The Abdus Salam ICTP Office of External Activities (O.E.A.) encourages the organization of international and regional scientific meetings in developing countries by offering financial assistance to the organizers of conferences, workshops, and schools held in O.E.A. supported countries.

Grants are offered for both In Person Meetings and Online Meetings in the fields of physics and mathematics. A similar programme sponsored by the Third World Academy of Sciences offers support for meetings in the following fields of natural sciences: agricultural, biological, chemical, engineering, geological and medical sciences; for details see twas.org.

Types of Scientific Meetings

A conference is a scientific meeting where original research is presented. It may last from a few days, up to two weeks and it is an occasion for scientists in the field, to discuss current projects, listen to reports, etc. It is also an opportunity to establish contacts with people working on related problems.

A workshop refers to a topical and research oriented activity. It involves a great effort to engage the participants in discussions and research activities. The duration of a workshop is two to four weeks.

A course/college normally extends over four weeks or more. In lectures and tutorials, a specific field of physics or mathematics, including applied aspects, is introduced. Starting from the basis of the field, the participants may also be exposed to more advanced topics.

Funding for In Person Meetings

The maximum level of ICTP support for an In Person Meeting is Euro 5,000.

The support should mainly be used to cover the travel expenses of participants and/or speakers from O.E.A. supported countries in the region, excluding those from the country of the meeting.

Up to 40% of the grant can be used to cover board and lodging costs, and the difference must be used to cover travel costs (on public transportation only). Travel arrangements should make full use of possible excursion fares or other cheap tickets available.

As such meetings are important in exposing young researchers and students to the frontiers of their fields of interest, the ICTP recommends that a substantial amount of the requested funds be used to cover the travel fares of participants rather than for lecturers.

Up to Euro 200, can also be used for a best developing country student/early career scientist presentation/poster award. No more than 6 years should have past from the attainment of the PhD, to qualify as an early career scientist.

Since the ICTP funds are limited, the organizers are encouraged to seek support from other sources as well.

Participants who are supported by the ICTP contribution should have their registration fees waived.

ICTP funds may NOT be used to pay honoraria to local organizers. This conforms to common practice in the scientific world.

Funding for Online Meetings

The maximum level of ICTP support for an Online Meeting is Euro 600.

Support can be requested as follows:

Up to Euro 200, for a best developing country student/early career scientist presentation/poster award. No more than 6 years should have past from the attainment of the PhD, to qualify as an early career scientist.

Up to Euro 200, for internet connection costs, to improve the software and hardware that will be used for the online meeting.

Up to Euro 200, to cover proceedings and study material costs, after the meeting.

Since the ICTP funds are limited, the organizers are encouraged to seek support from other sources as well.

Registration fees should be waived.

As the ICTP-supported activities are meant to have a lasting impact, local and governmental authorities must share in the responsibility for the event. In this spirit, it is absolutely essential that local and/or national authorities give proper support. It is assumed that funds for local expenditure will be raised from the university or from government agencies. Each application must show at least a matching contribution from local sources.

Particular attention will be given to activities organized by the ICTP Affiliated Centres and/or ICTP federated institutions.

The organizers are invited to inform the local authorities and Embassies of their activity.

To help us speed up the process of refereeing, it is essential to specify the PACS or SC (Subject Classification in mathematics) numbers that correspond to your field:

­For Physics the PACS numbers can be found at: http://www.aip.org/pacs. Please note that for our purposes it is enough to specify the digits; it is not necessary to include the sub-items. For example: 42.30 for Imaging and Optical Processing.

­For Mathematics the Subject Classification Numbers can be found at: http://www.ams.org/msc. Please note that for our purposes it is enough to specify the first two digits followed by a letter. Example: 14 Q for computational techniques.

An incomplete application will not be considered. If more space is required attach additional pages. Applications should be submitted to:

Office of External Activities
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
Via Beirut, 6
34151 Trieste Italy

Or by e-mail to oea@ictp.it

Deadlines for Applications

The deadlines for the receipt of applications are:

31 May for meetings to be held during January-April of the following year;

30 September for meetings to be held during May-August of the following year;

31 January for meetings to be held during September-December of the same year.

Selection and approval procedure for ICTP sponsorship

All applications received by the ICTP are submitted to international experts in the field who are asked to evaluate the scientific level of the proposed programme. In making its recommendations, the referee may suggest modifications in form, content and estimated costs.

Selection of applications for ICTP support is based on peer review, by a Committee, and applications are selected for support following the recommendation of the referees. The Committee meetings are held three times a year.

The decisions of the Committee on each meeting, including the conditions to be fulfilled, are announced within four months after each deadline.

The ICTP grant is made in Euro. The procedure is that the Organizers open a bank account in the name of the meeting or use a bank account of the institute/university to which the ICTP Finance Office will transfer the allocated grant. These procedures are explained in the grant notification letters.

Announcements-acknowledgements

The ICTP expects that all activities be announced in posters and/or bulletins, and that as wide a distribution as possible within the region will be given to this material. It is also requested that once the ICTP has offered its support, its sponsorship will be acknowledged on all official announcements.

Final report

Within one month after the activity, the Organizers shall send to the O.E.A.:

­­ ­
• a financial report; in pdf format Financial_Report.pdf or as a doc file Financial_Report.doc

• a receipt for each expense supported by the ICTP funds;

• a brief evaluation report containing comments and suggestions from the organizers; in pdf format Evaluation_Report.pdf or as a doc file Evaluation_Report.doc
• the list of participants;
• one copy of the final scientific programme;

These requirements will be explained in more detail with the grant notification letters.

Failure to submit the required report when due may result in the denial of support for future activities or other eligible projects involving the organizers.

Address

Office of External Activities
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics
Via Beirut, 6
34151Trieste Italy
Phone: +39-040 2240323­ Fax: +39 040 2240443 ­ E-Mail: oea@ictp.it Web site: oea.ictp.it