Marie Curie Actions

Marie Curie Actions
Name	Marie Curie Actions
Established	1996
Type	Research fellowship programme
Location	European Union
Parent organisation	European Commission

Marie Curie Actions

Marie Curie Actions are a set of European Union research fellowship and mobility programmes established to support researcher mobility, training, and career development across the European Union and associated countries. They have been integrated into successive Framework Programmes including FP4, FP5, FP6, FP7, and the Horizon 2020 programme. The actions funded thousands of researchers connecting institutions such as CERN, Max Planck Society, University of Oxford, École Polytechnique, and Karolinska Institutet.

Overview

Marie Curie Actions aimed to enhance the competitiveness of European Research Area institutions and foster international collaboration with countries like the United States, Japan, China, India, and Canada. The activities encompassed individual fellowships, training networks, return grants, and reintegration grants linking organizations such as the European Commission, European Research Council, European Institute of Innovation and Technology, European Science Foundation, and research infrastructures including EMBL and ESRF. Key goals aligned with initiatives like the Lisbon Strategy and the European Research Area action plan, seeking to counterbalance brain drain from countries including Poland, Romania, Greece, and Portugal.

History and development

The programme traces back to mobility schemes launched in the 1990s under FP4 and received formal naming in later Framework Programmes. During FP5 and FP6 the actions expanded, interacting with institutions such as European Molecular Biology Laboratory, INRIA, CNRS, Max Planck Society, and national agencies like the National Science Centre (Poland) and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Under FP7 the actions broadened to include Industry-Academia Partnerships with partners like Siemens, Philips, Nokia, and Roche. The transition into Horizon 2020 integrated the actions into the wider Marie Skłodowska-Curie scheme, coordinating with funding bodies including European Research Council and national programmes like Agence Nationale de la Recherche and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Program structure and funding schemes

Funding instruments included Individual Fellowships, Initial Training Networks, International Outgoing Fellowships, International Incoming Fellowships, Career Integration Grants, and Reintegration Grants, administered by the European Commission and its Research Executive Agency. Grants supported mobility to research centres such as Imperial College London, ETH Zurich, University of Cambridge, Sorbonne University, Heidelberg University, and University of Barcelona. Collaborative partners often involved industrial stakeholders like IBM, Airbus, BASF, and GlaxoSmithKline to leverage technology transfer and knowledge exchange. Budget allocations were negotiated within Framework Programmes, with oversight from the European Court of Auditors and programme evaluations by panels populated by experts from Academia Europaea, Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences (USA), and national academies including the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Eligibility and application process

Eligibility rules targeted experienced researchers and early-stage researchers, with nationality and mobility requirements referencing associations with countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Israel, Turkey, and Ukraine. Host institutions ranged from universities like Trinity College Dublin and University of Rome La Sapienza to research centers including Dublin City University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, and Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Applications required project proposals, supervisor agreements, and CVs, assessed by peer review panels with reviewers drawn from organisations like European University Association, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and professional societies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Royal Society of Chemistry.

Impact and outcomes

The actions contributed to career progression for researchers who later secured positions at institutions such as Oxford University Press-affiliated academics, professors at University of California, Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or leadership roles at European Research Council and national funding agencies. They fostered networks connecting labs like Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Scripps Research, Pasteur Institute, and Friedrich Miescher Institute. Evaluations reported increases in cross-border publications with collaborators from Italy, Spain, Germany, France, and non-EU partners South Korea and Brazil. Alumni influenced policy discussions at venues like the European Parliament, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Criticism and reforms

Critics from bodies including the European Anti-Fraud Office and national audit offices highlighted administrative complexity and bureaucratic burden impacting applicants from smaller institutions such as regional universities in Bulgaria and Lithuania. Debates in the European Parliament and policy reports by Science Europe and the Royal Society prompted reforms to simplify application processes, introduce simplified cost options, and expand support for intersectoral mobility with industry partners like Novartis and Siemens Healthineers. Subsequent changes under Horizon Europe and programme evaluations aimed to improve inclusivity for researchers affiliated with institutions in Croatia, Slovakia, and Malta.

Category:European Union research funding