New MSCA Seal of Excellence scheme kicks off in France

The French region of Brittany recently launched the Bienvenüe Seal of Excellence funding scheme to support researchers with projects that have been awarded the MSCA Seal of Excellence under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) 2024 Postdoctoral Fellowships call and whose proposals have been evaluated with a score of at least 90% but failed to be funded due to budget constraints.  

This initiative aims to encourage Breton researchers to apply under the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships by providing them with an additional funding opportunity in case their proposal cannot be funded under the MSCA.  

The Bienvenüe Seal of Excellence scheme will support research projects which are implemented in Brittany for a duration of 12-24 months.

The scheme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is an example of synergies with cohesion funding. Seal of Excellence support schemes have previously been successfully set up with funding from the ERDF in Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia and in another French region (Hauts de France).

About the call

The financial support provided under this initiative will take the form of an ERDF grant that can amount up to 75% of the project total costs, with a maximum cap at €115,000.

The call is open until 30 June 2025.

How to Apply

To be eligible, projects should meet the following cumulative criteria.

• the proposal is contributing to one or several Strategic Innovation Domains and/or the transversal axis of the Breton RIS3
• the scientific project and the identity of the post-doctoral fellow are identical in the proposal submitted to the European Commission and in the one submitted to Région Bretagne for this call
• the post-doctoral fellows are recruited by an eligible institution implemented in the Brittany region

The full details and eligibility conditions are available on the Region website in both English and French. Potential applicants are encouraged to carefully read and refer to the applicable documentation.  

It is also strongly advised to contact the Brittany region before applying to check whether the proposal meets the call specifications.

About the MSCA Seal of Excellence  

The MSCA Seal of Excellence is a quality label awarded to applicants under Postdoctoral Fellowships and COFUND who achieved a high score in their applications (85% or higher) but unfortunately were not awarded funding due to budgetary constraints.  

The MSCA Seal of Excellence  

   underlines the value of these projects and aims to support applicants in securing alternative funding  

   allows other funding bodies such as national, regional, and local authorities, public and private institutions to support MSCA proposals that have been awarded the Seal of Excellence and to take advantage of the Horizon Europe evaluation process.

More information  

Bienvenüe Seal of Excellence call details (in English and French)

More information on available support at national/regional level