MSCA funding for SMEs: Staff Exchanges call opens in December

MSCA funding for SMEs will next be available through the EU’s Staff Exchanges programme when its next call opens on 15 December 2026, according to the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions site. The route is consortium-based: it funds international research-and-innovation staff exchanges and related project activity, rather than a direct grant application by a company acting alone.

A sponsored Tech.eu report says that more than 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises participated in MSCA-funded projects during the past five years. It also says more than 4,300 businesses participated over that period, with SMEs accounting for more than half. Those participation figures come from sponsored material and should not be read as a measure of cash received by individual businesses.

MSCA has operated since 1996 as the EU’s programme for researcher training, mobility and career development. The Commission says it has supported more than 150,000 researchers over three decades, while companies, including SMEs, account for almost half of participating organisations.

How can an SME apply for MSCA Staff Exchanges?

An SME cannot apply to Staff Exchanges as a solo applicant. A consortium must include at least three organisations in three countries, with two based in different EU member states or Horizon Europe associated countries. It must also include organisations from both academic and non-academic sectors. Universities, research institutions, businesses and SMEs can participate.

The programme’s purpose is to build sustained collaborative projects between academic and non-academic organisations, particularly SMEs, according to the Commission. The practical mechanism is a secondment: participating organisations send staff to project partners in another country and host staff from those partners.

• Projects can run for up to four years.
• Secondments can last from one month to one year.
• Eligible people include researchers at any career stage, plus administrative, technical and managerial staff involved in research and innovation.
• Seconded staff are expected to return to their sending organisation after the exchange.

The grant provides a top-up for travel, accommodation and subsistence, alongside a special-needs allowance where applicable. It also contributes to research, training, networking, management and indirect costs. The mobility top-up sits on top of the salary paid by the staff member’s organisation; it is not a replacement salary.

For context, the closed 2025 Staff Exchanges call carried a €97.7 million allocation and was expected to fund about 85 projects. The Commission raised its allowance for each mobilised staff member to €5,010 a month for that call. Those are historical 2025 terms, not confirmed terms for the forthcoming call.

Organisations in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries could participate as beneficiaries under the 2025 rules. Organisations in other countries could join as associated partners, with participation and funding conditions varying by country category. Applicants for the next call should check its documents rather than assume the previous rules will carry over.

The sponsored Tech.eu report points to SERENADE, a Doctoral Network coordinated by BSH Appliances in Spain, as an example of company participation. The project brings universities and companies together to train seven doctoral candidates on technologies intended to reduce food waste, including sensor-equipped containers and AI-based freshness analysis.

For an SME, the immediate work is to identify academic and commercial partners, follow forthcoming-call notices, review the call documents and submit through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal before the stated deadline. The Commission’s Staff Exchanges page links to open and forthcoming calls and partner-finding resources.

This story draws on original reporting from Tech.eu.