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Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs)

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM) are institutional visits aimed at supporting individual mobility, i.e. they support exchange visits between researchers from COST countries, allowing scientists to visit an institution or laboratory in another COST country or a partner country. They are aimed at fostering mutual collaboration and sharing new techniques and infrastructure that may not be available in other participants’ institutions or laboratories. STSMs are open for all researchers, but especially for young researchers at the start of their careers including PhD students. STSMs should serve the aims and objectives of CROSS-CASCADE.

The aim of CROSS-CASCADE is to understand how climate impacts spread across sectors and borders through trade, finance, migration, and other transmission chains. It brings together fragmented research communities to develop shared protocols, harmonized datasets, and cross-sectoral, multi-model climate impact studies. By linking biophysical impacts with their cascading effects, the project enables clearer attribution of recent climate impacts and more robust projections to support coherent adaptation policies.

An STSM grant is a fixed contribution based on the budget requested by the applicant and the evaluation of the application by the MC Chair, STSM Coordinator and Steering Committee. The grant will not necessarily cover all expenses; it is intended only as a contribution to the travel and subsistence costs of the participant.

Brief information:

  • Duration: min. 5 days
  • Max. 4000€ in total including costs for travel, accommodation, and meal expenses

How to apply?

In order to receive an STSM grant, the applicant must:

  1. Obtain the written agreement of both the host institution (letter of invitation) and the home institution (letter of support) before submitting an application. These can be official letters or emails.
  2. Complete the online application form at the following web address: https://e-services.cost.eu/stsm. In this official application through the COST website you will need to:
    • upload your curriculum vitae (CV
    • provide your bank account
    • provide a detailed working plan-motivation (max 2000 words) which should cover:
      • Aims and motivation (explain the scientific and/or other motivation for the STSM and what scientific and/or other outcomes you aim to accomplish with the STSM)
      • proposed contribution of the scientific objectives of the CROSS-CASCADE Cost Action
      • Techniques you may learn to use
      • Planning (steps you will take to achieve your proposal aim)
  3. Send the completed file as an email attachment together with the aupporting documents (listed below) to the STSM host institution, the STSM coordinators (Katarína Merganičová (k.merganicova@forim.sk), Maša Zorana Ostrogović Sever (masao@sumins.hr) and the MC Chair (Christopher Reyer, reyer@pik-potsdam.de).
  4. Besides the internal reporting for COST, successful applicants are expected to present their work during CROSS-CASCADE meetings and write a short summary of the STSM for the CROSS-CASCADE website

Documents to be sent:

The following information must be provided in one single PDF

  1. Applicant CV
  2. Motivation Letter
  3. Work Plan
  4. Projected Financial Budget
  5. Applicant's bank details
  6. Details of Host Institution
  7. Letter of support (Home institution)
  8. Letter of invitation (Host institution)

Application Assessment

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated by members of the CROSS-CASCADE Steering Group. The key criteria the committee will base the decisions on are:

  • The program will first and foremost support PhD students and Early Career Investigators (ECIs), i.e. post-doctoral researchers who are within a time span of up to 8 years from the date they obtained their PhD/doctorate
  • STSMs should be directly related to Working Groups (WGs) or Task Groups (TGs) of the Action
  • STSMs should create value for the Action
  • STSM outcomes should have a clear future needs and applicability
  • A maximum amount of 60€ for daily allowance and 300€ for travel is recommended. The amounts are to be adjusted to actual conditions. Particularly if more than 60€ is requested a detailed explanation should be provided

If your application does not comply with these criteria, it will be rejected without review

Acceptance

You will receive an email from the STSM coordinator (Katarína Merganičová/Maša Zorana Ostrogović Sever), in which you will be informed of the acceptance of your application. Shortly thereafter, a grant letter will automatically be sent to you by the e-cost system. Please follow the link provided in the email in order to accept the grant.

Post Mission Reporting

The successful applicant is required to submit a report and a confirmation letter from the host institution within 30 days after the end of the mission to the STSM coordinator (Katarína Merganičová/Maša Zorana Ostrogović Sever) and the MC Chair (Christopher Reyer). No payment will be made from the COST Office until this report is submitted and approved. Post mission reports should adhere to the following outline:

Title Page

  • serves as a brief summary of the mission that will be published on the CROSS-CASCADE website and should have the following:
  • Title, host and duration
  • Summary of the scientific aspects of the mission (abstract)
  • Summary of the mission’s contribution to CROSS-CASCADE (prospective collaborations and publication plans)

Main Report

  • Purpose of the visit
  • Description of the work carried out during the visit
  • Description of the main results obtained, this can also be a paper draft produced during the stay
  • Future collaboration with the host institution (if applicable)
  • Contribution to CROSS-CASCADE aims and objectives as well as WGs and TGs
  • Projected publications/articles/conference presentations resulting from the STSM
  • A rough financial summary, detailing how the grant was spent
  • Other comments (if any)

Annex to the Report

  • A confirmation letter from the host institute confirming the successful execution of the mission. This letter should include the duration of the STSM and a statement from a representative of the host institution confirming that they have read and approved the report.
  • Outlines/drafts of any manuscripts resulting from the STSM

Furthermore, the mission outcomes should be presented at a CROSS-CASCADE meeting (e.g. as a poster presentation) and a short report for the PROFOUND homepage should be produced.

STSM Financial Support

Payment of the Grant is subject to a STSM scientific report being approved on behalf of the Action’s MC by the STSM coordinator (Katarína Merganičová) and the MC Chair (Christopher Reyer). After the approval, the STSM is considered officially successfully finished and the applicant will receive the approved funding for the accomplished STSM.

It is possible to explore specific provisions to enable researchers from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) participating in the COST Action to receive 50% of their STSM Grant when they complete the first day of their STSM. The remaining 50% of the Grant is payable once the administrative requirements have been satisfied.

For further information please visit the action website or contact Katarína Merganičová (k.merganicova@forim.sk), Maša Zorana Ostrogović Sever (masao@sumins.hr), or Christopher Reyer, reyer@pik-potsdam.de).

Reports

Reports from previous STSMs can be seen here