ITC Conference Grants

What are ITC grants?

ITC Conference Grant is fixed financial contribution which targets researchers from groups affiliated with an institution in an ITC countries participating in the COST Action.

ITC countries are: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Turkey.

Applicants 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 presentation at the approved conference must be in relation to the objective of the Action and clearly express excellence of the applicant’s research. The COST support must be acknowledged.

The proposed conference to be attended must take place before November 30th, 2020. Attendance at European conferences is preferred. However, conferences held elsewhere can also be considered. Conferences, meetings and other activities organized by COST are not eligible.

Who can apply?

Any e-COST user who is a PhD student or an Early Career Investigator (ECI) and is affiliated with an institution located in an ITC1 country participating in the Action can submit an application request for an ITC Conference Grant. The application should be submitted at least 45 days before the conference start date. The applicant must be engaged in an official research programme as a PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow.

For full eligibility criteria please check the Vademecum available HERE.

What can you apply for?

A Conference Grant is a fixed financial contribution and 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 2500 EUR in total can be awarded to each successful applicant.
  • Up to a maximum of €160 per day can be awarded 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.

When can you apply?

Ideally, the application should be submitted at least 45 days before the conference start date.

How can you apply?

The applicant submit an ITC CG application by logging into e-COST and clicking on the ITC Conference Grants tab.

The application form contains the following sections:

  1. Applicant details.
  2. Conference Grant details (the attendance at the conference must start and end during the same Grant Period (GP). If a GP is not active, the applicant will not be able to submit an application.
  3. Bank details.
  4. Financial support.
  5. Supporting documents (2nd page of the application also reachable by clicking on button in the upper left corner).

When receiving a grant

  • As soon as the Conference Grants Coordinator approved the CG application, the GH is notified to send the Grant Letter notification. The applicant also receives a copy of the approval.
  • The Grant holder logs into e-cost and activates the application and can consult the approved application by using the different options available for each ITC CG as shown below.
  • The Grant Holder is able to modify the dates of the attendance to the conference, should this be required.
  • If the Grant Holder awards a Grant amount lower than the amount requested by the applicant, the distribution of the Grant would be updated accordingly (the amounts for travel and subsistence would be reduced).

After the conference

  • 1 day and 15 days after the end of the participation in the conference, the grantee receives a reminder to upload the scientific report. The deadline to submit the last supporting document is 30 days from the end of the participation in the conference.

The submission of the report is mandatory or the Grant is cancelled. Late submission, beyond the deadline, can also lead to the cancellation of the Grant.

For further details see the ITC guidebook.