NEW CALL OPEN

All STSM activities must occur in their entirety within October 2022.

Purpose of a Short-Term Scientific Mission (STSM)

STSMs facilitate researchers and nature management practitioners from COST Countries participating in COST Action CA18134 to go to an institution, organisation or research centre in another participating COST Country or accepted International Partner Country (IPC) / Near Neighbour Country (NNC) institution, to foster collaboration and to perform empirical research.

Participation of “Early Career Investigators” (ECI) in STSMs is particularly encouraged. ECI is considered any researcher or innovator under 40 years of age.

PhD students are also eligible to partake in STSMs.

Eligibility

Individuals affiliated to a legal entity in a COST Full/Cooperating Member, in an European RTD, or in a Near Neighbour Country (NNC) institution can apply for a STSM.

The table below illustrates the possible scenarios for eligible STSM applicants:

Financial Support

The financial support on offer is a contribution to the overall expenses incurred during the STSM and may not necessarily cover all of the associated outgoings.

The following funding conditions apply and must be respected:

• up to a maximum of EUR 4000 in total can be afforded to each successful STSM applicant;
• STSM activities must occur in their entirety within the dates specified in this call;
• No minimum number of days required

Financial support is limited to cover travel, accommodation and meal expenses and is paid in the form of a Grant after the STSM has taken place.

The amounts granted for each individual STSM will be determined during the evaluation process by the formally appointed STSM Committee. The selection of applicants is based on the scientific scope or application in nature conservation of the STSM application, which must clearly compliment the overall objectives of the Action (but see also Annex to this document).

How to apply for an STSM

Interested researchers can apply anytime by following the directions provided below and submitting their electronic application and supporting documents via the e-COST platform.

For more information, please contact: STSM Coordinator Joachim Mergeay (joachim.mergeay@inbo.be).

There is no deadline. We switched to an open call for all participants.

Application Process

1. All applicants must carefully read the funding rules of the COST Annotated Rules. This document is available HERE (ANNEX 2).
2. All applicants must register for an e-COST profile at https://e-services.cost.eu/ - adding their bank account details to their profile.
3. Applicants are encouraged to contact respective Working Group(s) leader(s) prior to submitting their application to ensure that proposed outcome of their STSM agrees with the objectives of this action.
4. All applicants must complete, submit and download their STSM applications online within their e- COST profile at: https://e-services.cost.eu/stsm/apply/new.
5. All applicants must send their submitted STSM application form and the relevant supporting documents through the e-COST platform https://e-services.cost.eu/user/login for evaluation by the STSM Committee. The list of supporting documents to be submitted for the evaluation are:
   • Letter of invitation to the applicant from a senior researcher affiliated to the Host institution.
   • A letter of support from the Home Institution.
   • The submitted STSM application form (downloadable when the online application is submitted - see point 4 above). Applicants are kindly asked to clearly state which workgroup(s) will their STSM contribute to, in order to facilitate the evaluation process.
   • A motivation letter including an overview of the proposed activities that will be performed which must contain a plan of work for the visit highlighting the proposed contribution to the scientific objectives of the respective COST Action.
   • A Full C.V. (including a list of academic publications – if applicable).
6. The application will then be assessed by the formally delegated STSM Committee against the perceived contribution that the proposed visit will make against the scientific objectives outlined in the Action’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of G-BIKE (but see also Annex to this document).
7. STSM Committee members: Joachim Mergeay (Belgium), Mike Bruford (UK, WG2), Piotr Robakowski (PL: WG3), Carles Vila (ES; WG2, WG4), Gernot Segelbacher (DE; WG4) and Eleni Abraham (EL; WG1, WG3) with substitutes Alejandro Valdecantos (ES; WG3), Marjana Westergren (SL; WG1), and Belma Kalamujic (WP5).
8. The applicant will be formally notified of the outcome of their STSM application by the STSM Coordinator Joachim Mergeay after 10 working days after the application arrival.
9. Within 30 days from the end date of the STSM, the successful applicant must submit a scientific report to the Host institution and to the STSM Coordinator (through the e-COST platform). The applicant is also responsible for acquiring an official acceptance letter / Email confirmation of acceptance from a senior Researcher affiliated to the Host institution formally accepting the scientific report. This formal acceptance of the scientific report has to be also sent to the STSM Coordinator. Failure to submit the scientific report within 30 days from the end date of the STSM will effectively cancel the Grant.

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

STSM evaluation criteria for G-BIKE

Each STSM proposal will be evaluated according to the following five criteria:

• Scientific quality
• Connection to the objectives of G-BIKE (see MoU)
• Awaited output / chance for publication
• Involvement of inclusiveness target countries (ITCs)
• Gender balance

It is further aimed to support STSMs of different WG topics.

At least the number of MC-decided STSMs per Granting Period will be accepted in a given Granting Period.

Over the whole Action lifetime, at least 50% of all STSMs will be offered to researchers travelling from an ITC and a fair country and gender balance is anticipated.

Given the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, preference will be given to proposals that focus on collaborations with a minimum of laboratory work. Candidates are requested to carefully check the COVID19 rules in the host institute and host country, and shortly describe how they will adapt to these. In case some critical phase of the work cannot be performed due to changes in risk assessment, we advise to provide a plan B for aspects of the STSM that are more prone to risks of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and clearly mention alternative plans in the proposal.