Dissemination Conference Grant
A Dissemination Conference Grant supports an oral presentation by an Action Participant of the work of the Action in high-level conferences fully organized by a third party, i.e. not organized nor co-organized by the COST Action.
The Call for Dissemination Conference applications is open throughout the running Grant Period. The second Grant Period runs until 31/10/2024.
Who can apply
The Dissemination Conference Grant Applicant(s) are Action participants, i.e., Management Committee members, Management Committee Observers, Working Group members, ad-hoc contributors to a COST Action, with a primary affiliation to a legal entity located in a COST Full or Cooperating Member country, a COST Near Neighbour country or a European RTD Organisation (for details see Annex I – Level A: Country and Organisations table and https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA21105/). Dissemination Conference Grant Applicants shall be engaged in an official research programme as a PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow or employed by, or affiliated to, an institution, organisation or legal entity which has within its remit a clear association with performing research.
The Applicant shall make an oral presentation at the conference in question and shall be listed in the official event / conference programme. The main subject of the oral presentation at the approved conference shall be on the topic of the Action and shall acknowledge COST. The participation of each Applicant shall be pre-approved by the Action MC.
Criteria for awarding Dissemination Conference Grants
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. Dissemination Conference applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- The Dissemination Conference Grant serves for the exchange and acquisition of know-how;
- Scientific quality of the abstract submitted;
- Scientific quality of the Conference;
- Involvement of the candidate in the Blastocystis under One Health COST Action CA21105;
- Benefit for the Blastocystis under One Health COST Action CA21105;
- The application serves to significantly increase visibility of the Action in the research community, increase visibility of the presenter, attract additional participants and stakeholders and disseminate Action results to relevant end-users;
- The application should be financially justified, meaning that the estimate of the expenses is reasonable;
- No previous Dissemination Conference Grant by the same Applicant in the same Grant Period;
- No previous Dissemination Conference Grant by the same home laboratory in the same Grant Period to ensure a fair spread of opportunities across the network;
- Geographical distribution of Applicants across the Dissemination Conference Grant;
- Gender balance across the Dissemination Conference Grant.
How to apply
It is recommended to apply as soon as possible after notification of abstract acceptance.
Applicants must carefully read the Annotated Rules for COST Actions Annex 2. Application shall be submitted online in e-COST using dedicated forms available (for details see Grant Awarding User Guide) at least 21 days before the anticipated start of the Dissemination Conference. Applicants must upload their CV in their e-COST profile.
The content of the application shall include:
To be filled in e-COST:
- Title of the presentation;
- Conference title, date (within the active Grant Period, i.e., no overlap across two consecutive Grant Periods) and venue;
- Budget requested;
- Attendance Type (face to face or virtual).
To be uploaded to e-COST:
- Application form (template available on e-COST) describing: Alignment with the Science Communication Plan adopted by the COST Action and Expected impact to the COST Action;
- Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral presentation focused on promoting the scientific achievements and activities being performed by the COST Action;
- Acceptance (or invitation) letter from the conference organisers.A budgetary breakdown of the full Conference costs and the funds required for the participation to the Conference (with screen shots of travel booking web sites substantiating each expense, printouts or screenshots of the conference web site confirming the effective registration fee, list of meals included in the registration fee).
- CV of the Applicant with list of publications.
Upon approval of the application, the Grantee receives a Grant Letter from the Grant Holder stating the approved amount and the conditions for receiving the Grant.
Reporting and claim for payment of the Grant
Once the activity has ended, the Grantee submits the required reports and relevant documentation in e-COST within 30 days after the end date of the activity or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever date comes first, and claims the payment by submitting the report via e-COST.
The required report / documentation for claiming a Dissemination Conference Grant is:
- Report to the Action MC on the outcome of the presentation, contacts made and potential for future collaborations;
- The certificate of attendance;
- The programme of the conference or book of abstracts / proceedings indicating the oral presentation of the Grantee;
- Copy of the given presentation.
Please note that the COST Association can request additional information to substantiate the information contained within the documents submitted by Dissemination Grant Applicants and Grantees.
Dissemination Conference financial support
A Dissemination 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). A Dissemination Conference Grant is a contribution for travelling, accommodation and subsistence expenses, registration fee and overall effort of the Grantee. The maximum amount is 2000 EUR per Grant for face-to-face conferences or 500 EUR for virtual conferences.
Conference Grants do not necessarily cover all of the expenses related to participating in a given conference. 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 will be deducted from the Grant. Documentary evidence of the conference fee amount shall be provided by the Applicant. Multiple applications to several Actions by the same person to attend the same conference is strictly forbidden and may lead to the cancellation of the Grant.
Grants are paid by the Grant Holder Institution after the completion of the activity and approval of all required report / documentation.
The COST Association and the Grant Holder of the Action cannot be considered as being the Grantee’s employer. The Grantee shall make their own arrangements for all provisions related to personal security, health, taxation, social security, and pension matters.
Acknowledgements
Successful Dissemination Conference Grantees must properly acknowledge their COST financial support, received through the Blastocystis under One Health COST Action CA21105, in their published work (paper, proceeding) as well as on the presentation slides. To acknowledge COST please follow the available guidelines.
To acknowledge the Blastocystis under One Health COST Action, the logo has to be put on each presentation slide. Please add the following acknowledgement “Part of this work was supported by the COST Action CA21105 Blastocystis under One Health”. Send a copy of the article, abstract or other to blastocystis.cost@gmail.com.