Call for applications for ITC Conference grants

Rules and Guidelines for ITC Conference Grants Eligibility criteria:

• Your primary affiliation is in a COST Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC) Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion Island and Saint Martin (France), Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain), as well as COST Near Neighbour Countries (NNC): Algeria, Azerbaijan, [Belarus, suspended] , Egypt, the Faroe Islands, Jordan, Kosovo , Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine , [Russia, suspended] , Syria, and Tunisia. Currently see Annex I: https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2023/11/Annex-I-level-A-Country-and-Organisations-Table-Version-1.7.pdf.
• You have a paper accepted for the oral presentation at an international conference.
• The conference takes place in a country different from your country of residence and different from the country of your primary affiliation.
• The topic of your paper or poster and the conference theme are relevant to VOICES.

Conferences in Europe are preferred, but conferences outside of Europe may be considered as well.

 

Expenses covered:

• travel expenses from home to conference location and back (bus, coach, train 2nd class, plane economy);
• visa fees for conference country;
• accommodation and meal expenses as a contribution maximum up to EUR 2 500,00 per grant for face-to-face conferences or EUR 00 for online conferences.

Deadlines:

The entire conference trip must fit into the grant activities period and all administration must be completed in said grant activities period!

Application Procedure:

• Application shall be submitted online in e-COST using dedicated forms available. In this regard, applicants are informed that their application can be accessed by the holders of leadership positions and any evaluation committees in the Action for evaluation purposes;
• Applicants must upload their CV in their e-COST profile. This information will be visible to the holders of leadership positions and any evaluation committees in the Action for evaluation purposes.

The content of the application for ITCC Grant shall include:

• Title of the presentation;
• Conference title, date (within the active Grant Period) and Country;
• Budget requested;
• Attendance Type (face to face or online).

Should also to be uploaded to e-COST the following documents:

• Application form (template available on e-COST) describing: Relevance of

the conference topic to the Action and Motivation describing the potential for

impact on the applicant’s career;

• Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral presentation;
• Acceptance (or invitation) letter from the conference organisers;
• Other documents required by the Action (e.g. recommendation letter, etc…).

Once the application has been completed according to the COST requirements, submit it to the e-cost system. Upon evaluation and approval by the Action Chair of your grant in the e-cost system you will receive a formal notification.

 

Reporting and claim for payment of the grant:

• Once the activity has ended, the grantee submits the required reports and relevant documentation in e-COST within 30 days after the end date of the activity or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever date comes first;
• Claim the payment by submitting the report via e-COST;
• The required report/documentation for claiming an ITC Conference Grant is: a) Report to the Action MC on the outcome of the presentation of the accepted contribution, in terms of grantee’s visibility, including the establishment of new contacts for future collaborations, b) The certificate of attendance, c) The programme of the conference or book of abstracts / proceedings indicating the oral presentation of the grantee, d) Copy of the given oral

Mandatory Acknowledgements:

ITCC Grant holders must properly acknowledge their financial support in a scientific report and any additional research documentation, which is a direct result of the participation in ITCC.

Failure to produce the above documentation in time may result in the cancellation of the candidate’s grant!

More information is provided in the Annotated rules: https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2024/11/COST-094-21-V2.0-Annotated-Rules-for-COST-Actions-Level-C.pdf  and in the Travel Reimbursement Rules (https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2024/10/Travel-Reimbursement-Rules-2024-2025.pdf

Expenses covered:

• • travel expenses from home to conference location and back (bus, coach, train 2^nd class, plane economy);
  • visa fees for conference country;
  • conference fee up to 500 EUR;
  • accommodation and subsistence 120 EUR per night including breakfast and 20 EUR per lunch and dinner during conference days, if not included in the conference fee, and at most two additional travel days. Only one meal on travel days.

Deadlines:

The entire conference trip must fit into the grant activities period and all administration must be completed in said grant activities period!