What is Career Integration Grants (CIG)?
CIG, Career Integration Grant provides financial assistance to experienced researchers who are offered with a stable research position in Europe where they have not worked for more than 12 months during the previous three years. Researchers have to be mobile (i.e. moving within Europe or coming from outside Europe) and can be of any nationality.
As for the other Marie Curie Actions, CIG follows a bottom-up approach, i.e. the research topic is chosen freely by the researcher in liaison with the host institution.
Researchers must not necessarily have benefited from a previous Marie Curie Action. 

How does CIG work?
The researcher and the host institution submit jointly a proposal for a research project. Applications are evaluated and selected twice a year, the two deadlines are spaced six
months apart. If the proposal is ranked for funding, the European Commission will sign a grant agreement (contract) with the host institution. The host institution must then provide the researcher with an employment contract for at least the duration of the CIG project (2-4 years).

What is funded in a CIG?
The CIG is a flat-rate contribution to cover part of the research costs of the researcher (e.g. salary, other staff employed for the project, equipment, travel costs, consumables etc.), The contribution is a fixed
amount of €25’000/year for a period of 2 up to 4 years and it is a flat rates, so the money can be spent in any cost category related to the project.

What is the duration of a CIG?
The CIG can last up to 4 years. The minimum duration is 2 years.

What is the "life cycle" of a CIG?
Stage 1: The call for CIG is more or less continuously open, but make sure you have at least 2 months of preparation time before the next cut-off date.
Stage 2 : A panel of experts will evaluate the proposals (2-3 months)
Stage 3: Applicants whose proposals have been successfully evaluated in Stage 2 will be invited by the EC to negotiate (1-2 months)
Stage 4 : If the negotiation with the EC has been successful, it will take another 1-2 months to prepare the contract
Stage 5:  The project can be carried out.

Which host institutions are eligible? 
Proposals submitted in the CIG involve a single integration host organisation established in Europe:

• National research organisations, private or public
• Commercial enterprises, especially SMEs
• NGOs
• International European interest organisations (CERN, EMBL, etc.)

What are the evaluation criteria of a CIG?
S&T Quality: 30%
Researcher: 30%
Implementation: 15%
Impact: 25%