Following the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe and as part of the design of the tenth Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10), the European Commission conducted a series of stakeholder consultations to elaborate possible changes to the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) earlier this spring.  

The proposed changes presented by the European Commission on 15 April 2026 address the need to tackle the growing number of applications and declining success rates, as well as the lack of geographic diversity in some schemes. The changes – which were also informed by the implementation of the Choose Europe pilot – include: 

• Simplification of Doctoral Networks by streamlining the three existing types into one flexible model, allowing each consortium to create blended projects; introduction of built-in incentives for Joint or Industrial Doctorates and extension of fellowship duration to up to four years within five-year projects. 
• Introduction of Postdoctoral Networks to support early-career postdocs through cohort-based training with a stronger intersectoral focus. Built around a shared research challenge, they would combine team-based collaboration with researcher autonomy, helping postdocs develop individual projects while integrating into broader research and innovation ecosystems. 
• Consolidation of “Choose Europe” Individual Fellowships around a two-phase structure, including: a fully funded first phase of up to three years, focused on the researcher’s project and training activities, with grant portability from the start; an optional second phase of up to two years to support results exploitation and career transition, with partial co-funding from the Commission.  

The Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) was invited to take part in the stakeholder consultations. Several ACA members contributing to the implementation of the MSCA scheme in their respective countries, namely the Agency for Mobility and EU Programmes (AMEUP), the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS), the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), and the Slovak Academic Information Agency (SAIA, n.o.), prepared a joint policy input, highlighting priorities for strengthening excellence, accessibility and impact across the programme.  

The input welcomed most of the proposed changes aiming to support greater simplification, particularly the consolidation of Joint Doctorates and Industrial Doctorates, as well as the introduction of Postdoctoral Networks and Choose Europe Individual Fellowships aiming to address oversubscription through a more diversified postdoctoral offer.  

However, the input also raised several reservations with regard to the inclusiveness of the programme, which could be undermined by the administrative complexity of consortium-based networks, and the potential concentration of resources among well-established institutions and partnerships. Similarly, the portability of Individual Fellowship grants is seen as requiring careful consideration: while it may increase flexibility for researchers, it could also exacerbate existing imbalances in brain circulation if not accompanied by appropriate safeguards.