Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) Conference Grants are aimed at supporting young 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
Note that this is an open call. You can apply any time up to the closing date. The conference must take place before 30.09.2024. The application must be submitted at least 30 days before the conference start date.
Conference dates: 15.04.2024 – 30.09.2024
Call closes: 31.08.2024
Eligibility
Young Researchers and Innovators (individuals < 40 years old) 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 or present a poster at a chosen conference and be listed in the official event/conference program. 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, registration fees and other relevant costs such as printing of a scientific poster.
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:
- 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 or poster presentation
- Acceptance letter from the conference organizers
- CV, including recent publications or conference presentations
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 (31.10.2024), 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 or poster) of the grantee
- Copy of the given presentation (oral or poster)
- 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.
Once all the necessary documentation is submitted on time and the report is approved by the Grant Awarding Coordinator you will receive the grant.
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.