48% of all Arctic MSCA 2017 participants receive «Seal of Excellence»
The Arctic MSCA-IF Program has run for two years (2016 and 2017) and the third round (2018) has now started. So far, the program has resulted in altogether 5 projects invited to grant agreement (3 in 2016 and 2 in 2017, total grant of €1 mill to UiT), while two are still on a waiting list.
MSCA-IF is a very competitive scheme and the European Commission received 9 089 proposals to the 2017 deadline last September. The budget of €248 mill allow funding for projects that scored above 89-93% (depending on panel).
In 2016 the EC launched the Seal of Excellence to award applicants that scored 85% or above to certify the high quality proposals submitted to Horizon 2020 which were deemed to deserve funding but did not due to budget limits. The certificate recognizes the value of the proposal and supports the search for alternative funding. The Seal of Excellence is recognition that the project proposal was evaluated as excellent in a highly competitive evaluation process and is recommended for funding by other sources, since Horizon 2020 resources available for this specific call were already allocated following a competitive ranking. It is up to each Member State/Associated Country and its policy makers/funding bodies on national and/or regional level to decide whether or not to establish supporting funding schemes or alternative funding, in compliance with national and EU rules.
At date, The Norwegian Research Council does not offer such funding opportunity.
13 of the total 27 MSCA-IF applications submitted from UiT in 2017 will receive a Seal of Excellence from EC.
