fellowships for research within the EU and associated countries, and Global Postdoctoral Fellowships for work outside Europe with a mandatory return phase. - The distribution of funded projects in the 2023 call was highest in social sciences and humanities (25.2%) and life sciences (21.7%). - To address the high number of quality proposals that go unfunded, the European Commission awards a "Seal of Excellence". This quality label is intended to help researchers secure alternative funding from national or regional sources. - Some countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, have established national funding programs that specifically target MSCA proposals that were highly rated but not funded by the EU budget. - The overall success rate for the broader Horizon Europe funding program, of which MSCA is a part, averages around 16%. However, success rates vary widely, with some other instruments like the EIC Accelerator dropping as low as 3-7%.
Key numbers
- - In the MSCA 2023 call, 8,039 proposals were submitted, with 1,249 researchers receiving funding from a €260 million budget, resulting in a 15.8% success rate.
- A more recent round saw applications jump to over 17,000, causing the success rate to plummet to 9.6% and leaving proposals that scored as high as 97 out of 100 unfunded.
- The distribution of funded projects in the 2023 call was highest in social sciences and humanities (25.2%) and life sciences (21.7%).
- The overall success rate for the broader Horizon Europe funding program, of which MSCA is a part, averages around 16%.
What happens next
- Some countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, have established national funding programs that specifically target MSCA proposals that were highly rated but not funded by the EU budget.
Quick answers
What happened in Researchers Frustrated by MSCA Grant Odds?
The latest round of the EU's Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) postdoctoral grants has generated frustration among researchers due to intense competition and low success rates. The sentiment reflects a common pain point for academics navigating highly competitive public funding systems, where demand for grants significantly outstrips supply.
Why does Researchers Frustrated by MSCA Grant Odds matter?
In the MSCA 2023 call, 8,039 proposals were submitted, with 1,249 researchers receiving funding from a €260 million budget, resulting in a 15.8% success rate. A more recent round saw applications jump to over 17,000, causing the success rate to plummet to 9.6% and leaving proposals that scored as high as 97 out of 100 unfunded. The fellowships are divided into European Postdoctoral Fellowships for research within the EU and associated countries, and Global Postdoctoral Fellowships for work outside Europe with a mandatory return phase. The distribution of funded projects in the 2023 call was highest in social sciences and humanities (25.2%) and life sciences (21.7%). To address the high number of quality proposals that go unfunded, the European Commission awards a "Seal of Excellence". This quality label is intended to help researchers secure alternative funding from national or regional sources. Some countries, such as the Czech Republic and Poland, have established national funding programs that specifically target MSCA proposals that were highly rated but not funded by the EU budget. The overall success rate for the broader Horizon Europe funding program, of which MSCA is a part, averages around 16%. However, success rates vary widely, with some other instruments like the EIC Accelerator dropping as low as 3-7%.
