MCAA Micro grants

Open Call for MCAA Micro Grant Applications

Publication date: 6 September 2021

The current rules will come into effect from the date of publication of this Call for Micro Grants.

The current contract with the European Commission will finalise on 21^st June 2022. Hence, all Micro Grants requests should be submitted until Thursday 31^st March 2022 and all the receipts to be reimbursed and support documents should be submitted by Friday, 20^th May 2022 at the latest.

PRESENTATION AND OBJECTIVES OF MCAA MICRO-GRANTS

The Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) provides financial support to members with the aim to contribute to their career development as well as to promote and facilitate their participation in the activities of the MCAA and the promotion of the Marie Curie community. To this end, it supports the participation of members in external and MCAA events by providing micro-grants covering part of travel and media costs.

There are currently 4 categories of MCAA Micro Grants:

For attendance at relevant events (including fees for online events);

Micro Travel Grants (MTG)

For the development and production of media materials;

Micro Media Grants (MMG)

For attending to the MCAA General Assembly.

Micro General Assembly Grants (MGAG)

For travel on behalf of MCAA by Chairs of WGs and Chapters or their representatives to attend Board Meetings or other relevant events in representation of the MCAA or in representation of the respective Chapter/WG. This category can also be used by MCAA members who will act as speakers for the MCAA General Assembly and Annual Conference.

Micro Internal Travel Grants (MITG)

This Open Call intends to support activities foreseen within each type of micro-grant, which are to be implemented within the eligibility period (from 3^rd September 2021 to 21 June 2022), except for Micro General Assembly Grants to attend the MCAA General Assemblies, which are subject to specific deadlines.

MICRO GRANT ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for MCAA Micro Grants, applicants must:

Be member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association;
Have completed at least 90% of theironline profile in the MCAA portal.

MITGs are only available to Chairs of Working Groups (WGs) and Chapters or their representatives. Representatives of Chairs should be named through written communication (e.g. email) by the respective Chair or by the MCAA Board. This category can also be used by MCAA members who will act as speakers for the MCAA General Assembly and Annual Conference. The speakers should also be named through written communication (e.g. email) by a Chair of a WG or Chapter, or a Board member.

MICRO GRANT RULES

While applications from all countries are welcomed and encouraged, all applications must be completed in English.

Grants cannot be attributed retrospectively, and all costs must be justified. Please ensure your application is submitted in good time prior to the occurrence of the activity. The MCAA Executive Committee will give preference to events or activities that occur at least three months after the application date.

A member can only be awarded two (2) MTGs and/or MMGs within a period of twelve months, counting from the date of submission of the first application for a subsequently approved Micro Grant.

A member can be awarded a maximum of one (1) MGAG per MCAA General Assembly.

The number of MITGs awarded to a member is not restricted by rule but will be monitored by the MCAA Executive Committee.

In case Members receive funding for the same type of activity by any other party, including any other funding from the European Commission institutions, then this must be declared at the time of application, clearly indicating the funding source. In any case where the activity is being funded by any European Commission source, the application for micro-grant will not be considered.

For each category of Micro Grant, eligible costs and maximum limits are presented below:

Category	Eligible Activities	Maximum Amount
Micro Travel Grant (MTG)	Travel, accommodation, subsistence costs and registration fees to attend relevant events (including relevant online events and registration fees for online courses, training etc. ).	For travel distances, up to 1999km (within the same continent): up to 500 euros. For travel distances of 2000km or more (within the same continent): up to 750 euros For intercontinental travel: up to 1000 euros. For activities not involving travelling (e.g. online courses), the maximum amount of the MTG is 500 euros.
Micro Media Grant (MMG)	Design and production of posters, flyers, and hand-outs; submission of papers to scientific conferences and journals; edition and production of books; development and production of videos; development and maintenance of web-pages; subscriptions to web-pages. For media outcomes, the MCAA strongly encourages the use of open access publications. In addition, publishers who are against open access initiatives (such as Plan S) are discouraged	For media outcomes to be published in open-access^[1] publications, the maximum amount of the MMS is 1000 euros. For other activities, the maximum amount of the MMS is 400 euros.

^[1] List of approved open-access journals: https://doaj.org/. If your publication is not on this list, please include details of the publication as well as your justification with your application.

Micro General Assembly Grant (MGAG)	Travel and accommodation costs to attend the MCAA General Assembly.	For travel distances, up to 199km: up to 250 euros. For travel distances, between 200km and up to 1999km (within the same continent): up to 500 euros. For travel distances of 2000 km or more (within the same continent): up to 750 euros. For intercontinental travel: up to 1000 euros.
Micro Internal Travel Grant (MITG)	Travel, accommodation, subsistence costs and registration fees to attend MCAA Board Meetings and/or attend relevant events in representation of the MCAA or in representation of the respective Chapter/WG.	Reimbursement of real costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence. Applicants must include an estimation of expenses in the application form. MCAA Internal Governance rules will apply for reimbursement rates, except for the per diem - members will have to present receipts for expenses with meals, which will be paid in real costs.

Note: to calculate the travel distance, members can use the following tool: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_en

HOW TO APPLY

Interested applicants should complete the online Application Form concerning the specific Micro-Grant. Members are advised to apply for grants well in advance (preferably at least 3 months in advance), and to not engage any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the micro-grant has been awarded. The MCAA is not liable for any expenses incurred by members in any case where a micro-grant is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant.

EVALUATION AND COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS

The Executive Committee will be responsible for the evaluation and approval of each application, for which it will take into account: the relevance of the activity towards the applicant’s background; the added-value of the activity for the applicant’s career development (in view of the information available in the applicant’s profile on the MCAA web-portal); the likely benefit of the proposed activity for the Marie Curie Community / MCAA, including visibility of outputs.

MTGs and MMGs: Since this is a continuously open Call, the Executive Committee will make decisions on the applications received by the end of the month that follows the month of application (e.g. decisions on applications made in May would be communicated by the end of June), and the results will be communicated by individual message through the MCAA web-portal.
MGAGs: results will be communicated by a date to be announced when the particular MGAG call is open.
MITGs: results will be communicated as efficiently as possible.

REIMBURSEMENT PROCEDURE FOR MICRO GRANTS

Micro Grants are small amounts paid to members in reimbursement form, i.e. the micro-grant is paid after the activity has been implemented and/or concluded. To receive the payment of the micro-grant, Members shall send to the MCAA the online Reimbursement Form describing the activity implemented and attaching the required documents – an electronic version of the documents is sufficient.

Note: Although original (paper) receipts are not required to be submitted at the time of the reimbursement request, members are obliged to keep them for a period of at least five years, as the MCAA and/or the European Commission may, at any occasion, ask for them for auditing purposes. If the member does not wish to keep the originals for five years, he/she should send them to: INTRASOFT International. N.V. /S.A., Tour Bastion, Place du Champ de Mars 5/10 (1050 Brussels).

Members awarded a Micro Grant are requested to submit their reimbursement requests within 4 weeks after the event/activity takes place.

Note. Members will not be reimbursed for any expenses already paid for travel or other activities which are not undertaken for any reason, including reasons which are beyond the control of the member, (such as a visa denial). As members are not legal employees of the MCAA, but working on a volunteer basis, the MCAA will not pay any form of remuneration to members and provides no insurance cover for accidents that might happen while the member is travelling to and from an event. For these reasons, members are advised to ensure that they have adequate insurance (e.g. personal insurance, travel, insurance, cover by their current employer, cover through credit card purchase of tickets, etc.) that would cover any delays, cancellations or accidents. This is of particular importance for any member using a private vehicle as part of their travel arrangements.

The reimbursement will be calculated based on real costs, meaning the sum of all eligible receipts/documents presented at the time of the reimbursement submission, and taking into consideration the maximum amount established for each type of micro-grant.

Note: Boarding passes are required as proof of air travel; please ensure you keep these (or a copy in the case of electronic boarding passes).

Payments of expenses will be made by MCAA within 20 days from the date of reception of all documents required, and only through a bank transfer to an account held by the Members in their own name. Proof of payment will be sent by e-mail to the Members as soon as it is made.

Note: As specified by the European Commission rules, “any banking fees charged for money transfers, or for currency exchanges, or for any other similar reason, shall be deducted from the sum to be paid to the members who receive the micro-finance payment”. The MCAA will not check the validity of bank details for countries outside of the EU; thus, any bank fees resulting from failed transactions will be charged to the member.

Required Documents for Reimbursement

--- No micro-grant will be processed unless the required documents are provided ---

MTGs:

Required Documents:

Travel tickets – Boarding Passes are mandatory (or declaration with route if travelling by car - mandatory);
Hotel invoice (when applicable);
Meal(s) invoice(s) (when applicable);
Registration Fees (when applicable);
Declaration of attendance at the event (mandatory) – self-declarations will not be accepted. Please try to obtain a declaration from the organisers of the event.
A news item, not more than 500 words, and two pictures, describing the event attended, shall be attached.

MMGs:

It is expected that the awarded Members deposit a copy of the media outcome with the MCAA media bank. In this sense, the MCAA intends to ensure a wider dissemination of research, and of Members’ activities, within its own community. This copy must be free of paid copyright, and needs to be in English, or at least include a summary in this language.

All media outcomes must include the following statement:

“With the support of the Marie Curie Alumni Association”

Required Documents:

Copy of the invoices(s);
Copy of proof of payment – proof that the Member has made the payments;
Additionally, the following documents apply to specific activities:

Design and production of posters, flyers, and handouts		Copy of posters, flyers, and handouts
Submission of papers to scientific conferences and journals		Copy of the paper submitted + copy of confirmation of submission
Edition and production of books		Copy of book
Development and production of videos		Copy of video (or link to video)
Development and maintenance of web pages		URL of web pages
Subscriptions to on-line pages		Copy of subscription
Preparation of a proposal for funding		Confirmation receipt of the proposal submission

MGAGs:

Required Documents:

Travel tickets – Boarding Passes are mandatory (or declaration with route if travelling by car - mandatory);
Hotel invoice (when applicable);
Attendance at the General Assembly (mandatory) - please do not forget to sign the attendance list at the venue, as this will prove your participation.

Note: Meal expenses will not be reimbursed.

MITGs:

If the amount claimed with for the Micro Internal Travel Grant exceeds 20% of the amount estimated in the application, reimbursement is subject to Executive Committee approval.

Required Documents:

Travel tickets – Boarding Passes are mandatory (or declaration with route if travelling by car - mandatory);
Hotel invoice (when applicable);
Meal(s) invoice(s) (when applicable);
Registration fee invoice (when applicable);
Attendance at the Board Meeting or event that justifies the Travel Grant (mandatory) - please do not forget to sign the attendance list at the venue or request a certificate of attendance to prove your participation.

Note: During the Board Meetings, usually lunch is served to participants. In this case lunch meal expenses will not be accepted.

In case of any questions, please address the MCAA through contact@mariecuriealumni.eu.