MSCA Doctoral Networks 2023

Latest information:

Flash information on the overall results of the HORIZON-MSCA-20223-DN-01 call for proposals (‘flash call info’)

The Agency has now completed the evaluation of the proposals submitted to the above­mentioned call. The breakdown of evaluation results is as follows:

MSCA-2023-DN (Doctoral Networks)

We recently informed the applicants about the evaluation results for their proposals.

It is expected that the first grant agreements will be signed by July 28th 2024.

Information on the selected projects will be published on CORDIS after that date.

Please note that the number of proposals that can be funded will depend on the finally available budget and the formal selection by the Commission.

For questions, please contact the Research Enquiry Service.

DN Percentiles – This table informs on the percentage of proposals with a given score or higher, per ranking list, also showing the funding ranges.

Summary of the independent observer report:

This has been a large and complex evaluation exercise, in terms of number of proposals and external experts involved, and in terms of work breakdown in several evaluation phases and procedures. Yet, it has been implemented in an efficient and timely manner, fully respecting the planned schedules, both overall and for the various internal steps.

This evaluation has adopted all the applicable procedures that represent a standard and a best practice in Horizon Europe. Some of the procedures used are specific for this evaluation and other instruments in the MSCA programme, such as the usage of Vice-Chairs to allocate the proposals to the evaluator experts (so to ensure a proper coverage of scientific & technical knowledge required), and the implementation of consensus meeting as a mix of offline and online discussions.

The evaluation has also adopted an extensive approach to quality control and cross-reading of proposals, which, together with the other evaluation steps, were instrumental to achieve a very high fairness in the treatment and ranking of proposals. A fundamental contribution to this result lies in the central execution of the final phases (finalization of quality control, cross-reading, and panel discussions). The full-time, face-to-face nature of these phases is also an invaluable measure to increase the expertise and professionalism of a whole class of specialized expert roles (Chairs and Vice-Chairs), including first-timers, which are a pillar of MSCA DN evaluations.

The Unit staff has established a set of conflict-of-interest rules that are in line or even more stringent than the applicable ones, as described in the experts’ contract, and has implemented effective actions to detect, mitigate and manage the cases of conflict of interest. This is particularly important considering the large size of this evaluation, both in terms of proposals and external experts.

The procedures and information involved in the evaluation have been fully transparent to all the actors involved, including both Unit staff and external experts. Yet, transparency was duly limited by appropriate information safeguarding to protect confidentiality, and to implement the necessary measures to detect and manage the cases of conflict of interest.

Overall, all the applicable regulations have been fully respected, and the evaluation was characterized by a high-level performance, dedication, and collaborative attitude by all the actors involved. The outcome of this exercise is high-quality and fair.