The selection criteria for participants eligible for reimbursement will comply with the COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy. The Action will encourage attendance by a diverse selection of participants, taking into consideration the following criteria:

1. Underrepresented groups, including persons with disabilities. Priority will be given to underrepresented groups, including persons with disabilities.
2. Gender balance.
3. Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs). Priority will be given to participants from ITCs. The current list of ITCs includes: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.
4. Early Career Investigators (ECIs). Priority will be given to PhD students and young postdoctoral researchers, followed by senior postdoctoral researchers and professors.
5. Acceptance of a communication at the Conference. This may include an oral presentation, poster presentation or abstract co-authorship. Only one presenter per communication will be considered for evaluation.
6. Additional attributes considered by workshop organisers, such as expertise in the field, appropriate core knowledge, willingness to participate, demonstrated interest and the positive impact of participation on the applicant’s future career.

Financial support through reimbursement does not necessarily cover all expenses. A fixed daily allowance of EUR 100 is available for participants.

In addition, travel reimbursement may be granted as follows:

• Up to a maximum of EUR 600 in total for each successful applicant from an ITC country.
• Up to a maximum of EUR 450 in total for each successful applicant from a non-ITC country.
• Up to a maximum of EUR 100 in total for each successful applicant from Serbia, for travel over a distance of 100 km.

Please note that locals from Novi Sad cannot claim travel reimbursement.

This financial contribution should be understood as financial aid intended to help applicants cover the expenses of their participation in the Workshop. It does not aim to cover 100% of the expenses.

When claiming costs in e-COST, please ensure that the amount claimed is accurate. Claims higher than the values indicated above may require modification, which could delay payment.

The selection committee, composed of the Action Chair, the Vice Chair, the Grant Awarding Coordinator, the Training Schools Coordinator, the Organising Committee members and the local organisers, will evaluate the applications shortly after the submission deadline.

All applicants will be informed of the evaluation results.

Successful applicants will first be informed by the Organising Committee. They will then receive an email from the Grant Holder, the Grant Letter Notification, confirming the official approval of the reimbursement, the granted budget and the payment request form, which must be completed after the Conference.

If the total amount requested by all applications within a call does not exceed the available budget, the applications will be handled by the selection committee.

If there are more applications than available funding, the following procedure will apply:

1. A list of all applications, including an informative summary, will be distributed to all members of the selection committee.
2. To guarantee a fair and objective evaluation, evaluators should have no affiliation with either the home or the host institution of the application in question.
3. All applications will be evaluated by two members of the selection committee.
4. The Grant Awarding Coordinator will distribute the proposals to the individual evaluators.
5. The evaluators will report their evaluations to the Grant Awarding Coordinator.
6. The Grant Awarding Coordinator will rank all evaluations and report the final result to the selection committee for discussion and approval.
7. Applicants will be informed of the decision reached.