2023 Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship(HE-MSCA-PF-2023)

[duckworthless]

Hello,

I'm curious about when the reviewers start reviewing our proposals? Anyone know? Seems like a long process for all parties involved, particularly when considering their mid-Feb target decision date.

Thanks.

[duckworthless]

my phase is now evaluation.

[gincidentallyinquiry]

my phase is now evaluation.

Same thing here.

[CGN]

hi all,
i applied 3rd time this year and tried to rectify the previous evaluations' comments (weaknesses), I feel i have improved it to a large extent.
but it seems, a kind of luck factor also to be there. Based on some past experiences of many.

How many of you applying for 3rd time?

Regards

I applied this year for the 4th time in the last 5 calls. I always had the impression that my proposal was much better than the previous one...but always got a lower score...in my experience, the lucky component is 90% of the result...we are all good researchers...our proposal only needs to go in the right hands...let's see this year

I reviewed a lot of MSCA proposals this year and helped applicants improve their submissions (even re-submissions), and what I noticed is that most of them are not familiar with grant writing. They think their proposal is good, but it is really not. There are a lot of unwritten rules and best practices in EU grants that you learn with practice. They make the difference between a high score and an average score, no matter how good you are as a scientist. Being good at conducting research in your field does not equal excelling in other activities such as dissemination, communication, teaching, editing, and grant writing; those are different skills that you need to study for.

For example, what I noticed is the lack of details in the activity descriptions. Most proposals seem fluffy. An applicant wrote: "I will use qualitative methodology". What method exactly? Interviews? What type of interview... semi-structured? Why interviews and not surveys, and why exactly semi-structured? What do you want to discover exactly with the interview questions? How many people will you interview, and what are the inclusion criteria? How did you determine the exact sample size? Is this methodology the state of the art in social sciences, and is it a standard in your discipline, or are you applying an uncommon method? How will you triangulate the results so that you increase your confidence?

It is true that, at the highest ranks, luck is a fundamental component, but only among top applicants. Most applicants do not have many chances to begin with.

My suggestion is to pay for a specialized service that will guide you step by step or ask for help from successful applicants.

[mindyouralloys]

Looks like the phase status has changed to 'Evaluation' now. The new round of anxiety starts, and let us hope for the best!

[AR Khojasteh]

Here we go, evaluation!!!!!!!

[PlasmaFuture]

Looks like the phase status has changed to 'Evaluation' now. The new round of anxiety starts, and let us hope for the best!

Hello,

Do you track phase changes via a magic link? What was the status before the 'Evaluation' phase?

[mindyouralloys]

Looks like the phase status has changed to 'Evaluation' now. The new round of anxiety starts, and let us hope for the best!

Hello,

Do you track phase changes via a magic link? What was the status before the 'Evaluation' phase?

Previously it was just "Final"...

[PlasmaFuture]

Looks like the phase status has changed to 'Evaluation' now. The new round of anxiety starts, and let us hope for the best!

Hello,

Do you track phase changes via a magic link? What was the status before the 'Evaluation' phase?

Previously it was just "Final"...

Thanks. I have the status "Final" in "My Proposals", and if through a magic link, then the "Evaluation" phase is shown.

[Motorcar55]

Hello,

I'm curious about when the reviewers start reviewing our proposals? Anyone know? Seems like a long process for all parties involved, particularly when considering their mid-Feb target decision date.

Thanks.

Definately this is not a long process in the grand scheme of things. I have been both sides of the review. Considering the proposals go in Sept, and a result in Feb with a Christmas holiday in between; this is rather quick given the enormous number of applications. Reviewers receive the grants end of Oct after eligbility checks and the process is very rigourous, and there is a panel consensus in November, after which there are other panel meetings to decide on who is awarded. Then all the results letters need to be prepared for these 1000's of applications. At this point in the year, they will all have an agreed score decided. There may be some outliers where reviewers have not agreed on a score. But for the most part it would be done.