Scientific missions: Guidelines - Eligibility and General Information

Who can apply?

You should be a researcher affiliated with an institution in one of the COST countries participating in Action CA15210 and you should be engaged in research that is relevant to kidney exchange.

Where can you visit?

You can visit either a host institution in one of the COST countries participating in Action CA15210 (other than your own) or one of the formally approved institutions in non-COST countries.

What can you apply for?

There are two types of STSM: the “standard” type, and the extended STSM, with the latter only being available for Early Career Investigators. (An Early Career Investigator is a researcher who completed their doctorate less than eight years ago.)

The standard STSM lasts between 5 and 90 days, and the extended STSM lasts between 91 and 180 days.
The maximum grant for a (standard) STSM is €2500, and for an Extended STSM is €3500.

Every STSM should last at least five full working days. Longer trips by early-stage researcher are particularly encouraged. Short trips incurring high travel expenses are discouraged. STSMs do not always cover all the costs: applications for trips partly funded from other sources are particularly welcome and will receive favourable consideration from the STSM Committee. Every applicant should try to secure matching funds from such alternative sources. The typical subsistence rate (covering accommodation and meals) that you may apply for is €60-€100 per day, and should be appropriate in view of typical accommodation costs in the region of the host institution (that is, STSMs are not subject to the much more generous rules for reimbursement for Management Committee meetings). Applicants should carefully check travel costs before applying. The amount you request for travel should be the amount you actually expect to spend (or less, in case you have additional funding from elsewhere), i.e., the intention is not to simply specify a generous upper bound. Although the standard STSM grant can be as much as €2500, we expect applications for trips of around a week to have a budget of roughly €1000.

STSMs can only be used to fund research visits. In particular, the following activities cannot be funded under this scheme:

  • conference trips;
  • participation in activities organised by COST Action CA15210, including summer schools.

Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria will be considered in the evaluation of applications:

  • relevance of the STSM to kidney exchange
  • potential of the STSM to contribute to ENCKEP COST Action objectives and deliverables
  • career stage of researcher (to ensure a good balance between early stage researchers and established researchers)
  • locations of origin and host institutions (to ensure a good balance between Inclusiveness Target Countries and non-ITCs)
  • overall cost per day of trip (since longer trips are encouraged)