The 6th Call, in the 3rd Grant Period, for Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) in the COST Action CA18111 PlantEd is now OPEN. This call remains open shortly, until 20 October 2022, during which the applications will be received continuously and as long as there is budget available.
Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are exchange visits (in a visit of a host organization located in a different country than the country of affiliation aimed at supporting individual mobility, strengthening existing networks and fostering new collaborations between COST Action Participants. A STSM should specifically contribute to the scientific objectives of the COST Action, whilst at the same time allowing
those partaking in the missions to learn new techniques, gain access to specific data, instruments and/or methods not available in their own institutes.
Objectives of the STSMs
- To consolidate existing networks and to create new ones among Action participants, through joint research, proposals, manuscripts etc.
- To facilitate transfer of knowledge and training in new techniques, research equipment etc.
- To provide opportunities for career development for Early Career Investigators (ECIs), through mentoring by qualified researchers in the Action.
Eligibility
This call is open to all Action participants affiliated with an institute in a COST Full or Cooperating Member country or from a COST Near Neighbour Country, but in case of competition beyond the available budget priority will be given to PhD students and Young Researchers and Innovators (up to 40 years old). Priority will in that case also be given to applicants who have not previously received any STSM grant. To be eligible, STSM applicants must be engaged in an official research program or be affiliated with an Institute or legal entity carrying out research.
Scientific topics
The experimental work plan in the STSM proposal must fit within the scope of any of the Action Working Groups:
- WG1 Technical platforms
- WG2 Impact assessment
- WG3 Policies and regulations
- WG4 Perceptions and opinions
- WG5 Integration and communication
Duration
The STSMs of this specific call must have a duration of minimum 5 days and maximum 30 days . Keep in mind that the STSM must finish not later than 20 Oct 2022 in order to submit and approve the report before the end of the Grant Period (31 Oct 2022).
Financial support
STSM grants do not necessarily cover all expenses related to undertaking a given mission. A STSM grant is a contribution to the overall travel, accommodation, and meal expenses of the grantee. The calculation of the financial contribution for each STSM must respect the following criteria:
- Up to a maximum of EUR 3 000 in total can be afforded to each successful STSM applicant in this call. The grant amount will depend on the duration of the STSM period. Normally we encourage longer stays, however given the short time left until the end of the Grant Period (31 Oct 2022) we this time encourage shorter.
- For shorter stays, up to a maximum of EUR 160 per day can be afforded for accommodation and meal expenses.
Following the COST rules, the grant is paid after the completion of the STSM and the scientific report approved . The grant will be paid directly to the bank account entered in the e-COST system .
How to apply
Grant applications require an active Action Grant Period in the eCOST portal (3 rd GP for this 5 th Call from 1 st November 2021 31 st October 2022).
The applicant must develop the proposal jointly with a research team at a Host Institute. An applicant may choose to contact any research team participating in the Action. A list of teams that have indicated an interest in hosting an STSM is presented at the end of this document.
To successfully submit the application, the applicant should follow the grant awarding user guide by the following link: https://www.cost.eu/uploads/2021/12/Grant Awarding userguide.pdf and complete the STSM supporting documents:
- STSM grant Application (based on e-COST template see page # 3 in the user guide) via the online tool http://www.cost.eu/stsm (after registering in the e-COST system ).
- A written agreement with the Host institution
- A motivation letter
- CV of the applicant
- A letter of suppo rt from the Home institution
- Financial data (amount for travel, subsistence etc.)
These documents should be uploaded on the official site.
Please remember that the applicant is responsible for obtaining an agreement with the Host institution, before submitting the application.
The applicant encodes a grant application by logging into e-COST and choose the Grant Applications tab. To encode a new application, the applicant chooses ‘Apply for grant’. The applicant can select the grant from the page ‘Apply for new grant’ and upload the required documents for the STSM Grant Application.
Evaluation of the proposals
As soon as the Grant application is submitted, the applicant, Action Chair, Vice Chair, Grant Evaluation Committee (GEC) Members and the Grant Awarding Coordinator (GAC) will receive the notification through e-COST accordingly.
The evaluation process of the applications is performed by the Grant Evaluation Committee. The evaluation criteria consider the scientific scope of the proposal and how the mission can support the Action in achieving its scientific objectives, as well as how the mission will contribute to the professional development of the applicant.
The Grant Awarding Coordinator (Action Chair and Grant Holder in absence of the GAC) is authorized to approve/reject the Grant application in e-COST system on behalf of the MC. In case of rejection, a justification needs to be encoded. The justification will be included in the e-notification to the applicant.
Approval of the Scientific Report
1 day and 10 days after the end of the grant, the grantee receives a reminder to upload the report. For this specific call, the Scientific report must be submitted within 5 days after the end date of the STSM (using template from page 3 of Grant Awarding User Guide following the instructions) and submit in the e-COST system. The failure to submit the Scientific Report within 5 days will effectively cancel the grant. The report should contain a description of the work carried out including the main results, and a letter of confirmation by the Host institution.
As soon as the Grant application is submitted, the Grant Awarding Coordinator is notified for approval. The Applicant, Action Chair and Vice Chair receive a copy of the notification by the e-COST system for approval as well. The Grant Awarding Coordinator is responsible for approving the Scientific report. Also Chair of the Action and Grant Holder have the right to approve the document in the absence of the Grant Awardin g Coordinator. Once the report is approved, the payment of the STSM grant will be carried out.
As soon as the Grant Awarding Coordinator approved the Grant application, the GH manager is notified and can send the Grant Letter notification. The Action Chair and Vice Chair also receive a copy of the e-notification. The GH manager follows the link provided in the notification and logs into e-cost.
Dissemination of the results obtained during STSMs activities is obligatory by the granted Applicant whether at the PlantED annual Conference, webinars, through publications, presentations at Conferences organised by third parties. For this kind of activities there is a possibility to apply for the dissemination Grants (look at the link “Annotated Rules for COST Actions”, page 94- 97). Please add the following
acknowledgment if the results from STSM visit will be published in a scientific journal or presented at any national or international conference (oral or poster):“This article/publication is based upon work from COST Action PlantEd (CA18111), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, www.cost.eu )“ or “This work was supported by the COST Association (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, www.cost.eu ) through the STSM grant in the COST Action PlantEd (CA18111).”
Contact
For more information and enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Grant Awarding Coordinator Dr Vladislava Galovic at vladislava.galovic@gmail.com
Links
Annotated Rules for COST Action
COST Action https://plantgenomeediting.eu
Potential STSM hosts
An applicant is free to contact any researcher of the Action in order to suggest and negotiate an STSM proposal. Also, researchers from NNC and IPC countries can serve as STSM hosts. Potential STSM hosts are welcome to present their research profiles in the dedicated page at the
Members only section of the PlantEd website. You can also find descriptions of excellent research by PlantEd participants in the Book of Abstracts from the 1 st conference.
