A total of 2 ITC grants will be available in this grant period. Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) Conference Grants are aimed at supporting researchers and innovators from ITC or Near Neighbour Countries (NNC) to attend an international conference and present their work fully organized by a third party, i.e. not organized nor co-organized by the COST Action.
Important dates
This ITC open call is open from 06.02.2025 until 28.02.2025. The conference must take place before 30.09.2025.
Conference dates: 01.03.2025 – 30.09.2025
Call closes: 28.02.2025
Eligibility
Researchers and Innovators with a primary affiliation in an institution located in an ITC and NNC participating in the BEST-CSP Action.
- ITC countries: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
- NNC countries: Algeria, Azerbaijan, [Belarus], Egypt, the Faroe Islands, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, [Russia]*, Syria and Tunisia.
The applicant shall deliver an oral presentation at a chosen conference and be listed in the official event/conference program. Only oral presentations of their own work are acceptable.
Furthermore, the work presented shall be relevant to the scientific objectives of the Action and shall acknowledge COST.
Grant Amount / Expenses covered by the grant
The grant can provide a contribution for travel, accommodation, subsistence expenses, and registration fees. It is set at:
- up to EUR 1500 per grant for face-to-face conferences
or - up to EUR 500 for virtual conferences.
Please note:
- In their application applicants must provide an argued estimation of the costs to be covered.
- The grant does not necessarily cover all the expenses.
- The Grant Awarding Committee can decide to approve the grant with a lower amount than initially requested by the applicant.
Application process
An application must be submitted online via the e-COST system at least 30 days before the start of the conference by creating a Conference Grant Request. In order to make an application, you need an e-COST profile. It is necessary to fill out the online form (title of presentation, conference title, date and country, requested budget and attendance type) as well as upload the following supporting documentation:
- ITC conference grant application (see template here)
- Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral presentation
- Acceptance letter from the conference organizers
- CV, including recent publications or conference presentations
- An argued estimation of the costs to be covered
See the step-by-step process in the Grant Awarding User guide.
Acceptance/Rejection of application: You will be notified within three weeks after submission of a complete application.
Receiving the grant
After the successful participation in the conference the following documents must be submitted in e-COST within 30 days after the end date of the activity or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period (31.10.2025), whichever date comes first:
- A scientific report 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 (see template here)
- Certificate of attendance
- Programme of the conference or book of abstracts / proceedings indicating the presentation (oral) of the grantee
- Copy of the given presentation (oral)
- ITC grantees are expected to share the outcome of their conference contributions with the BEST-CSP Action community. The grantee is therefore required to send in a written blogpost (preferably with a photograph taken at the conference) or a short video talking about the experience, which will be then uploaded on the BEST-CSP Action website. *** Please upload the blog post together with the grant report in e-COST (separate files) ***
Once all the necessary documentation is submitted on time and the report is approved by the Grant Awarding Coordinator you will receive the grant.
Important Notice
Please be advised that due to the closure of the UPC (Grant Holder) for holidays in the month of August, there will be delays in processing grant decisions and payments.
Further information
For more information, please consult the Annotated Rules for COST Actions and the Grant Awarding User guide or contact the Grant Awarding Coordinator Michela Romanini (michela.romanini@upc.edu). In case of non-fulfilment of the grant, COST Derogation Procedures will be followed.
*: Please consult the specific COST measures taken regarding the participation of researchers/innovators from these countries (Russia, Belarus and Hungary) in the Annex I – Level A: Country and Organisations Table.