The VNS manager is the person appointed by the MC as VNS grantee. The VNS manager shall develop, among others, a virtual networking strategy, coordinate the call for expression of interest for the Virtual Mobility Grants, approve the VM application(s) on behalf of the MC and draft a report to be approved by the MC.
Who can apply?
- Applicant(s) are Action participants with a primary affiliation to an institution located in a COST Full or Cooperating Member country or MC Observers from a COST Near Neighbour Country.
- The applicant(s) shall be prepared to develop a virtual networking strategy, coordinate the call for expression of interest for the Virtual Mobility Grants and draft at the end of the grant period a report to be approved by the MC
The selection of successful grantee (Grant: EUR 4 000 maximum, reallocated from the existing budget) shall be based on contributions to the overall objectives of the Action and the implementation of the COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy. The application shall be submitted in e-COST and include the following information:
- A description of how the COST Action can benefit from developing virtual networking activities, with a focus on:
- Progress towards the MoU objectives and deliverables.
- COST Excellence and inclusiveness Policy, specially towards the support of researchers in COST Inclusiveness Target Countries.
- Stakeholder engagement and promoting the participation of researchers from NNC and IPC (COST Global Networking).
- A proposal for the strategy outline on virtual networking, including an approach for coordinating Virtual Mobility Grants (where relevant) by:
- Opening calls and managing the evaluation process for awarding the Virtual Mobility Grants.
- Supporting and advising beneficiaries of the Virtual Mobility Grant
- Plan on coordinating and reporting any planned COST Action events that will be held online (e.g. Annual Meeting or Conference) and how they fit the overall Action strategy
- Application: http://www.cost.eu/virtual_networking_support_grant_application
For more information about the type of activities that can be covered with these new grants, application and reporting process can be found in the Vademecum (version Apr 2021), the FAQ document and in the e-cost step-by step user guide.
Criteria of selection:
- Early Carrier Investigator (20%)
- Gender Balance (20%)
- VNT plan_ Application (60%).
Deadline of applications: 15/6/2021
