OPEN CALL for ITC AND DISSEMINATION CONFERENCE GRANTS

Second Call: January 2024

Important Dates

  1. Deadline for submission of applications: on a rolling basis between 1 February and 31 May 2024
  1. Total number of Grants:
    1. Three ITC conference grants (in person events only) of €1,100 each
    2. One dissemination conference grant (in person events only) of €1,250
  1. Selection procedure: all grant applications submitted within one month will be assessed at the end of that month. The selection process stops as soon as all the grants have been awarded.
  1. Outcome notification: The successful candidates will be notified in the first five days of the following month and the grant must be approved by the Management Committee of the Action.
  1. Period within which the ITC and Dissemination Conference Grants must be used: 1 March – 31 August 2024

Overview

ITC Conference Grants are available for early career investigators1 (ECI), PhD students and PhD candidates from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.

ITC Conference Grants are aimed at supporting Young Researchers and Innovators with a primary affiliation in a2n institution located in an ITC to attend international conferences, event or activity on the topic of the Action that are not organised by the COST Action.

Dissemination Conference Grants are aimed at supporting members of the COST Action to attend international conferences, event or activity on the topic of the Action that are not organised by the COST Action.

The participation to the conference should specifically contribute to the scientific objectives of this COST Action, which are outlined in detail in the Memorandum of Understanding of the Action.

Eligibility criteria

All applications will be assessed by the Grant Awarding Coordinator. Grant applications need to meet the following criteria:

  1. For ITC Conference Grants the applicant must be a Young Researcher and Innovator (i.e. anyone under the age of 40) with a primary affiliation in an institution located in a participating ITC country. For Dissemination Conference Grants, there are no limitations regarding age while the primary affiliation must be in a COST country.
  2. The applicant must make an oral presentation at the conference.
  3. The applicant must be listed in the official event / conference programme.
  4. The application must be sent at least 30 days before the start date of the conference.
  5. The main subject of the presentation oral / poster presentation at the approved conference must be on the topic of the Action and must acknowledge COST.

Financial Support & Duration

The financial support is a contribution to the overall expenses incurred by the participation to the conference and may not necessarily cover all of the associated costs. Financial support is a contribution for conference fees (including for virtual conferences) and overall travel including accommodation and meal expenses and is paid in the form of a Grant.

Please note that the awarded grant is subject to the submitted Conference Grant certificate of attendance or scientific report being approved by the Conference Grants Coordinator.

Application procedure

In order to submit an application for an ITC or a Dissemination Conference Grant, please follow these steps:

  1. All applicants must carefully read the funding and eligibility rules detailed in the COST Annotated Rules.
  1. Register for an e-COST profile at https://e-services.cost.eu/, adding your bank account details to your profile (if a returning applicant or already in possession of a COST profile, move to step 3).
  1. Complete the application form at the ITC or Dissemination Conference Grants application section of your e-COST profile on https://e-services.cost.eu/, uploading the requested supporting documentation. This documentation includes:
  1. An application form that includes details about the conference, the accepted contribution details, relevance of the conference topic to the Action and motivation and expected impact.
  2. A letter of acceptance to the conference or a copy of the official conference programme.
  3. Copy of the abstract of the accepted presentation.
  1. Submit and download your application.

The selection of successful applicants will be done in consideration of the scientific scope of the proposed participation and how it will support the Action in achieving its scientific objectives.

Successful applicants need to complete and submit a ITC or Dissemination Conference Grant report within 30 days from the end date of the activity or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever date comes first. They will also need to provide a blog for the HIDDEN website (examples can be seen here: https://hidden-costaction.eu/stsm/) on their funded activities. We also ask that you tag our social media profiles in any posts that you make.

Please note that COST can request additional information to substantiate the information contained within the documents submitted by Conference Grant applicants so you should keep copies of all travel and accommodation receipts.