Secondments

How to be seconded?

A researcher is temporarily transferred from one institution to another through a secondment. Secondments are used to do scientific research, innovation, and knowledge exchanges. The research allowance is worth €2,100 for each month of secondment. The allowance must be utilised to cover travel, per diem, and lodging costs. Secondments are permitted up until 31 January 2026.

For outgoing secondments, GEOCEP offers research allowances to staff members from beneficiary institutions in Europe to go to partner institutions abroad. For incoming secondments, GEOCEP offers research allowances to staff members from the University of Cape Town and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to come to beneficiary institutions in Europe. 

A staff member can also be seconded from a partner institution abroad to one of the beneficiary institutions in Europe. The staff member has to secure a financing source outside of the GEOCEP project. 

Here are the practical steps to follow before, during, and after a secondment:

Initiate a secondment

• Verify that you are eligible for a secondment. 
• Discuss your proposition with the scientific contact of your institution, who will have to recommend it to the Coordinator.  
• Apply by filling in a form, which includes a secondment plan, to obtain a research allowance. 
• Wait for the recommendation from the Local Scientific Contact and the Project Coordinator.  
• Once your secondment is approved, buy a round-trip flight ticket to the destination of the host institution. 
• Upload a copy of your flight ticket to your account to determine the start and end date.

Before a secondment 

• Arrange for minimal support from the host institution for work facilities, legal procedures, and lodging assistance. 
• Obtain the required visas for a secondment in the host institution's country (usually for a stay longer than 90 days). 
• Make sure you have travel and health insurance for the duration of your secondment and in the country where you will be.
• Check the entry conditions in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (for example, contact the country's embassy.)

During a secondment

• Please complete and sign the declaration of secondment, then submit it to your account.
• Upload a scan of your outbound boarding passes to your account. 
• Upload a scan of the university’s identity card from the host institution (if possible) and an official document from the host institution or proof of lodging. Documents should bear your name and be dated after your arrival.
• Devote yourself full-time to executing the research work and delivering scientific outputs connected to GEOCEP.
• Acknowledge European Commission funding for related scientific outputs such as publications, working papers, theses, and so on.
• Please contact the project’s administrator if you need to reschedule your secondment.

After a secondment (within 20 days)

• Scan the boarding passes of your outbound flight and upload them to your account. 
• Write on your account a post-trip report, in which you outline your scientific and knowledge exchange activities while on secondment.
• Include a sample of scientific output, such as a manuscript or a presentation, which contains an acknowledgment to the European Commission.
• Answer the mandatory questionnaire of the Research Executive Agency as feedback on your secondment.

Obligations  

• To receive the research allowance, you must submit your travel, lodging, and subsistence expenses to the beneficiary institution.
• Acknowledge European Commission funding for related scientific outputs such as publications, working papers, theses, and so on.
  
• Answer the survey that the European Commission may send you to have feedback on your experience.

Information 

• The principles set out in the Commission Recommendation on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. 

• The arrangements related to the intellectual property rights during the implementation of the secondment and afterwards from the participating institutions.

• The obligation to maintain confidentiality.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Certificate

If you want a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Certificate after your secondment, please complete the form on the website of the European Union. With this certificate, you can join the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Alumni association.

Special needs allowance

Staff members with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments can request an additional dedicated special needs allowance. Please contact the project management early in your application if you correspond to this situation.