FEMS Grants ProgrammeContentsGeneral........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2

FEMS Grants Overviews.......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Grant types, Eligibility and Restrictions................................................................................................................................................................................3

Grants schedule: Application deadlines, Decision dates and Time frame............................................................................................................................4

Submission: Required information and Handling documents..............................................................................................................................................5

What we require from you................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Applying for a FEMS grant....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Detailed Overview by Grant type................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

FEMS Research and Training Grant.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

FEMS Meeting Attendance Grant...........................................................................................................................................................................................10

FEMS Meeting Organizer Grant.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

General1. What are FEMS Grants?

FEMS is a non-profit organization that focuses on building capacity and providing opportunities to promote scientific excellence and the translation of science into impact. Publishing five well-known journals, we disseminate high quality research, and use our income to invest back in science. Each year we support hundreds of grantees, facilitating and supporting the training of Early Career Scientists. These are undergraduate (Bachelors) or postgraduate (Masters/PhD) microbiologists who received his/her highest degree (Bachelor, Masters, PhD) within the past five years from the application deadline date. We also support more advanced scientists who are interested in organising meetings.

As a member of a FEMS Member Society, you can benefit from being a part of our network by being able to apply for any of our grants. These include Research and Training, FEMS Congress Attendance, Meeting Attendance and Meeting Organizer grants. However, membership to a FEMS Member Society is not required to apply for the FEMS Congress Attendance grants. In addition to these FEMS grants, we also provide joint grants for early career scientists with ESCMID and ASM.

The impact of the grants – one of the cornerstones of our charitable activities – can be career-changing, as we learn first-hand from our grantees. Small research visits can underpin longer-term projects, while our Member Societies and their members to organise their annual meetings and other key scientific events. These opportunities create new possibilities, build new networks and provide great opportunities for career development. At our congress you can meet leading researchers and build professional relationships. Some grantees will find PhD and postdoctoral positions; others are from countries with restricted financial means, and would not be able to attend our congress without financial help. Our grants can also help our grantees to achieve more and be recognized for these achievements in research, education or at work. You can join our Alumnus program by signing up to our newsletter, read our grantee stories, and get involved by joining a Member Society or searching our website. You can pass this opportunity on to your network.

Join one of the FEMS Member Societies in order to apply for our grants. Members can apply for grants from day one.

2. FEMS Grants Overview 2.1 Grant types Each of our grants have different functions, different criteria for eligibility, and different application restrictions (see the Grant types checklist below). As a member of a FEMS Member Society, you can apply to any of our grants if you satisfy the eligibility criteria. Please note that you do not need to be a member of a FEMS Member Society to apply for the FEMS Congress Attendance grants.

Grant types, Eligibility and RestrictionsEligibility and requirements Restrictions

Grant type

Mem

ber o

f FE

MS

Mem

ber

soci

ety

requ

ired

Early

Car

eer

Scie

ntist

*

Activ

e m

icro

biol

ogist

Pres

entin

g au

thor

Mee

ting

orga

nize

r

Lim

it of

su

cces

sful

ap

plic

ation

s

Max

am

ount

€

>60%

of g

rant

us

ed to

su

ppor

t Ear

ly

Care

er

Scie

ntist

s

Inte

rnati

onal

Research and Training Once 4.000 Meeting Attendance Twice 600

(min. 250)Meeting Organizer

Max. twice per individual; no

restriction per Society15.000

FEMS Congress Attendance No** Twice 300-600

FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Award 4.000

* These are active microbiologists who obtained his/her highest academic degree (Bachelor, Master or PhD) less than five years prior to the application deadline date, or is a Master or PhD student.** Any Early Career researcher can apply for these grants

2.2 Submission deadlinesThe application deadlines, official decision date and applicable period for each of our grants varies by grant type (see Grants schedule below).

Grants schedule: Application deadlines, decision dates and time frameDeadlines Official decision date Applicable period

Grant type 1st Round 2nd Round 1st round 2nd round

Research and Training 1st January 1st July 1st March 1st September 1-3 month fellowship within 1 year after official decision date

Meeting Attendance 1st March 1st September 1st May 1st November Attendance at meetings within 1 year after official decision date

Meeting Organizer 1st June 1st December 1st August 1st February Meetings organized within 1 year after official decision date

FEMS Congress Attendance Abstract submission deadline upcoming FEMS congress (uneven years)

6 weeks after submission deadline

At the upcoming FEMS congress

FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Award

Abstract submission deadline ASM congress in even years

2 month after submission deadline

At the upcoming ASM Microbe event

2.3 Submission processTo apply for our grants, different handling documents in support of your application need to be submitted or information prepared prior to the online submission (see overview table below).

Submission: required information and handling documents

To be provided as document and uploaded file To be entered in the online form

Grant type

CV in

cl. l

ist o

f pub

licati

ons

Sign

ed e

ndor

sem

ent f

orm

Proj

ect p

ropo

sal

Confi

rmati

on o

f abs

trac

t acc

epta

nce

(afte

r dea

dlin

e)

Tent

ative

mee

ting

prog

ram

me

Mee

ting

desc

riptio

n

Mee

ting

budg

et

Proj

ect s

umm

ary

Copy

of a

bstr

act s

ubm

itted

to th

e m

eetin

g

Mee

ting

abst

ract

Research and Training Meeting Attendance Meeting Organizing FEMS Congress Attendance FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Award

2.4 What we need from you To help us promote you, your work and the wider FEMS community we need you to tell us about what your grant helped you to achieve.

To do this we need the following input for each Grant type:

Grant typeAcknowledgement Report form Signed claim

formEntry in FEMS’ database

Visibility Meeting updates Grant distribution and management

Research and Training Meeting Attendance Meeting Organizer FEMS Congress Attendance FEMS-ASM Mäkelä-Cassell Award

3. Applying for a FEMS grantA grant application can be completed using our online grants system following this link: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fems-go .

The FEMS Grants Administrator will provide you with all necessary grant handling and reporting templates through the FEMS Grants Online Portal, or you can download them form the FEMS Grants website.

Please address all your questions relating to the application procedure that are not answered in these regulations to the FEMS Grants Administrator.

Detailed Overview per Grant type4. FEMS Research and Training Grant

The Research and Training grants offer excellent opportunities for early career scientists to pursue their research and training at a host European institution in a country other than their own country of residence. These grants foster new collaborations, skills and professional development in the fields that matter the most to our grantees.

“Although all the new lab skills and knowledge I have gained mean a world to me, I must emphasize how beneficial the visit has been for my self-development and future career steps. Being given a chance to become a vivid member of such a young, powerful and hospitable research group has taken

my self-motivation and social skills to another level. Apart from being thankful to the D&D group for accepting me, I am pleasured to thank FEMS for awarding me with the Research Grant.”

– Dr. Lenka Tisakova, Research and Training grantee from Slovakia working at a host laboratory at the University of Warsaw, Poland

Grant type Research and Training

Description and goals We foster mobility of Early Career Scientists by facilitating Research and Training visits of one to three month duration at a European host institution. The grant may exceptionally support research and training projects outside Europe at the Grants Board’s discretion.

Eligibility To apply for this grant, you would need to meet following requirements: Be : a member of a FEMS Society; an Early Career Scientist; and an Active Microbiologist.

Restrictions The Research or Training project will be done in another country/region than you own country of residence This grant can not be received more than once The grant covers your own travel (at economy rates), living costs and if applicable bench fees

Maximum total amount granted: EUR 4,000.

Application deadlines 1st January and 1st JulyApplication process The application can be completed using the FEMS Grants Online System.

Following documents are required upon submission:o CV incl. list of publicationso Endorsement form signed by your supervisoro Project proposal

Decision deadlines 1st March and 1st September

Decision Criteria The quality of the proposed research or training project; and the budget available.

Valid period The grant is valid for one year after official decision deadline The starting date of the fellowship can be postponed by a maximum of six months under the condition that you

inform the FEMS Grants Administrator latest one month prior to the planned starting date If you intend to shorten or extend the fellowship period, please immediately inform the FEMS Grants Administrator.

Please note that shortening the period may result in reducing the grant amount.

Grantee contribution Acknowledgement Please make sure you acknowledge the received support in any publications resulting from the project supported by

the grant. You are also encouraged to publish this work in one of the FEMS journals.Report form

We would like to receive a completed Reporting form [link], not later than six weeks after the project period. Please complete it together with your host supervisor and upload it to the FEMS Grants Online System

Signed Claim form In order to receive the granted amount as fast as possible, please provide us with your account details and other

relevant information via the Claim Form you receive from the FEMS Grants Administrator. You are kindly asked to complete and upload the hand signed from to the FEMS Grants Online System and attach scanned copies of travelling ticket(s) or the invoice related to them.

Entry in FEMS’ database

Your contact details will be listed in the FEMS database. This will enable us to provide you with regular updates on FEMS’ activities and keep in touch to learn about your future career development.

Insurance Please do not forget and make sure that you are properly insured for your travel stay abroad! It might be useful to

contact the host institution to ask for their relevant personal insurance policies already in place. FEMS is not responsible for any injury or ill effect suffered in connections with your project, but should be informed about any project related accident.

Compliance We kindly ask you to carefully adhere to these FEMS Grants regulations since non-compliance may result in the

cancellation of the grant and in a refunding request.

Opportunities FEMS-ESCMID Research Fellowship FEMS, in collaboration with the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), will select

one Research and Training Grantee per year for a joint FEMS-ESCMID Research Fellowship. Upon approval by ESCMID, this grantee will be awarded an additional EUR 1000 and her/his award will be publicly announced.

5. FEMS Meeting Attendance GrantThe Meeting Attendance grants enable early career scientists to attend meetings worldwide to network, collaborate and keep abreast of new developments in their field.

“I was told that especially for early career researcher such as me it is important to “get out there”, meet the fellow scientist in your field and start sharing your research from as early on as possible. After returning from my first international conference with a huge confidence and motivation boost, plans for

new collaborations and new ideas for my PhD project, I absolutely agree with this sentiment. I would like to thank FEMS for supporting me with this travel grant and making this possible!” - Aniela Mundinger, Meeting Attendance grantee from Radboud University, The Netherlands

Grant type Meeting Attendance

Description and goals We provide Meeting Attendance Grants to Early Career Scientists working in Europe who wish to attend meetings and events that support their professional development.Meeting Attendance Grants may support attendance at meetings worldwide but preference will be given for meetings within the European area.

Eligibility To apply for this grant, you would need to meet following requirements:Be a member of a FEMS Society; an Early Career Scientist; an Active Microbiologist and presenting author at the meeting (oral or poster).

Restrictions This grant can be received not more than twice Maximum amount granted: EUR 600 (minimum amount granted EUR 250).

Application deadlines 1st March and 1st September

Application process The application can be completed using the FEMS Grants Online System Following documents are required upon submission:

o CV incl. list of publicationso Endorsement form signed by the Delegate of the FEMS Member Societyo Abstract which was submitted to the meeting

The following document may be uploaded after the submission deadline, but we recommend that it is uploaded as soon as it is available to you (please note that in case of an successful application, you only receive a provisional grant until we receive the required document):

o Confirmation of the meeting organizer that the abstract is accepted and you are presenting at the event

Decision deadlines 1st May and 1st November

Decision Criteria The quality of the abstract(s); the traveling mode and distance; the number of the same grants you received previously (you cannot receive it more than twice); and the budget available.

Valid period The grant is valid for attendance at meetings held within one year after official decision deadline

Grantee contribution Acknowledgement Please make sure you acknowledge the received support on your presentation at the meeting.

Report form We would like to receive a completed Reporting form [link], not later than one month after the project period. Please complete it and upload it to the FEMS Grants Online System

Signed Claim form In order to receive the granted amount as fast as possible, please provide us with your account details and other

relevant information via the Claim Form you receive from the FEMS Grants Administrator. You are kindly asked to complete and upload the hand signed from to the FEMS Grants Online System and attach scanned copies of travelling ticket(s) or the invoice related to them

Certificate of Attendance After the event, please upload a scanned copies of your certificate of attendance provided and signed by the meeting

organizer

Entry in FEMS’ database Your contact details will be listed in the FEMS database. This will enable us to provide you with regular updates on

FEMS’ activities and keep in touch to learn about your future career development.Insurance

Please do not forget and make sure that you are properly insured for your travel stay abroad! FEMS is not responsible for any injury or ill effect suffered in connections with your project, but should be informed about any project related accident.

Compliance We kindly ask you to carefully adhere to these FEMS Grants regulations since non-compliance may result in the

cancellation of the grant and in a refunding request.

6. FEMS Meeting Organizer Grant If you are organizing a microbiology meeting within Europe, the Meeting Organizer grants offers support to cover the costs of the meeting. This grant promotes opportunities for knowledge-sharing, collaboration and networking within the microbiology community, and have had a positive impact on our past grantees.

“One very important feature of the DMS annual congress is the social impact on the Danish microbiological community. The congress has evolved to becoming an annual go-to-event for microbiologists not only to be informed about the latest research developments but also to catch up with colleagues

and network with new contacts. We ascribe this to our careful planning of the scientific programme, intensive marketing at the Danish universities and affiliated institutions, and by steadily improving the quality of the event enabling the very important word of mouth effect. The FEMS grant is an important

factor in this work. At the meeting we had a high number of MSc students, PhD students and post docs, which is important for the future success of the meeting and a sign that this segment also finds it rewarding to participate. On behalf of the DMS I wish to thank FEMS for awarding this grant. FEMS's

support is very important for us to maintain and develop the quality of our congress and for that we are grateful” - Prof Carsten Suhr Jacobsen, Meeting organizer DMS Congress 2015, Denmark

Grant type Meeting Organizer Grant

General We provide support for selected conferences, workshops and training courses within the European Area with a Meeting Organizer Grant.The overall intention of this grant is to support and stimulate international collaborations. In order to promote the excellence and reach of European microbiology knowledge, exceptions can be made for events outside the European Area, at the discretion of the FEMS Grants Board.

Eligibility To apply for this grant, you would need to meet following requirements: Be a member of a FEMS Society; an active microbiologist and organizer of the meeting.

Restrictions The supported meeting should ideally be an international event This grant can be received no more than twice per individual; there are no restrictions per Member Society A minimum of 60% of the Meeting Grant has to be used to support attendance from Early Career Scientists, and the

remaining 40% can be used at the meeting organizer’s discretion to support event expenses such as student, postdoc

and speaker travel, food and beverage, and poster sessions. Funding should not be used for poster and presentation prizes (including cash awards) or conference materials such as bags, pens or other giveaways.

Total amount granted is between EUR 1,000 and EUR 15.000.

Application deadlines 1st June and 1st DecemberApplication process The application can be completed using the FEMS Grants Online System

Following documents are required upon submission:o Description of the meeting/event o Meeting budgeto Preliminary meeting programme including the keynote speakers o If the meeting is organized in another country, it is recommended that the meeting organiser obtains

endorsement from the FEMS Member Society in the country in which the meeting is to be held The following document may be uploaded after the submission deadline, but we recommend that it is uploaded as

soon as it is available to you (please note that in case of an successful application, you only receive a provisional grant until we receive the required document):

o Final programme including list of speakers

Decision deadlines 1st August and 1st FebruaryItems of consideration

for the decision The quality of the scientific programme; the value-for-money as outlined in the budget; the probable impact of the meeting both nationally and internationally; its European dimension, evidenced by an international scientific committee and the fact that speakers and

participants come from several European countries; the inclusion of innovative areas of microbiology in the programme; evidence of efforts made by the organisers to attract early career scientists.

The Grants Board may, for budgetary or other reasons, attribute a smaller grant than requested.

Validity The grant is valid for organizing meetings and events held within one year after the official decision deadline

Obligations Acknowledgement

Please make sure you acknowledge that you have received support for your meeting any publications resulting from the sponsored meeting and on site.

Visibility We kindly ask that you give FEMS appropriate visibility at the sponsored meeting (e.g. on printed materials, website,

social media and other appropriate material). We will send you promotional materials from our Business Office to help you raise our visibility at the meeting (for

example a PowerPoint presentation, posters, circulars, stand material). We may appoint a representative to attend a sponsored meeting. This representative will present a brief introduction

about FEMS and its aims and activities scheduled at the discretion of the organizing committee. The registration is to be waived for this representative.

Big events (> 500 participants): If FEMS wishes to set-up a booth or a display table, space will be free of charge.Meeting updates

Relevant meeting updates should be sent to FEMS Central Office. If a final programme was not available at the time of evaluation, the Grants Secretary must approve the programme

before funding will be authorized.Report form

We would like to receive a completed Reporting form [link], which should be uploaded to the FEMS Grants Online System no later than 30 days after the meeting.

We ask that the report be accompanied with a scanned copy of a co-signed list of ECSMG grantees signed by the meeting organizer and all printed meeting materials. Uploading digital versions of the meeting materials or related links to the online content for the meeting are highly encouraged. Copies of photos taken at the meeting will be highly appreciated and will be considered for publication

Signed Claim form We kindly ask you to complete and upload the hand signed Claim Form to the FEMS Grants Online System Payment will be made after approval of the grantee list and final programme, which is usually two to three months

before the meeting takes place.Grant distribution and management

A minimum of 60% of the FEMS Meeting Grant has to be solely applied to support the attendance of Early Career Scientists. For that aim, you will be provided with an Early Career Scientist Meeting Grant (ECSMG) application form.

You should make the ECSMG application form available to meeting attendants through the meeting’s website, as well as receive and review the applications.

You should select the ECSMG grantees based on criteria defined by the meeting and those set by FEMS, such as, but not restricted to:

o Only Early Career Scientist are eligibleo You should avoid selecting too many grantees from the same institution and/or country, and it may help to

group applicants in those from (a) the country where the meeting is held, (b) neighbouring countries, and (c) remote countries.

You are also advised to waive all or at least 50% of the registration fees for the grantees (partly matching the FEMS Meeting Grant with meeting resources).

You will prepare the final list of grantees stating full names, addresses and fee amounts. For Early Career Scientists, details of their FEMS society membership, travelling distance and titles of accepted papers should also be provided. This list should be sent to FEMS Central Office at least two months before the starting date of the meeting. (Application files do not need to be copied to FEMS).

Please print this list of grantees for signing by each of them during the event. Return the signed list with the FEMS report.

Early Career Scientists are to be granted a maximum of 600 EUR and a minimum of 250 EUR. You are responsible for transferring the grant to the grantee, either before or at the meeting. FEMS will not issue meeting attendance certificates

Entry in FEMS’ database Your contact details will be listed in the FEMS database. This will enable us to provide you with regular updates on

FEMS’ activities and to keep in touch Insurance

Please do not forget and make sure that you are properly insured for your event! FEMS is not responsible for any injury or ill effect suffered by the grantee or event attendees in connection with the event. It is your responsibility to ensure that the event is covered by the relevant personal insurance policies, although we ask that you to report any project-related accident to us.

Compliance We kindly ask you to carefully adhere to these FEMS Grants regulations since non-compliance may result in the

cancellation of the grant and in a refunding request.

Opportunities Thematic issues, congress reports and conference proceedings You may contact the FEMS Central Office (fems@fems-microbiology.org) to discuss possible publications arising from

the meeting, such as thematic issues our journals.Visibility and Event promotion

We would appreciate copies of photos taken at the meeting which will be considered for publicationAwarded Early Career Scientists

We encourage Early Career Scientists and Invited Speakers to submit a manuscript of their research to a FEMS journal. Manuscripts will be subjected to the standard peer-review process