Secondments Q&A
APPLICATION
Q: Is there an application / selection process?
A: No, as long as your sending and host organisation approve and that you comply with the eligibility criteria, your secondment will be accepted.
Q: How / When do I receive the funding?
A: The funding is paid to your sending organisation once the secondment is completed.
Q: Who defines the dates, duration, and work plan?
A: The secondee in agreement with their manager and the host organisation.
Q: What counts as the first day of a secondment?
A: The day the secondees leave their hometown according to transport tickets.
Q: What counts as the last day of a secondment?
A: The day the secondees reach their hometown according to transportation tickets.
Q: Can I extend the duration of my secondment? Visit an organisation I have already been seconded to?
A: Yes, you can extend the duration of your secondment while you are there, and you can also visit the same organisation again in the future. If you visit them again you do not have the obligation to stay for one month minimum.
Q: Can I do a secondment within my country?
A: No, the secondment must be undertaken at a country that is not the same in which your home institution is located.
Q: Can I do secondments to different organisations?
A: Yes, you can do secondments to multiple organisations keeping in mind that in each destination you need to spend at least 30 days, and that the total number of months for all secondments cannot be more than 12.
Q: I am coming from a University partner; can I be hosted at another academic partner?
A: No, you can only be hosted at an Industry partner. The only exception is RMIT Australia, which can host both academic and industry staff.
DURING THE SECONDMENT
Q: What happens if I do not reach secondment destination immediately (e.g., stopover in the way)?
A: Keep a short explanation note with supporting documents. The date of arrival at secondment destination would then count as the first day of the secondment.
Q: I am travelling by car. What proof of travel should I keep?
A: Any bill related to the travel (tolls, etc.) and accommodation invoice.
Q: What happens if I face difficulties in accessing the office due to the COVID-19 situation?
A: Seconded staff is entitled to teleworking when they are already in the country of the host organisation and are prevented from accessing its premises. Teleworking from the country of the sending organisation (i.e. no mobility) is not allowed.
DOCUMENTATION
Q: Do I need an invitation letter from my host organisation?
A: No, the Secondment Agreement will be signed by you, your host, and your sending institution. Hence, this document will be the one certifying your stay in the host organisation. You should check with your home organisation if there are any further internal requirements to fulfill.
Q: How is my salary paid during a secondment?
A: Your remuneration is not covered by the grant (which is only a top-up allowance to cover the travel, accommodation, and subsistence costs of the secondment), your employer should therefore continue to pay you as before, according to their internal practices.
Q: Can staff members involved in other projects undertake a secondment?
A: The EU funding in a RISE action is a contribution to the overall costs of the action. It is paid in the form of unit costs of a total for each PM of secondment and is meant to cover the staff member costs associated with the secondments (e.g. not including salary) and the institutional costs related to the action. RISE projects can be implemented together with other related R&I activities as long as this does not entail double funding. Example: A consortium has been granted EU funding in a H2020 call which covers the staff member’s salary. OpenInnoTrain funding would cover mobility costs relating to the secondment, research training and networking costs and management and indirect costs. On the other hand, it is not possible to have the same staff funded at the same time under two or more MSCA grants (for example a researcher recruited in an ITN project cannot be seconded in a RISE project at the same time).
PUBLICATIONS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Q: Do I need to acknowledge EU funding and OpenInnoTrain in my publications or other outcomes?
A: Yes, as indicated in Grant Agreement (Article 32.1): The obligation of the seconded staff members to ensure the visibility of EU funding in communications or publications and in applications for the protection of results.
- Any dissemination of results must display the EU emblem.
- Add the following sentence to your article’s acknowledgement:
This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, within the OpenInnoTrain project under the Marie Skłowdowska-Curie grant agreement no. 823971. The content of this publication does not reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views expressed in the publication lies entirely with the author(s).
* Remember: Adding an acknowledgement to your publication is merely acknowledging that some of it has been done thanks to, or is the result of, the framework conditions OpenInnoTrain has offered. It is not taking away any of your intellectual contribution or ownership of your work.
* Make sure your publications are Open Access: If the paper is not Gold Open Access, you must upload a pre-print or self-archived version of your article to an open access repository (Green Open Access). If your university does not have a repository, we can help you.
Q: Can the OpenInnoTrain Team assist with raising your publication visibility?
A: Yes, we can do this via our well established OpenInnoTrain social media platforms. Our Team has also worked on the development of several very successful and extremely well received video abstracts for OpenInnoTrain publications. Reach out to us at info@openinnotrain.eu and we will help you create your own! These short abstract videos are very visual and direct ways of showing what your paper is about. They help reach a wider audience and, therefore, having greater impact.