Regulations Grant for the organisation of a scientific conference in Belgium

The General Regulations apply.

Art. 1. Purpose

Supporting the organisation of international scientific conferences is intended to encourage scientific debate in various disciplines, and thus contribute to scientific collaboration between Flemish research institutes. Conferences in the context of doctoral schools and expert meetings are not eligible. The conference for which a grant is being asked should have an open character and thus be accessible for everyone who wishes to participate.

Art. 2. Type of funding

The Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) provides funding for the organisation of scientific conferences in Belgium. Scientific conferences held in the buildings of the Academia Belgica in Rome, and organised by the Academia Belgica and/or the Belgian Historical Institute in Rome, as well as scientific conferences (co-)organised by researchers affiliated to a Flemish university, the Hogere Zeevaartschool, the Vlerick Management School, the Antwerp Management School and/or the Institute of Tropical Medicine, taking place in the context of the operation of the Belgian School at Athens (EBSA) or the Dutch-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) are also eligible in exceptional cases.

The grants are seen as co-funding. A detailed overview of the estimated costs and the co-funding needs to be mentioned in the application. Scientific conferences for which no registration fee is being charged to the participants, are not eligible. The size of the grant is determined by the International collaboration committee (CIWC) of the FWO.

A grant can be asked for the organisation of two different types of conferences. The applicant needs to clearly motivate in the application for which type of conference a grant is being asked for. In addition, the conference needs to comply with the predetermined conditions of this specific conference type.

TYPE I: big international reference conference in a specific scientific domain

The grant for a TYPE I conference is maximally 10% of the total conference cost with a maximum of 10.000 euro.

To be eligible for a TYPE I conference grant the following criteria should be fulfilled:

• International reference conference covering an entire scientific research field (domain);
• Presence of international keynote speakers;
• More than 200 participants to be expected and in addition a significant presence of international participants (50%);
• Scientific part of the conference lasts at least three days;
• Total conference cost should be minimally 50.000 euro. FWO funds maximally 10% of the total cost with a maximum of 10.000 euro. The costs need to be motivated in detail in the application.

TYPE II: international conference

The grant for a TYPE II conference is maximally 5.000 euro.

To be eligible for a TYPE II conference grant the following criteria should be fulfilled:

• International conference;
• Presence of international keynote speakers.

Art. 3. Responsible spokesperson

The applicant must hold at least one of the following types of appointment (remunerated):

• an independent academic staff member of a Flemish university;
• an independent academic staff member of the Evangelical Protestant Faculty in Leuven if the research is related to religious studies or theology;
• an independent academic staff member of the Faculty for Protestant Theology in Brussels if the research is related to religious studies or theology;
• an (associated) professor or (full) professor with PhD, affiliated to the Hogere Zeevaartschool if the application is related to research in nautical sciences;
• an (associated) professor or (full) professor (or positions with equivalent English titles) with PhD, affiliated to the Vlerick Management School if the application is related to research in management sciences;
• an (associated) professor or (full) professor with PhD, affiliated to the Antwerp Management School if the application is related to research in management sciences;
• an (associated) professor or (full) professor with PhD, affiliated to the Institute of Tropical Medicine if the application is related to research in tropical medicine and veterinary medicine and in healthcare in developing countries.

Art. 4. Submission deadline

Applications must be submitted by the responsible spokesperson no later than six months prior to the opening of the relevant conference, using the appropriate online forms available via the website of the FWO. If the scientific programme remains to be defined in detail, the application must at least be accompanied by the outlines of the programme and the list of present guest speakers.

Art. 5. Composition of the scientific committee and organising committee

The scientific committee and organising committee must consist of members of the Independent Academic Staff of at least two Belgian universities, at least one of which is located in the Flemish Community. The following are considered equivalent to a Flemish university: the Evangelical Protestant Faculty in Leuven and the Faculty for Protestant Theology in Brussels for research related to religious studies or theology, the Hogere Zeevaartschool for research related to nautical sciences, the Vlerick Management School and the Antwerp Management School for research related to management sciences, and the Institute of Tropical Medicine for research related to tropical medicine and veterinary medicine and to healthcare in developing countries; the staff categories of these institutions as referred to in article 3 are considered equivalent to Independent Academic Staff members at universities. Participation by multiple Flemish universities in both committees is considered a plus.

Art. 6. Use (as amended by decision of the Board of Trustees of 27/11/2019)

The grant shall be used exclusively for the following cost categories:

1. the material organisation of the conference;
2. the secretarial and translation costs;
3. the printing of reports;
4. the travel and accommodation costs of foreign speakers.
5. coverage of costs for a CO₂ contribution linked to research-related air travel of foreign speakers, to the extent that they are directly related to the organisation of the scientific conference in Belgium.

Art. 7. Justification and reporting

§1. When a grant is allocated, the applicant can, upon written request, receive a down payment in the amount of half of the allocated sum.

§2. The balance is paid upon presentation of all supporting documents which must be forwarded at the end of the conference.

§3. In addition to the supporting documents, a detailed income and expenditure account must be submitted to the FWO. If the income exceeds the expenditure, the FWO reserves the right to withdraw a portion of the allocated grant.

§4. The scientific report to be submitted shall take the form of a document of maximum 3 pages. Any proceedings or minutes of the conference need not be forwarded to the FWO.