Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM) aim to support individual mobility and strengthen the existing networks and fostering collaborations by allowing scientists to visit an institution in another participating COST country or an approved NNC or IPC institution.

STSMs in burden-eu should contribute to the scientific objectives of the COST Action. The main aim and objective of the Action is to integrate and strengthen capacity in burden of disease assessment across Europe and beyond. Please refer to the Action aims and objectives for further details.

STSMs in general aim to be a focus for researchers wishing to contribute to the tasks of Working Groups (WGs). For more information on the work of WGs, please contact the WG Leaders.

Eligibility criteria

All applications will be assessed the STSM coordinator. STSMs need to take place according to the following rules:

• Be a minimum duration of 5 days and a maximum duration of 90 days.
• Carried out in their entirety within a single grant period and within the Action's lifetime.
• The applicant’s home institution and the STSM host institution have to be participants of the burden-eu Action.

Eligibility of grantees will be based on the following criteria:

• Scientists (who have preferably not previously received a grant for a STSM) involved in the burden-eu Action, and either a) affiliated in a Participating COST Full/Cooperating Member, b) affiliated in a Near-Neighbor Country, or c) affiliated in an approved European RTD organization.
• Inclusiveness criteria (geography, gender, age) may be taken into consideration when evaluating STSM applications.
• Highest priority will be given to encourage participation of Young Researchers and Innovators (YRI) in the COST Action activities. An applicant can be considered as being an YRI when they are younger than 40.
• Priority will also be given to applicants coming from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC). The list of COST ITCs is available here.

For more details regarding the regulations related to STSM, please refer to the COST Annotated Rules.

Financial support

Financial support intends to provide a contribution for travelling, accommodation and subsistence expenses, implementation of the project, delivery of the report to the COST Action MC and overall effort.

The financial support is paid in the form of a grant, hence no invoices will be required. The maximum grant amount is 4000 EUR.

Final report of STSM

After the STSM is finished, the grantee is required to submit a short scientific report to the host institution and to the STSM Coordinator within 30 days from the end date of the activity, or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever date comes first. Download the STSM report template here.

Failure to submit the scientific report within 30 days will effectively cancel the grant. The STSM Coordinator is responsible for approving the scientific report and informing the Grant Holder that the STSM has been successfully accomplished. After receipt of the approval by email, the Grant Holder will execute the payment of the grant.

Please note that the reimbursement of STSM grantees will be done after the mission is over and the final report is submitted by the STSM grantee. However, STSMs grantees may request up to 50% pre-payment of the approved grant. This amount is subject to availability of funds and approval by the Grant Holder Institution. The request of pre- payment shall be submitted to the Grant Holder Manager..

The final report will be uploaded to the burden-eu webpage.

How to apply for an STSM

1. All applicants must carefully read the funding and eligibility rules detailed in the COST Annotated Rules.

2. All applicants must register for an e-COST profile at https://e-services.cost.eu — adding their bank account details and a recent CV to their profile.

3. All applicants must obtain a letter of invitation or email from the Host institution confirming that they can undertake the STSM on the given dates prior to submitting an application.

4. Applications need to be submitted through e-COST via https://e-services.cost.eu/activity/grants

The following information will need to be filled in:

• Title
• Start and end date (within the active Grant Period, i.e. no overlap across two consecutive Grant Periods)
• Budget requested by the applicant
• Information about the host institution and contact person

The following documents will need to be uploaded:

• Application form (template available on e-COST) describing: Goals, description of the work to be carried out by the applicant, expected outcomes and description of the contribution to the Action MoU objectives; download the template here
• Confirmation of the host on the agreement from the host institution in receiving the applicant

Detailed instructions on how to submit your application can be found in the Grant Application user guide.

5. The application will be assessed by the Grant Awarding Coordinator (Tina Lesnik: ) and the Action Chair (Brecht Devleesschauwer: ) against the perceived contribution that the proposed visit will make against the scientific objectives outlined in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

6. The applicant will be formally notified of the outcome of their STSM application by the Grant Awarding Coordinator no more than 4 weeks after the application was received.

7. Successful applicants need to complete and submit a STSM report, within 30 days from the end date of the activity, or 15 days after the end of the Grant Period, whichever date comes first.

Please note that COST can request additional information to substantiate the information contained within the documents submitted by STSM applicants.

Grant Awarding Coordinator

Grant Awarding Coordinator

Dr Tina Lesnik
National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

Documents

STSM application form

STSM report template

Grant Application user guide

COST annotated rules

Grant Reports