ITC Conference grants: a COST Action Networking Tool

ITC Conference grants: a COST Action Networking Tool (ITC-CG)

Conference grants help PhD students and early-career investigators from participating Inclusiveness Target Countries attend international science and technology related conferences that are not specifically organised by a COST Action.

Conference Grants - Eligibility

The following eligibility criteria applies:

1. Conference Grants are exclusively reserved for PhD students and ECI’s with a primary affiliation in an institution located in an ITC.
2. The applicant must make an oral/poster presentation at the conference in question and must be listed in the official event/conference programme. 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 (see Section 9 of Cost Vademecum).
3. The participation of each applicant must be pre-approved by the Action MC. Attendance at European conferences is preferred. However, conferences held elsewhere can also be considered.

Additional Rules (Decision is made by Committee of Chair, Vice-chair and Josep Perrelo as WG 6 chair):

• No more than one ITC grants per individual over the course of one Grant Period
• Clear link to Citizen Science: either research on citizen science or using citizen science as the research method (including an explanation of how citizens/participants were involved in the research process).
• Specific link to one or more of the working groups within the Action.

Evaluation and Selection of Applicants

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  this responsibility if the Action’s MC gives them the mandate to perform this task on their behalf. 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 mission and how the mission can support the Action in achieving its scientific objectives.

Conference Grants - Financial Support

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 of 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:

• Up to a maximum of EUR 2 500 in total can be afforded to each successful applicant;
• Up to a maximum of EUR 160 per day can be afforded for accommodation and meal expenses.
• Up to a maximum of EUR 500 can be claimed for the conference fees to be incurred by the selected Grantee.

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.

Approving Conference Grants for Payment

The Grantee has 30 calendar days from the end date of the Conference in question to submit a scientific report to the Action Chair (or Vice-Chair if the Action Chair is affiliated to the Grant Holder Institution) and the Action’s Grant Holder. Payment of the Grant is subject to the submitted scientific report being approved by the Action Chair (or Vice-Chair if the Action Chair is affiliated to the Grant Holder Institution). Written approval of the submitted scientific report must be sent to the Grant Holder for archiving purposes.

Documents for Download

• Cost Action Networking Tool: Conference Grants - User Guide 
• the COST Vademecum