Description
ITC (Inclusiveness Target Countries) Conference Grants are aimed at supporting Early Career Investigator (ECI) and PhD students from Participating ITC to attend international science and technology related conferences, events or activities on the topic of the Action that are not organized by the COST Action.
ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
ITC CONFERENCE GRANTS applications in ERNEST - May 26, 2020
Preamble. Before applying, all applicants must carefully and completely read the section outlining ITC Conference Grants for Early Career Investigators and PhD Students in the COST Vademecum, which can be found under "Key Documents" at https://www.cost.eu/funding/how-to-get-funding/documents-and-guidelines/.
Some citations from the Vademecum are provided below, but do not represent the complete guidelines. Updates to the official Vademecum automatically take precedence over the sections quoted here.
01.
ITC* Conference Grants – Eligibility
From the Vademecum:
The following eligibility criteria apply:
01. Conference Grants are exclusively reserved for PhD students, PhD candidates and ECI’s ** with a primary affiliation in an institution located in an ITC participating in the Action.
02. The applicant must make an oral/poster presentation at the conference in question and must be listed in the official event/conference program. The main subject of the oral presentation / poster presentation / speech at the approved conference must be on the topic of the Action and must acknowledge COST *** .
03. The participation of each applicant must be pre-approved by the Action MC.
* Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the North Republic of Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey
** An individual who is within a time span of up to 8 years from the date they obtained their PhD/doctorate (full-time equivalent).
*** Any COST Action communication tool (e.g. publications, PowerPoints, etc.) must integrate a reference to the COST programme and acknowledge the support of EU funding, as indicated in: https://www.cost.eu/visual-identity/. All outputs generated by a COST Action resulting from the Action’s scientific and networking activities must display the correct COST logo and its placement according to the visual identity guidelines as presented in the COST Brand Book (link to website page https://www.cost.eu/visual-identity/). In addition, there must be the EU emblem with accompanying sentence.
In ERNEST: Two ECI from ITC per Grant Period (May 1-April 30) will be enabled to attend well-established international research conferences and present their work in the form of a poster or oral presentation. For Grant Period 2 (2020/2021), a maximal amount of €1000 will be awarded per grant, which is NOT intended to cover all expenses. In order to attend their conference of choice, applicants must cover additional expenses from resources other than ERNEST.
02.
Evaluation and selection of applicants
From the Vademecum:
The evaluation of each received Conference Grant application is performed by the Action’s MC. The Action Chair (or Vice-Chair if the Action Chair is affiliated to the Grant Holder Institution) or an appointed Coordinator / Committee can assume this responsibility if the Action’s MC gives them the mandate to perform this task on their behalf.
The person responsible for performing the related tasks into e-COST is referred to as ITC Conference Grant Manager.
The evaluation criteria defined by the Action’s MC should be communicated to all potential applicants.
The selection of successful applicants must be done so in consideration of the scientific scope of the proposed participation and how it will support the Action in achieving its scientific objectives.
In ERNEST: Applications will be processed all year-round, conditional on the conference taking place within one Grant Period (May 1-April 30). Applications will be evaluated by a committee composed of the ITC Conference Grant Manager, the Chair, and the Vice-chair. Potential conflicts of interest are to be openly disclosed, and if one committee member is affected, she will be substituted by the Equality and Inclusiveness Officer.
Applicants should to apply for ITC conference grants well-ahead of the conference registration and abstract submission deadline. The applicants should get approval from the ERNEST committee first, then apply for their conference. Applicants are also encouraged to apply as early as possible, since grants will be awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Supporting documents should be submitted in .pdf format and are:
Scientific CV
- 1-3 pages
- including a publication list (if applicable)
Motivation letter *
- 1-2 pages
- including a publication list (if applicable)
Full documentation of conference costs
- including registration fees
- estimated hotel and meal costs (specifying if these costs are included in the conference fee)
- estimated travel costs (transportation, visa, etc.).
Other relevant documents
- Other relevant documents may be attached.
* The letter should explain the appropriateness and importance of the conference to the applicant’s research, and how the conference fits to the scope of ERNEST. Applicants must also describe what professional benefits they expect to receive by their participation in the conference in question. Applicants must confirm that they will present their work at the conference in the form of a poster or oral presentation, with the understanding that proof of such presentation will be expected before payment of the grant.
Note: Costs arising from additional vacation-time before or after the conference WILL NOT be considered as part of the ITC conference grant application.
03.
ITC Conference Grants – Financial Support
From the Vademecum:
A Conference Grant is a fixed financial contribution which takes into consideration the budget request of the applicant and the outcome of the evaluation of the application by the delegated person(s).
Conference Grants do not necessarily cover all the expenses related to participating in a given conference. A Conference Grant is a contribution to the overall travel, accommodation and meal expenses of the selected Grantee.
The calculation of the financial contribution for each Conference Grant must respect the following criteria:
2.500€
Up to Max.
160€/Day
Up to Max.
500€
Up to Max.
In addition, when meal and accommodation expenses are supported by the hosting institution as part of the provisions offered in their conference package, the amount for subsistence afforded to each eligible participant must be deducted from the Grant.
Documentary evidence of the conference fee amount must be provided by the applicant and in kind, must be archived by the Grant Holder along with the relevant administrative documents.
In ERNEST: For Grant Period 2 (May 1, 2020 – April 30, 2021), ITC Conference Grants will be awarded at the fixed sum of €1000, unless the applicant applies for a lower amount. The rules set forth in the Vademecum must be respected, and the applicant is responsible for providing documentation in compliance with these rules before the grant is payed.
04.
Approving ITC Conference Grants for payment
From the Vademecum:
The Grantee has 30 calendar days from the end date of the Conference in question to submit either a certificate of attendance or a report to the ITC Conference Grant Manager of the Action and the Action’s Grant Holder.