Mobility and Training

International Outgoing Fellowship (IOF)

International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES)

Initial Training Networks (ITN)
International Outgoing Fellowship (IOF)

Participation as an associate partner in an International Outgoing Fellowship allows Canadian research organizations to host fully funded, experienced postdoctoral fellows from Europe, and to benefit from their expertise and assistance. In this role, Canadian research organizations participate as associate partners, minimizing legal and administrative issues while ensuring access to funding from their European partners.

IOF requires European researchers to pursue a coherent research program throughout a period of one to two years in a Canadian organization and a mandatory third year in the researcher’s home organization. The researcher and their home organization may choose any topic for research or training consistent with the individual’s career development plan.

Funding: The researcher and their home (European) organization will submit the proposal. The European Commission will sign the grant agreement with the researcher’s home organization (participants should allow 9 months following submission of a proposal before signature of the Grant Agreement). The program supports:

For Research organizations:
• Contribution to training expenses (800 Euros per researcher per month)
• Overhead (700 Euros per researcher per month)
For Experienced Researchers (Post-Doctoral Students):
• Living allowance (58,500 Euros per researcher per year for those with 5-10 years experience; 87,500 Euros per researcher per year for those with more than 10 years experience)
• Mobility allowance (700 Euros per researcher per month or 1000 Euros per researcher per month for those with families)

Participation: Projects must include an experienced researcher, a return host organization in Europe and a partner organization in Canada:

• Return host organization (European organizations) sign the grant agreement with the European Commission, receive funding directly from the Commission and take responsibility for executing the project.
• Partner organizations (Canadian organizations) do not sign the grant agreement and do not receive funding directly from the European Commission. Instead, the return host organization will provide funding for training expenses and overhead costs from the grant.
• Experienced researchers (Europeans) do not sign the grant agreement and do not receive funding directly from the European Commission. Instead, the return host organization will provide funding for a living and mobility allowance from the grant.
International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

Participation in IIF provides an experienced Canadian researcher with a salary as well as  support for travel and research expenses to permit one to two years of advanced training and research in Europe.

IIF allows Canadians to plan their period of international mobility within the framework of a coherent professional project to enhance the possibility of future collaborative research links with European researchers and organizations.

The program provides financial support to individual research projects presented by the incoming experienced researchers in liaison with the host organization in Europe. The researcher and host organization may choose any topic for research or training.

Funding: The researcher and their host (European) organization will submit the proposal. The European Commission will sign the grant agreement with the researcher’s host organization (participants should allow 6 months following submission of a proposal before signature of the Grant Agreement). The program supports:

For Experienced Researchers (Canadian Post-Doctoral Fellows):
• Living allowance (58,500 Euros per researcher per year for those with 5-10 years experience; 87,500 Euros per researcher per year for those with more than 10 years experience)
• Mobility allowance (700 Euros per researcher per month or 1000 Euros per researcher per month for those with families)
For Research organizations:
• Contribution to training expenses (800 Euros per researcher per month)
• Overhead (700 Euros per researcher per month)

International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES)

The International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES) aims to establish or strengthen long-term research cooperation through a coordinated program of short-term staff exchanges and networking activities between European research organizations and research organizations from countries with which the European Union has an S&T agreement – such as Canada.

The program will support European participation in two to four year projects that include a program of exchanges, each up to a maximum of 12 months duration, for individual researchers, technical or management staff engaged in one or more international research collaborations. It is expected that the exchanges will be balanced, in terms of researcher-months, in each direction (to and from the European Research Area).

Opportunities for Canadians:

• Organizations: Participating Canadian organizations will strengthen new or existing collaborations by ensuring that European partners have the support necessary to work, on a temporary basis, in Canada while providing a reciprocal opportunity for Canadian staff to work in Europe. As a partner organization, Canadian organizations minimize legal, administrative and reporting issues while ensuring access to funding for their European partners.
• Canadian organizations must provide funding for travel and subsistence of Canadian staff.

Funding: The European Commission will support the travel and subsistence costs for European researchers, technical and management staff, as well as networking activities, management and overhead costs of the project at a flat rate of 2,100 Euros per researcher per month coming to Canada. It is expected that all staff will continue to receive their full salary from their home organization.

Participating organizations should allow 9 months following submission of a proposal before signature of the Grant Agreement.

Participants: Projects must include participating organizations in at least two European countries and one eligible non-European country (such as Canada). Organizations may participate as either full or partner organizations:

• Full participants (European organizations) sign the grant agreement with the European Commission, receive funding directly from the Commission and take responsibility for executing the project.
• Partner organizations (Canadian organizations) do not sign the grant agreement and do not receive funding directly from the European Commission. They are expected to fund the travel and subsistence costs of their own staff.

Initial Training Networks (ITN)

Initial Training Networks support organizations from different countries in training early stage researchers. As a result there are two opportunities for Canadians: one for Canadian research organizations, and one for Canadian doctoral and postdoctoral students. (See below.) The networks must respond to well-identified training needs in defined scientific or technological areas, with appropriate references to interdisciplinary and newly emerging supra-disciplinary fields.

Training should focus on scientific and technological knowledge through research on individual personalized projects, and be complemented by training modules on transferable skills common to all fields. The program should provide individual supervision and mentoring as well as career guidance and exposure to all disciplines and sectors represented in the network. Training events offered within the network (e.g. summer schools, specialized training courses, seminars) may be opened to external researchers.

Each network must have a supervisory board. Participating organizations should recognize the quality of the training offered throughout the network and, if possible, any diplomas or certificates awarded.

Participation: Canadians organizations may participate as associate partners:
• Associate partners do not recruit early stage researchers into the network, but can provide research and complementary training and secondment opportunities for early stage researchers from Europe and their own institutions.

Funding:  The size of the network and the award depend on the nature and scope of the training activities to be undertaken. The maximum duration of each project is four years (participants should allow 9 months following submission of a proposal before signature of the Grant Agreement). The program supports the recruitment of researchers to be trained as well as training and networking costs, the organization of joint activities and conferences. This includes:

For Research organizations:
• Contribution to training expenses (1800 Euros per researcher per month)
• Management (10 per cent of EU contribution)
• Overhead (10 per cent of total direct costs)
For Early-Stage Researchers (Doctoral Students):
• Living allowance (38,000 Euros per researcher per year)
• Mobility allowance (700 Euros per researcher per month or 1000 Euros per researcher per month for those with families)

Networks may include three or more full partners in three or more European countries (with or without associate partners) or one full European partner and multiple associate partners.

Opportunities for Canadians:
• Organizations: Canadian organizations participate as associate partners. This ensures that European partners will have support to participate in existing Canadian research training programs and strengthens partnerships, through participation on the supervisory board and other project activities, with European training networks. Moreover, as an associate partner, Canadian organizations minimize legal, administrative and reporting issues while ensuring access to funding for training activities from their European partners (“external researchers” such as Canadian doctoral students can participate in these activities).
• Early-Stage Researchers / Doctoral Students: Participation as an early stage researcher means that a Canadian doctoral student, recruited by a European university or other research organization, will receive an employment contract from them for a period of 3 to 36 months – making them eligible for the living allowance and mobility support. If permitted by a Canadian university, they can be registered at that university and remain eligible for graduation in Canada.
 

Thematic Research

The “Cooperation Programme” supports all types of trans-national research by theme and is the largest part of FP7

Themes:

• Information and communication technologies (€9.11 billion over 7 years)
• Health (€6.05 billion)
• Transport, including aeronautics (€4.18 billion)
• Nano production (€3.5 billion)
• Energy (€2.3 billion)
• Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology (€1.935 billion)
• Environment (€1.8 billion)
• Space (€1.43 billion)
•  Security (€1.35 billion)
• Socio-economic sciences and Humanities (€610 million)

To Participate in European Research Projects
Canadian researchers and research organizations are invited to participate in European research projects on a self-financing basis (see exception noted below). As equal partners, Canadians can join large, well-funded multi-disciplinary international teams, addressing critical issues of global concern.

Please note the following:
1. Canadians may join European research teams as full partners at the proposal stage or join after European funding has been awarded. When considering whether or not to join a team at the proposal stage, Canadians may want to ask:

• Does the proposed project address a specific EU policy issue (i.e. a policy issue identified by the EU)? Addressing these issues is the main purpose of Framework Programme funding
• Is the project leader / coordinator well versed in both the policy issue and the science related to it? (i.e. Have they spoken frequently on the issue? Have they received funding in the past?)
• Does the call for proposals reference their country’s participation as particularly desirable?

2. Although Canadian participation in EU funded projects is almost always on a self-financing basis, Canadians are eligible for EU support if their contribution to a particular research project is deemed essential to the project’s success. In this case, “essential” means that a Canadian researcher:

• Has a specific skill or expertise that is necessary for the project to succeed
• That skill is unavailable anywhere in Europe
• That researcher absolutely requires funding in order to participate (or, in the case of infrastructure, to be available)

Current Calls for Proposals

Canadians can find open calls for proposals by accessing the CORDIS website.