STSM Visits

STSM CALL: exchange visits to occur by 30 September 2022.

Proposals from those who have attended a MW-Gaia Workshop or School are especially welcome.

STSM Overview

Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) support individual mobility, consolidation of existing networks, and fostering new collaborations. They allow scientists to visit institutions or laboratories in other Participating COST Countries, as well as institutions in approved Near-Neighbour Countries (NNCs), European RTD Organisations (e.g. ESO) or approved International Partner Countries (IPCs).

STSMs need to contribute to the scientific objectives of the COST Action, simultaneously allowing scientists to learn new techniques or gain access to specific instruments or methods not available at their home institutions. All Action participants, particularly Early-Career Investigators (ECIs, less than 8 years from the PhD degree) may apply for STSM funding.

STSM applications can be submitted continuously, although they will only be assessed at fixed collection points. The STSMs need to be completed by the end of September 2022.

The STSM cannot take place before its formal approval.

Please contact the STSM coordinator Karri Muinonen, if you have questions (see contact us).

STSM Rules and Procedures

STSMs need to take place according to the following rules:

  • the minimum duration is 5 days, including travel
  • the entire mission needs to be carried out within a single MW-Gaia grant period (current Grant Period 3 to end Oct 2022) although the visit should be completed by the end of September 2022, and within the lifetime of the MW-Gaia Action.
The following funding conditions apply:
  • up to a max of 4000 EUR in total can be afforded to each successful STSM applicant;
The STSM Coordinator can consider and can approve differentiated country rates to cover accommodation and meal expenses based on the perceived cost of living in the host country.

STSM awards may be combined with other funding sources, but these must be acknowledged in the application

For more details regarding the STSM regulations, please see the COST Rules Annex 2


For information on COST and Covid-19 - see https://www.cost.eu/who-we-are/about-cost/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-actions/.

Because of the ongoing issues concerning travel restrictions, that can change at short notice, cancellation insurance is recommended (this is an eligible expense).

Eligibility

Please check your eligibility in Annex 2 of the COST Rules.

Application Procedure

After verifying your eligibility, apply by following this two stage application procedure:

  • Fill in the initial online application form (https://e-services.cost.eu/stsm)
    • If you do not already have an e-COST account you will need to create one before you can complete the online application. Creating an account is a one-off process.
    • You will receive an acknowledgement of submission receipt from COST. Attach the receipt provided by COST to your application;
  • Submit the application as an attachment to an e-mail message, together with the necessary supporting documents, to the STSM coordinator. The application must not exceed 3 pages including references, using the recommended Arial font, size 11pt. It should contain (describe explicitly how your application fulfills the evaluation criteria):
    • Motivation.
    • Introduction of your own preliminary work leading up to the STSM, including related publications (if applicable).
    • Scientific goal, relating it to your own career (e.g., postdoctoral research, PhD thesis).
    • Full work plan, justifying the duration of your stay. Describe your studies, research, and training, when applicable, and state the WGs which the application's topic belongs to, as well as the expected outcomes (e.g., publications, methods, data).
    • Contact details of your home institution and of the receiving institution, including the name, postal address, and e-mail address of your STSM host.
    • Justification for the selection of the host institution.
    • Cost estimate and justification, including expenses for travel, accommodation, and subsistence. Declaration of other sources of funding or confirmation that no other sources are available.
  • Supporting documents required:
    • Written agreement from the STSM host institution (generally this letter is written by the person hosting the STSM).
    • Written support statement from the superior (e.g., group leader) of the applicant if the applicant is an ECI.
    • Curriculum Vitae.
The STSM coordinator will confirm the receipt of the proposal via e-mail.

The application process is open during the Action (see the specific rules above). Currently (Jan 2022) applications will be evaluated on a monthly basis during the the ongoing pandemic. The STSM cannot take place before its formal approval and it has to take place within a single grant period. Within each grant period, the STSMs need to be completed preferably by the end of September 2022.

Evaluation and Grant Procedure

After the STSM coordinator receives the application, the procedure is as follows:

  1. The STSM coordinator organises the assessment of the application. The STSM panel assesses the proposal (see the STSM Evaluation Criteria below), potentially seeking expert impartial advice to aid the decision.
    • Concise feedback will be provided to unsuccessful applicants.
    • The following summary information about STSM applications will be made available to all or some of the Action MC, participants, and the public:
      • List of approved applications will be available on the Action website.
      • One master database maintained by the STSM coordinator including evaluation scores and title, accessible to the MC members on a password-protected page.
    • Application statistics will be discussed at the MC meetings and provided to the Action participants.
    • Applicants can opt to request for an embargo on the information included their application. The request must come with a justification.
  2. If the application is approved by the STSM panel, the STSM coordinator sends the application and its approval to the Grant Holder & Action Chair for final verification.
  3. The Grant Holder sends the applicant a grant letter to sign and return: The STSM cannot start before the letter has been signed and returned to the Grant Holder.
  4. After the STSM visit has taken place, the applicant needs to submit a scientific report to the host and the STSM coordinator within 30 days of the end of the trip. The report needs to describe the purpose of the mission, description of work carried out, description of main results, future collaborations with the host (if applicable), publications estimated to result from the mission (if applicable), and the confirmation of the mission success by the host.
  5. STSM coordinator approves the final report and sends the approval to the Grant Holder.
  6. The Grant Holder executes the payment to the applicant.

Evaluation Criteria

  1. Scientific quality (e.g., proposed outcome), with a normalized weight of 0.4.
  2. Feasibility of the proposed project (e.g., suitable host, equipment, technique), with a weight of 0.4.
  3. Matching the objectives and deliverables of the Action (e.g., inclusiveness), with a weight of 0.2.
The following scores will be given for each of the 3 criteria above:
1 – Not competitive, 2 – Good, 3 – Excellent, 4 - Outstanding

The final score will be the weighted sum of the 3 individual scores. A funding threshold will be set by the STSM panel. The STSM panel makes its decision within two weeks after the end of the call.

The evaluators may consider the following aspects to establish the scores:
  • Does the mission align with the objectives of the action?
  • Does the applicant have the competence to make the mission successful in the timeframe planned?
  • Is the host institute suitable for the mission?
  • Is the mission inclusive (ITCs/ECIs) and is gender balance promoted? Reflect the assessment in the score of criterion 3.
  • Does the applicant have a proper standing in order to contribute to the feasibility (criterion 2) and objectives of the Action (criterion 3)?

Reporting Rules and Reimbursement

After the mission is completed, the grantee is required to submit a short scientific report to the host institution and to the STSM coordinator for approval within 30 days after the end date of the mission. For the specific content of the report, please see the COST Rules. The failure to submit the report within 30 days will effectively cancel the grant.

Payment of the Grant is subject to a STSM scientific report being approved on behalf of the Action’s MC by the STSM coordinator and by a senior researcher affiliated to the host Institution.

Please note that the reimbursement for the grantees will be carried out after the mission is over and after the final report is submitted by the grantee.

The grantee is requested to provide a brief summary of the report (maximum 300 words) together with the grantee’s photograph to be published on the Action website.

Specific provisions have been introduced to enable researchers from the ITCs participating in the respective COST Action to receive 50% of their STSM Grant when they complete the first day of their STSM (a confirmation by the host institution is needed). The remaining 50% of the Grant is payable once the administrative requirements have been satisfied (see above). The person in charge of the mission at the host institution will need to send a written confirmation to the STSM coordinator to enable the payment of the first 50% of the grant.

Financial Rules

For all the rules, regulations, and procedures, applicants should refer to the COST Rules in particular Annex 2.

For information on COST and Covid-19 - see https://www.cost.eu/who-we-are/about-cost/coronavirus-covid-19/covid-19-actions/.

Because of the ongoing issues concerning travel restrictions, that can change at short notice, cancellation insurance is recommended (this is an eligible expense).


Page last updated: NAW: 20220201

Next Deadline

The STSM Call is an OPEN call. Proposals will be reviewed in the first week of every month, based on proposals received by the last day of each month.

Key Dates

  • Deadline for submissions: Last day of every month.
  • Feedback to Applicants: by the middle of the next month.
  • Exchange visits must have completed by 30 September 2021

STSM Previous Calls

STSM Panel

  • STSM Chair: Karri Muinonen (University of Helsinki)
  • Sonia Anton (University of Aveiro)
  • Elena Pancino (INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri)
  • Andreas Just (ZAH, Universitaet Heidelberg)
  • Ivanka Stateva (Institute of Astronomy, Sofia)


  • COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation.
  • Funded by the European Union

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