Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) Conference Grants are open to Young Researchers and Innovators from participating ITCs or NNCs (Near Neighbour Countries) to attend international conferences on the MCMH related topics that are not specifically organised by the COST Action.

The main goal of this COST Action networking tool is to encourage young researchers from ITCs and NNCs, which face the greatest obstacles in their work because of unequal access to knowledge infrastructures, funding and resources.

Detailed information on participants’ eligibility, evaluation and selection, financial support, and grant payment procedures can be found in COST Action ITC Conference Grants User Guide [link], and Section 9 of the COST Vademecum [link].

Conference Grants are exclusively reserved for Young Researchers and Innovators (YRI), that is individuals under 40 years old, who are affiliated to a legal entity in an ITC or a NNC participating in the Action.

The ITCs are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, North Macedonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey.

The NNCs are: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Russia, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine (The designation of Kosovo is without prejudice to position on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.)

Please note that the applicants must be registered participants of MCMH-EU.

The applicant must make an oral/poster presentation at the conference in question and must be listed in the official conference programme. The main subject of the presentation at the approved conference must be on the topic of the Action and must acknowledge COST support.

Accordingly, if the grant is approved, you are kindly requested to acknowledge the support provided by COST Association and COST Action 18137, according to instructions from the Section 10 of the COST Vademecum [link]. COST Association and COST Action 18137 logos can be downloaded here and here.

A Conference Grant is a fixed financial contribution to the overall travel, accommodation and meal expenses, and does not necessarily cover all the expenses related to participating in the conference. Attendance at European conferences is preferred. However, conferences held elsewhere can also be considered.

The sum of EUR 9 000 in total will be afforded to successful applicants, according to following conditions:

– Up to a maximum of EUR 1. 500 for for face to face events, including Conference Fees;

– Up to a maximum of EUR 500 for Virtual Conferences fees.

For face to face events, the calculation of the financial contribution for each Conference Grant respect the following criteria:

– Up to a maximum of EUR 160 per day can be afforded 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.

ITC Conference Grants can be combined with other funding sources, and these must be acknowledged in the application. 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 must be deducted from the Grant. Documentary evidence of the conference fee amount must be provided by the applicant.

In the light of the current situation with Covid-19 pandemic, online events and strict deadlines for conference registration fees, it has been opted to have a continuously open call for ITC grants (until the allocated funds are fully spent).

List of events of interest for the COST Action 18137 in 2022:

• EAHN2022 7th International Meeting (Madrid, Spain, 15-19 June 2022)
  https://eahn2022conference.aq.upm.es/
• 17th International Docomomo Conference (Valencia, Spain, 6-9 September 2022)
  http://docomomo2022.webs.upv.es/
• 15th Conference of the European Association of Urban History (Antwerp, Belgium, 31 August – 3 September 2022)
  https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/conferences/eauh2022/

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

Applications can be submitted from February 1st until August 1st 2022 (open call), for conferences occurring no later than September 15th, 2022. All ITC CG activities must occur in their entirety until October 31st 2022.

Applicants need to have their e-COST profile at https://e-services.cost.eu/ and submit their application via the, Create Conference Grant Request“.

The list of supporting documents to be submitted for the evaluation are:

– the submitted ITC CG application form;
– a full CV (including a list of academic publications – if applicable);
– a short description of involvement in the COST Action;
– acceptance letter/e-mail confirmation from the conference organisers (confirming either your speaking slot or your poster presentation);
– a copy of the abstract or poster submitted to the conference.

If the application is pre-approved by the ITC Conference Grants Committee, the Coordinator will notify the Grant Holder, who will send the Grant Letter to the applicant.

After the Conference, within 30 days, the applicant submits either a scientific report or a certificate of attendance to the ITC Conference Grant Manager of the Action and the Action’s Grant Holder. The report should contain:

– activities during your attendance at the conference;
– impact on your research and future collaborations (if applicable).

Please note that the failure to submit the scientific report or the certificate of attendance in time will effectively cancel the grant.

If all the requirements are met by the applicant, ITC Conference Grants Coordinator (based on the recommendation by the Committee) will approve the report. Written approval of the submitted scientific report must be sent to the Grant Holder for archiving purposes and the Grant Holder executes payment to the successful applicant.

The selection of successful applicants is done so in consideration of the scientific scope of the proposed participation and how it will support the Action in achieving its scientific objectives, outlined in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) [link].

There will be special considerations made with respect to supporting COST policies on promoting gender balance and broadening geographical inclusiveness.

The evaluation procedure will be managed by the ICT CG Committee of COST Action 18137. The ITC Conference Grants Coordinator is Dr Marija Milinković [marija.milinkovic@arh.bg.ac.rs].