21 Apr 2026
MSCA Staff Exchanges 2026 call receives 416 proposals
The sixth Staff Exchanges call of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions funded under Horizon Europe closed on 16 April 2026. The European Research Executive Agency (REA) received 416 proposals. Applicants requested a total budget close to €482.4 million. By comparison, 363 proposals were submitted in 2025 and 81 were eventually selected for funding.
Through this call, the European Union is expected to fund between 80 and 90 projects with an indicative budget of around €97.9 million.
Proposals submitted include the participation of 3,052 different organisations in 152 countries, out of which around 13% are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Proposals are coordinated by organisations in 29 countries. The top 15 countries are: Türkiye (18), Portugal (17), Romania (13), Serbia (11), Czechia (9), Ireland (9), Germany (7), Latvia (7), and Austria (6).
The Staff Exchanges scheme funds short-term international, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary exchanges of staff members involved in research and innovation activities of participating organisations. Selected organisations will establish international research partnerships with leading institutions in the EU and beyond including the academic and non-academic sectors in particular small and medium-sized enterprises. Exchanged staff benefit from new knowledge, skills and career development perspectives, while participating organisations increase their research and innovation capacities.
The proposals are now being evaluated. Applicants will be able to access their evaluation results in July 2026.
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