Call Open until 20th of February: Virtual Mobility Grants (10–20 March 2026) for MedPlants4Vet Researchers

The objective of this Virtual Mobility is to:

• systematically extract data from grey literature, and
• peer-check and validate extracted data in accordance with WG3's agreed methodology and inclusion criteria.

This call is task-driven, time-limited, and deliverable-oriented, and is intended to rapidly mobilise experienced WG3 members to complete clearly defined manuscript-related tasks.

What is a Virtual Mobility Grant?

A Virtual Mobility (VM) Grant supports collaborative activities conducted remotely among researchers in the MedPlant4Vet network. These grants aim to:

• Foster capacity building and knowledge exchange.
• Promote integration of data, methods, or protocols
• Support development of online tools, publications, databases or training materials.

VM Grants enable researchers to stay active in the network without needing physical travel, making them ideal for interdisciplinary, international collaboration.

Who Can Apply?

Applicants must:

• Active members of the MedPlants4Vet WG3-GL subgroup
• Able to demonstrate relevant methodological experience aligned with the call objectives.
• Be affiliated with a legal entity in a COST Full or Cooperating Member or Near Neighbour Country (NNC).
• Have an updated e-COST profile (https://e-services.cost.eu).
• Participation from Early Career Investigators (ECIs) and applicants from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs) is strongly encouraged.

Priority will be given to applicants who:

• Are already actively contributing to WG3 deliverables, and
• Have previously participated in MedPlants4Vet activities.

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Proven experience in extracting data from grey literature, including:
  • non-indexed sources,
  • national-language materials.
• Experience in peer-checking, validation, and consistency control of extracted data.
• Familiarity with structured data templates, controlled vocabularies, and inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Ability to work independently but in close coordination with WG3 leadership.

Eligible Activities

During the Virtual Mobility, the grantee is expected to:

• Extract and/or peer-check data from pre-assigned grey literature sources related to countries of particular interest for the current state of the manuscript,
• Document decisions transparently (inclusion/exclusion, ambiguities),
• Fill out the excel forms for a structured datasheets created by the WG3 subgroup GL,
• Deliver cleaned and validated datasets ready for direct integration into the WG3 OSL manuscript, and
• Submit a short VM report summarising:
  • tasks performed,
  • sources covered,
  • contribution to the manuscript.

The work is strictly limited to WG3-defined tasks and does not allow exploratory or unrelated activities.

Application Requirements

Applications are submitted via the e-COST system and must include:

• Virtual Mobility Grant Application (Annex 1)
• CV (maximum 2 pages, PDF)
• For Prioritized WG3 activity applicants:
  • A letter of commitment from the home institution signed by the home supervisor indicating the commitment to executing the expected plan for WG3 (Annex 2).
  • Mail of confirmation from the WG 3 leader (to be attached as pdf) upon the agreement with the home institution supervisor
    • WG3 European tradition of the use of medicinal plants to control animal diseases- Leader- Álvaro Fdez-Blanco Barreto (alvaro(at)sanasvet.es)
• A valid student ID or a researcher confirmation document from the employed authority; verifying the applicant's field of work is related to the areas are relevant to the virtual mobility tasks.

Grant Amount and Budget Framework

• Each Virtual Mobility Grant awarded under this call provides a fixed contribution of €700 to successful applicants.
• The grant is a flat-rate contribution intended to cover the time and resources invested by the grantee in virtual collaboration. It does not require receipts or expense reports.
• Activities to be covered the VM call will be between 10.03.2026-20.03.2026.
  • Call opens: 13 February 2026
  • Call closes: 20 February 2026
  • Virtual Mobility period ends: 20 March 2026
• Payment is made after the successful submission and approval of the final report in e-COST.
• The number of funded VM Grants will depend on the available MedPlant4Vet Action budget for the ongoing Grant Period.
• All activities must be completed within the current Grant Period and must comply with COST rules as described in the COST Annotated Rules (COST 094/21) and the Grant Awarding User Guide.  

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be evaluated by WG3 leadership, in coordination with the Grant Awarding Coordinator, based on the following criteria:

• Relevance to WG3 objectives, in particular the contribution to data extraction and peer-checking for the WG3 OSL manuscript country focus.
• Demonstrated experience with grey literature, historical sources, and structured data handling.
• Ability to perform data validation and quality control in line with WG3 methodology.
• Feasibility of the proposed work within the defined Virtual Mobility period. A proposal for the delivery of results in the near future will be particularly valued.
• Supervisor approval and applicant availability during the VM period.

Priority may be given to applicants whose expertise directly addresses urgent WG3 manuscript needs.

Reporting and Reimbursement

A report (Annex 3) must be submitted via e-COST within 10 days after completion, while the databases collected and reviewed by the supervisor in Excel format must be sent as soon as possible and no later than the last day of the scholarship, 20th March. A short report version of the grantees' of their experience to be published in the newsletter and to contribute with content (posts, pictures, short videos etc) for the Action social media and Website (Annex 4).

The grant is paid after approval of the final report by the Grant Awarding Coordinator and Grant Holder.

Important Dates

• Call opens: February 13th, 2026
• Deadline for applications: February 20th, 2026
• Deadline for completion and dataset: March 20th, 2026
• Deadline for final report VM (Annex 3; Annex 4): March 30th, 2026

Need Help?

Grant Awarding Coordinators

Begum Yurdakok Dikmen (byurdakok(at)yahoo.com)
Ivona Foitova (foitova(at)sci.muni.cz)

Administrative matters

Maura Ellenberger - maura.ellenberger(at)fibl.org

Concerning the Action Chair

Theresa Schlittenlacher (theresa.schlittenlacher(at)fibl.org)
Marta Mendel (marta_mendel(at)sggw.edu.pl)

Concernig the VM scientific matters

Alvaro Fernández-Blanco Barreto (alvaro(at)sanasvet.es)
Ivona Foitová (foitova(at)sci.muni.cz)

Travel expenses and general matters:

Maura Ellenberger (maura.ellenberger(at)fibl.org)

For scientific alignment

Contact the Working Group Leader