ALLEA Supports Joint Call to Safeguard MSCA
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) have been at the heart of European research excellence for more than three decades, supporting generations of researchers, fostering international collaboration, and strengthening research capacity across all disciplines.
Amid ongoing negotiations on the next Horizon Europe Framework Programme (FP10) and the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), ALLEA has joined a coalition of leading European research and higher education organisations in calling on policymakers to preserve and strengthen the programme’s unique role in developing research talent for the long-term resilience and competitiveness of Europe.
The joint statement, MSCA: Research Talent is Europe’s Strategic Advantage, published on 29 June, argues that MSCA must remain a bottom-up, discipline-agnostic, researcher-driven programme within Pillar I of Horizon Europe. Rather than being redirected with top-down themes towards short-term labour market or industrial priorities, the programme should continue to invest in early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) across all scientific fields. This openness has been fundamental to MSCA’s success, enabling scientific breakthroughs, nurturing international networks, and ensuring Europe remains an attractive destination for research talent.
The statement also highlights the growing demand for MSCA funding, noting that many outstanding researchers and projects continue to go underfunded despite the programme’s proven impact. The signatories therefore urge European leaders not to redesign a model that works, but instead to increase investment so that MSCA can be strengthened to cultivate the knowledge, talent, and scientific capabilities on which Europe’s long-term competitiveness depends.
By co-signing this statement alongside fellow European research organisations, ALLEA reaffirms its commitment to protecting excellence-driven research, supporting early- and mid-career researchers, and ensuring that Europe continues to invest in the people whose ideas will shape tomorrow’s scientific and societal breakthroughs.
This is the second joint statement that ALLEA has issued on the MSCA. In June 2025, ALLEA joined 16 European research organisations, led by Coimbra Group, EU-LIFE and YERUN, in issuing a Statement calling on the European Commission and Member States to preserve the bottom-up structure of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), in response to a proposal to introduce directionality in the 2026–2027 Work Programme by steering project calls toward predefined areas.
Other ALLEA Initiatives to Support the MSCA
In May, ALLEA’s Science Policy Standing Committee submitted feedback to the European Commission’s Call for Input on the future development of the MSCA in FP10, reiterating that the core principles of scientific excellence, bottom-up competition, and openness across all disciplines should remain fundamental characteristics of the programme. Some highlights from ALLEA’s reflections on how to strengthen the MSCA include:
- A stronger focus on sustainable research careers and longer-term career development pathways, for instance, by extending doctoral funding periods to four rather than three years
- ALLEA welcomes the exploration of new models such as Postdoctoral Networks, which have the potential to strengthen peer learning, interdisciplinary collaboration, and structured career development. However, we should ensure that postdoctoral researchers progressively develop scientific independence, including opportunities to shape research agendas, design projects and acquire leadership skills necessary for future career progression.
- The European Commission should engage more with Young Academies in the design of future postdoctoral training and networking schemes.
- Reduce structural barriers that prevent applicants and institutions from less-represented countries from competing on equal terms. Administrative complexity, limited institutional support capacity and differences in national employment frameworks can create significant obstacles, particularly for institutions and countries with less experience in managing MSCA projects.
- Care should be taken to ensure that any future scheme preserves sufficient flexibility for investigator-driven research, including fundamental research that may not align directly with short-term policy priorities.
