Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) Conference

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Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) Conference

ITC Conference Grants consist of support for a presentation (poster / oral) of their own work given by a Young Researcher under the age of 40 affiliated in an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC) / Near Neighbour Country (NNC) at a high-level conference fully organized by a third party, i.e. not organized nor co-organized by the COST Action.

The Call for ITC Conference applications is open throughout the running Grant Period. The second Grant Period runs until 31/10/2024.

Who can apply

The ITC Conference Grant Applicant(s) are Young Researchers under the age of 40 affiliated in an ITC or NNC (for details see Annex I – Level A: Country and Organisations table and https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA21105/).  

The Applicant shall make an oral / poster presentation at the conference in question and shall be listed in the official event / conference programme. The main subject of the oral presentation / poster 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 ITC 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. ITC Conference applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • The ITC Conference Grant serves for the exchange and acquisition of know-how;
  • Usefulness of the Conference selected to help to develop the career of the Applicant;
  • Scientific quality of the abstract submitted;
  • 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 the goal of fostering collaboration in the field of Blastocystis under One Health COST Action CA21105, in particular, establishing new scientific contacts;
  • The application should be financially justified, meaning that the estimate of the expenses is reasonable;
  • No previous ITC Conference Grant by the same Applicant;
  • No previous ITC Conference Grant application 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 ITC Conference Grant;
  • Gender balance across the ITC 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. Applications shall be submitted online in e-COST using the dedicated forms available (for details see Grant Awarding User Guide) at least 21 days before the anticipated start of the ITC Conference. Applicants must upload their CV in their e-COST profile.

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 country;
  • Budget requested;
  • Attendance Type (face to face or virtual).

To be uploaded to e-COST:

  • Application form (template available on e-COST) describing: Relevance of the conference topic to the Action and Motivation describing the potential for impact on the Applicant’s career;
  • Copy of the abstract of the accepted oral or poster presentation;
  • Acceptance letter from the conference organisers;
  • Recommendation letter from the supervisor of the candidate;
  • 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.

Candidates are to keep one complete copy of the entire application with original signatures in paper form.

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 Conference 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 ITC Conference Grant is:

  • Report to the Action MC on the outcome of the presentation of the accepted contribution, in terms of Grantee’s visibility, including the establishment of new contacts for future collaborations;
  • The certificate of attendance;
  • The programme of the conference or book of abstracts / proceedings indicating the presentation (oral or poster) of the Grantee;
  • Copy of the given presentation (oral or poster).

Please note that the COST Association can request additional information to substantiate the information contained within the documents submitted by ITC Grant Applicants and Grantees.

ITC Conference 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). An ITC Conference Grant is a contribution for travelling, accommodation and subsistence expenses, registration fee, printing of scientific poster 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. Grantees shall make their own arrangements for all provisions related to personal security, health, taxation, social security, and pension matters.

Acknowledgements

Successful ITC 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 / poster. 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 / poster.

Please add the following acknowledgement “Part of this work was supported by the COST Action CA21105 OneHealthBlastocystis”. Send a copy of the article, abstract or other to blastocystis.cost@gmail.com.