Grant for a long stay abroad

This travel grant supports researchers who wish to spend minimum 1 month and maximum 12 months abroad to perform research.

Status

Permanent call

Announcement

Over the past years the International Collaboration Committee (CIWC), mainly responsible for the evaluation of FWO travel grants, had to handle a significantly increasing number of applications. While pre-corona (2016-2019) the amount of applications remained stable, the number of applications to be evaluated during the first 10 months of 2024 grew by 39% compared to the same period in 2019. As a result, the CIWC workload rocketed and the available budget is strained. In order to continue the work of the CWIC in a sustainable manner, the FWO board of trustees decided, after consulting our stakeholders, to make some changes to the modalities and eligibility criteria when applying for a grant for a long stay abroad. Key elements that were taken into account when taking this decision were e.g. the intended target group and programme objectives.

Important changes in terms of modalities from 01/01/2025 onwards:

Duration: maximum 6 months per grant and in case of multiple allocated grants maximum 6 months per term of 2 years (start date first allocated stay as reference date).

To allow for these changes to be implemented in the online application form, this form will be closed on Friday 20 December 2024 (12pm – noon) and will only reopen under the new conditions on Thursday 02 January 2025 (10am). This implies that all applications in design that were not submitted at the latest by Friday 20 December 2024 (12pm – noon) will be archived and will no longer be available from that moment onwards. Please take this into account to make sure that you submit your application in time. At all times the deadline of submission, namely at least three months before departure, must be respected.

Objective

This grant supports researchers who will be staying abroad for a longer period to perform advanced research, to specialize in specific research techniques, to perform archive research and/or fieldwork. In this way, the FWO aims to encourage the mobility of researchers and the international contacts between research groups.

Features

Stay abroad of more than 1 month (> 31 days) and at most 12 months, without interruption.
The grant covers:
- travel expenses Brussels – venue of long stay (return trip);
- a fixed allowance of € 66 per day or € 1,650.00 per month.
Submission: online in English no later than 3 months prior to the departure date.
Announcement of results: via e-mail.
Success rate 2020: 62,50%
Flight- or train tickets in the frame of an FWO grant, can onlybe booked through a travel agency authorized by the FWO (Uniglobe South West Travel and Omnia Travel). Bookings through another travel agency will not be reimbursed by FWO.
How to book your travel?

Be aware: For any travel towards a higher-risk destination, the FWO (travel) grant can only be used in case of a positive advice of the concerned host institution. Please make sure to request this advice at the responsible advisory body of your host institution.

Profile and conditions

Throughout the entire period of your stay abroad, you receive a salary or scholarship with a minimum appointment of 50% from a university or university hospital in the Flemish Community or to a federal or Flemish scientific institute (see regulations for more detailed information).
Attention: for applications with a departure date from the 1^stof October 2016 onwards there is no longer a nationality requirement for predoctoral candidates. Nevertheless, as a PhD student you should have obtained a master degree in one of the member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland* (see regulations for more detailed information). There are no degree or nationality requirements for candidates from postdoctoral level onwards.

*You can have your certificate, awarded outside EEA and Switzerland, recognized by NARIC, as being on the level of a Flemish master degree OR (new) provide the FWO, in the application phase, with a declaration in which the administration of your university confirms that you will be allowed to prepare a doctoral thesis with a start of your PhD-track before your departure abroad. This also applies to diplomas awarded in the UK.

You have at least one peer-reviewed publication. Remark: in case you cannot comply with this requirement, you should clearly motivate this in the appropriate section in the online application form. In this case, you need to clearly indicate the reasons for not having at least one peer-reviewed publication, and outline why, based on other relevant achievements, you qualify for this travel grant.
Only one Grant for a long stay abroad can be allocated per person and per civil year. The total maximum duration of long stays is one year per term of three years.

Procedure

You submit your application (in English) online through the FWO E-loket no later than 3 months prior to the departure date. You will immediately receive a confirmation by e-mail when the application has been submitted successfully. If this is not the case, you need to contact interprog@fwo.be. Please note that it is also important that your personalia in in your E-loket profile are up-to-date (including publication list), among other things for the payment of the FWO funding in case of approval.
You attach the invitation of the host institution abroad.
Your application is submitted to the International Collaboration Committee (CIWC). Consult this time schedule to see when your application will be evaluated and when the result will be communicated.
Advice, selection and evaluation criteria
Here you can find all advice, selection and evaluation criteria for a ‘Grant for a long stay abroad’ at FWO.
If you as a researcher are not part of the senior academic staff (ZAP), your supervisor or the head of your research unit will be asked for a recommendation letter. This recommendation letter of the head of the research unit is also required for researchers affiliated to a Flemish or federal scientific institution who do not hold a permanent statutory appointment. In case of belated submission of this recommendation letter, the application for a travel grant will be declared ineligible.