MSCA 2025 DN: Excellence section – turning weaknesses into strengths
26th August 2025 at 3:38 pm
The Excellence section is the core of an MSCA Doctoral Network (DN) proposal. It is essential to effectively showcase the quality of your research, training, and supervision in this section, as it accounts for 50% of the total evaluation score. Therefore, getting it right is crucial. Through our extensive experience in reviewing previously unsuccessful proposals, we have identified common weaknesses in the Excellence section. In this blog, we will highlight these shortcomings and provide insights on how to avoid them as you prepare your DN proposal for the upcoming deadline on 25 November 2025.
Vague objectives without measurable indicators
Evaluators are consistently critical when objectives are “broadly formulated” or “lack measurable and verifiable criteria”. Simply stating that you will advance the current state of the art or create new knowledge is insufficient. Your overarching aims and research objectives should define specific outcomes and clear success indicators, and they should be realistic within the context of a Doctoral Network (DN). We recommend using the “SMART” framework to outline well-defined objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Ideally, your objectives should include clear key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and assess progress.
Weak integration across research projects
A lack of cohesion between the overall research programme, work plan and individual research projects is a common weakness in DN proposals. Defining individual research projects that can realistically be achieved by a PhD student in 36 months (48 if in a DN Joint Doctorate), while still allowing for some collaborative research, poses a significant challenge. Proposals should demonstrate how each DC project contributes to the overall research goals, builds on or complements other projects and benefits the network-wide research activities. With the recent change of relocating the individual research project descriptions from the Implementation to the Excellence section, applicants should now find it easier to showcase the cohesive design of their DC projects in relation to the overarching work plan.
Insufficient methodological detail
Evaluators often criticise generic or underdeveloped descriptions of the methodology, particularly for interdisciplinary and high-risk approaches. Your methodology section should provide detailed information about the data sources, sample sizes, key technologies used, and how these methods will be tailored to meet specific research objectives. Incorporating gender and diversity considerations is also essential. These aspects should be integrated into the overall methodological framework, even if they are addressed under a separate subheading. If applicable, clearly explain how gender and diversity considerations are woven into the research design. Additionally, discuss how sex/gender variables and other diversity factors may influence your research findings.
Transferable skills and local PhD training as an afterthought
The training programme is almost as important as the research in a DN. Network-wide training is a core activity of any DN and should be well-planned and thought-through. The training programme should encompass not only scientific and technical skills but also a variety of transferable skills. When transferable skills training is insufficiently represented in the training plan, evaluators take notice. While network-wide training is vital, the training section should also provide ample details about local PhD training. After all, the doctoral candidates will spend the majority of their time engaging in their PhD activities at the local level. By describing the local PhD training, you can also demonstrate how your network-wide training plan complements these existing programmes, thereby offering additional value to the PhD students.
Expert help and support
At accelopment, we have guided numerous MSCA DN consortia through successful submissions, helping new DN proposals or resubmissions of previously submitted DN proposals surpass the cut-off and secure funding. As an Associated Partner in three new Horizon Europe DNs, namely BioTransform, INT2ACT and PANIONS, seven ongoing DNs DarChem, MobiliTraIN, BREAKthrough, CONCISE, MITGEST, MIRELAI and SYNSENSO, as well as many completed H2020 ITNs, we at accelopment have gathered a great deal of practical experience in Proposal Writing, Project Management and Dissemination support as well as Transferable Skills Training geared toward DNs. If you are interested in our support for your upcoming DN proposal preparation, feel free to contact us.
