As of 1 November 2024, COST Actions offer 2 different conference grants: the ITC Conference Grant and the YRI conference grant.
What is an ITC Conference Grant?
ITC Conference grant funds an oral presentation of their own work within the scope of the Action by an Action Participant affiliated to a legal entity located in an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC) or a Near Neighbour Country (NNC) in a high-level conference
fully organized by a third party, i.e. not organized nor co-organized by the COST Action.
The current list of ITCs and NNCs include:
Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Faroe Islands, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.
What is a YRI Conference Grant?
YRI Conference grant funds a presentation (poster/oral presentation) of their own work by a Young Researcher and
Innovator (YRI) (That is anyone below the age of 40) in a high-level conference fully organized by a third party, i.e. not organized nor co-organized by the
COST Action.
Financial support
A Conference Grant is a contribution to the overall travel, accommodation, and meal expenses of the selected Grantee, i.e., not all expenses are necessarily covered by the Grant. During Grant Agreement Period 3, the Management Committee of COST Action CA21112 has allocated in total 5000€ for Conference Grants.
Grantees must make their own arrangements for all provisions related to personal security, health, taxation, social security, and pension matters.
The amount granted for each Conference Grant should be calculated by the applicant according to the conference fees and travel and daily allowances as per COST Annotated Rules.
Conditions and obligations for the awardees
The applicant must make an oral/poster presentation at the conference in question, and it must be listed in the official event/conference program.
The main subject of the oral presentation / poster presentation at the approved conference should be related with the topic of the OFF-SOURCE Cost Action.
Each Grantee, during the presentation, must introduce OFF-SOURCE Cost Action (general overview) and must acknowledge COST. Pre-defined slides, ready to use, will be provided to the Grantee.
No more than one application from an applicant per grant period.
The Grantee has 30 days from the end date of the Conference in question to submit a scientific report (as described in the Grant Awarding user guide).
There is a number of documents the Grantee must upload in the e-COST system that are listed in the COST Rules, pages 99-100.
How to apply?
The applicant is responsible for choosing the Conference and organizing the application process. All applicants must register for an e-COST profile at www.e-services.cost.eu, fill in their profile (including bank details and CV), and then complete the online application form (as described in the Grant Awarding user guide). The following supporting documentation will also have to be uploaded:
- Conference Grant financial support calculation and; supporting documents
- Acceptance letter from the conference organizers;
- Explanation of the involvement in OFF-SOURCE COST Action
- Copy of the abstract or poster.
Evaluation criteria
The proposals will be considered eligible, evaluated, and approved based on the following criteria:
- Quality of the oral/poster presentation of the applicant (up to 17 points):
- How will this presentation impact the scientific scope of the action? (up to 5 points);
- Innovative aspects of the presentation in respect to the action scope (e.g., interaction among countries, new knowhow inputs related to OFF-SOURCE targets, interdisciplinarity)? (up to 5 points):
- Feasibility to meet the proposed objectives within the OFF-SOURCE frame. (up to 5 points);
- How will the activity have a positive impact on the applicant’s career? (up to 2 point).
- Qualification of the applicant (up to 15 points):
- CV of the applicant (up to 10 points);
- Publication list, with preference for themes within the action scope. (up to 5 points).
- Additionally, priority will be given to STSMs participants, as well as to have a balanced gender representation.
