CALL FOR INCLUSIVENESS TARGET COUNTRIES’ (ITC) CONFERENCE GRANTS

1. IMPORTANT DATES

Deadline for applications: on a rolling basis

Grant period: from 1 November 2025 to 25 October 2026

2. OVERVIEW

ITC conference grants aim to support early career researchers and PhD students from participating ITC and NNC countries to attend international scientific conferences on the topic of the CoREx project, which are not organized by the COST Action (please see the COST Annotated Rules, pp. 95-103). ITC conference grants should contribute to the scientific objectives of CoREx which are outlined in detail in the Memorandum of Understanding.

3. ELIGIBILITY

ITC grants are reserved exclusively for researchers:

1) under 40 years, affiliated with an Inclusiveness Target Country (ITC) or a Near Neighbour Country (NNC);

2) whose abstract presenting their own work on a topic relevant to the CoREx has been accepted by a recognized scientific conference;

3) who created an eCOST account (registered for eCOST at https://www.cost.eu/) and have been accepted by any of the working groups of CoREx.

Inclusiveness Target Countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion Island and Saint-Martin (France), Azores and Madeira (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain), Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Near Neighbour Countries: Algeria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, the Faroe Islands, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia.

ITC grants are intended for researchers contributing actively to any of the working groups within the CoREx project. The aim of any ITC conference grant shall be to contribute to the scientific objectives of CoREx.

4. GRANT

An ITC Grant is a fixed contribution up to maximum 1.500 EUR for the conference participation including travel, accommodation and meal expenses. The CoREx Grant Committee decides on the final financial contribution, taking into consideration available resources, the budget requested, the duration and the location of the conference. Up to a maximum of 160 EUR per day can be spent on accommodation and meal expenses, and up to 500 EUR can be claimed for the conference fees. The awarded grant will be paid only after the conference has taken place.

5. APPLICATION

Please read the COST Annotated Rules, Grant Awarding User Guide before applying.

The ITC application procedure will be conducted online via the e-COST platform. The following documents are required:

• ITC Application Form filled in on e-COST

• CV (max. 3 pages)

• Copy of the abstract of the accepted presentation (and a full paper if available)

• Acceptance letter from the conference organisers

• Brief motivation letter indicating the relevance of the conference attendance to any of the CoREx working groups and budget outline.

6. EVALUATION

The ITC applications are evaluated by the Grant Committee including Grant Awarding Coordinator, Action Chair and Action Vice Chair. The Grant Committee evaluates ITC applications soon after application. The selection of ITC applications is based on the scientific quality of the proposed ITC and, most importantly, how the ITC grant contributes to any of the four working groups in achieving the scientific objectives of CoREx. The evaluation will take

into consideration whether applicants have received an ITC grant from CoREx before and will give lower priority to such applications.

Once the selection process is complete, the applicant receives a formal notification through e-COST informing him/her about the outcomes of the evaluation process. If the application is funded, the applicant receives a Grant Letter stating the approved amount and the conditions

for receiving the Grant.

7. REPORTING AND GRANT PAYMENT

After the completion of the conference, within 30 days, the ITC grantee is required to submit a certificate of attendance in the conference and a presentation with acknowledgement of CoREx. Upon approval by the Grant Awarding Coordinator, the grant will be processed and paid directly to the grantee.

CONTACT

Grant Awarding Coordinator – Tiina Randma-Liiv, tiina.randma-liiv@taltech.ee