Visitor Funding Application

The ESA Science Faculty provides support for scientific visitors to ESAC (Madrid, Spain), ESTEC (Noordwijk, Netherlands) or STScI (Baltimore, Maryland, USA) with the aim of fostering old and building new science collaborations with the community.

Applications for funding are reviewed by the ESA Science Faculty Council based on written proposals which can be submitted at any time (a rolling call).

Process in a Nutshell:

For any queries or status updates, please contact faculty_funding (.at.) cosmos.esa.int at any stage of this process.

Funding Guidelines

• Duration:
  • This programme normally covers anything from short (1-day) visits up to a maximum of 3 months.
  • For visits longer than 2 weeks, the duration must be justified and a detailed work plan should be submitted alongside the application.
  • For visits longer than 1 month, co-funding is encouraged. The application shall specify if additional sources of funding are being used or have been at least considered by the applicants.
  • Visits longer than 3 months (e.g., sabbaticals) are in principle possible but need to be funded via different sources. Please contact the Faculty Chairs to discuss possible funding schemes.
  • Personal time during the trip is allowed, but corresponding hotel nights or per diem will not be covered.
• Travel:
  • As first option, travelling by train should be considered.
  • Travel by private car is not foreseen to be reimbursed. For visits to STScI, please consult the Baltimore Faculty Chair for options.
  • If flights are unavoidable, only the cheapest available economy tickets are reimbursed and the most efficient route should be used.
  • Combining the journey with other destinations is generally supported but the cost should not be higher than direct travel.
• Ground Transport:
  • Public transport will be reimbursed for travel from airport to hotel and back.
  • Transport between hotel and ESA site should be organised economically, i.e., public transport or going with colleagues.
  • Private car, car rental or use of taxis require special justification in the original request. 
• Accommodation:
  • Depending on the site visited, costs for accommodation will be reimbursed upon production of receipts, up to:
    • ESTEC:  125 EUR/night
    • ESAC:  150 EUR/night
    • STScI:  200 USD/night
  • Particularly for longer visits, solutions should be sought to reduce total accommodation costs.
  • Note that for visits longer than about 2 weeks, the monthly funding ceiling will come into effect (see below).
  • For visits to STScI, please include a well-justified estimate of the actual accommodation cost in USD/night.
• Out of pocket expenses:
  • A daily allowance (per diem) of up to 50EUR (ESAC/ESTEC) or USD equivalent (STScI) can be requested for out of pocket expenses (e.g. meals, snacks etc).
  • Per diem for intervening weekend(s) will be included for stays longer than six working days; shorter stays should be organised to run from Monday to Friday.
  • No receipts are required to receive the per diem to the level approved in the original application.  
  • Note that for visits longer than about 2 weeks, the monthly funding ceiling will come into effect (see below) 
• Monthly ceiling:
  • The ceiling for hotel plus per diem is 3000 EUR/month (USD equivalent for STScI).
• Insurance:
  • The visitor shall arrange an insurance covering occupational accidents.
  • ESA will not provide any health or accident insurance.
  • It will be responsibility of the visitor to obtain cover for health, accident and travel risks

Seminars or talks for visitors

Visitors are strongly encouraged to interact with a broad cross-section of the Space Science Faculty during their visit, not only with their host or existing collaborators. Primarily, this is expected to be via a SCI seminar or breakfast seminar, or through an ad hoc talk in a research group meeting, depending on the seniority of the visitor and the length of stay.

Please include a seminar/talk title in the application form and ensure to contact the appropriate organiser as soon as possible. In the case of a SCI Seminar, arrangements for the seminar itself should be early enough to obtain the necessary weekly slot - that may mean contacting the seminar organisers before the visitor application is submitted.

The Seminar organisers remind all presenters that the SCI Seminar series should be accessible to a broad scientific audience, and therefore please ensure to pitch the content accordingly: avoid jargon, define acronyms, provide a more comprehensive background than would be common for a focussed talk to experts etc. Thank you!

Expectations and acknowledgements

Individuals and groups who publish research which has benefitted from a Faculty Grant should acknowledge that support in their publications as follows: