Application
About
EMBO Conference Series aim to support European scientific communities, by enabling groups of scientists to regularly meet and discuss topics with leaders in the field. Organizers can apply to hold a series of three conferences that typically take place at two or three yearly intervals over in an EMBC Member State. These conferences should cover different and evolving aspects of a relatively broad subject area of major importance to the scientific community worldwide. They may alternate with corresponding meetings in North America or Asia, facilitating interactions between scientists based in Europe and beyond. A minimum of 100 participants should be accepted.
Funding
The maximum funding provided by EMBO for a conference series is 30,000 euro per conference. Decisions on the amount of funding are made on a case by case basis. Organizers are therefore required to justify all major costs in the budget section of the application form. It is expected that participants (other than the speakers) will pay for their travel, accommodation, subsistence and registration fee.
EMBO funds should not be used to cover per diem expenses, poster prizes or other gifts.
EMBO funds can be used to cover:
• travel (Apex / Economy), accommodation and subsistence costs of the speakers
• reasonable administration costs
• room hire, audiovisual and IT facilities essential for the meeting
• grants to aid participants based in EMBC Member States in need of scientific strengthening
How to apply
EMBO Conference Series must be held in an EMBC Member State. The application process is handled via the online application system.
Organizers can initially apply to hold a series of three conferences that typically take place over a six-year period in an EMBC Member State. Although, funding for three conferences in the series is set aside upon approval of the first conference, organizers are required to submit a new application form for each subsequent conference (in the year preceding the follow-up conference). Followon applications are typically successful in obtaining funding, provided that reviews of the previous conference are positive and that efforts are made to improve any areas that were considered suboptimal.
For all conferences in the series, organizers are strongly urged to:
• rotate the main organizing committee
• ensure a change of focus in the field for each conference
• ensure diversity and gender balance in the list of speakers
Each application is reviewed by two members of the EMBO Course Committee and the final decision is made by the entire committee at their biannual meeting. Applicants are informed of the decision in May and October for the 1 March and 1 August calls, respectively. All applications are treated in confidence and only publicized following acceptance of the funding conditions by the organizer. All correspondence concerning applications should be conducted with the EMBO office ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Any attempts to influence the decision process by contacting individual members of the Committee will result in disqualification of the application.
Applying for follow-up conference series
Subsequent to the initial group of three conferences, additional conferences in the series may be funded on a “one at a time” basis. Favorable reviews of previous conferences and adherence to EMBO guidelines will be significant factors in ensuring the continuation of successful series. However, renewal cannot be guaranteed.
Subject to financial constraints, EMBO would like to encourage a dynamic continuation of successful EMBO Conference Series through follow-up conferences in the series. At the same time, it is critically important that the majority of members from each community get a fair chance to shape ‘their’ conference series, and that conference series do not become dominated by a particular group. For these reasons, EMBO requests that organizers include an open discussion about their research field and the series at the third conference in the series. The format of the discussion is left at the discretion of the organizers, but the following subjects must be discussed:
• is a continuation desirable, and if so, what adjustments should be made in order to evolve the series (including a completely different approach, if necessary)?
• are there major groups of scientists in related fields who should be involved in a future series?
• venue(s) and format of the next series.
• if a continuation is desirable, election of the two people who are put in charge of submitting the next proposal to EMBO (i.e. chair and co-chair of the first meeting in the next CFS). This election must include proposals from the floor. The chair must be different from that of the previous meetings. In addition, not more than a third of previous organizers can be carried over from the previous three conferences in the series.
EMBO further requests that organizers provide an accurate summary of the plenum discussion in their final report on the conference series, and that participants fill in a special ‘final questionnaire’, where they will be asked to assess the conference series, and express their opinions about its continuation. This questionnaire will be sent to organizers prior to the third conference in the series.
Annual application deadlines: 1 March and 1 August for conferences planned for the following year.
Format
Programme Details
Registration fees
Registration fees may be charged up to a maximum of 450 euro per participant (up to 600 euro for participants from industry). This should be paid directly to the organizer and included as income in the final financial statement. The registration fee must be waived for EMBO editorial staff, wishing to attend the conference. The registration fee may be waived for editorial staff from other scientific journals who attend an EMBO Conference Series and publish a report in their journal.
Speakers & Participants
When selecting speakers and participants, organizers are requested to ensure a wide geographical representation of scientists, with no substantial bias towards the host country. At least two-thirds of the participants should be based in EMBC Member States. Organizers must attempt to ensure a good gender balance. They are strongly encouraged to aim for a minimum of 30% female representation when selecting speakers (justification for significantly lower numbers must be provided).
Poster sessions
When planning poster sessions, organizers should ensure that:
• these are in close proximity to where lectures are being held
• the display room is spacious and bright enough
• these sessions are not held at the end of the day
• sufficient and dedicated time is provided for poster viewing
• a brief oral presentation is given by participants (where possible).
EMBO Young Investigator Lecture
The EMBO Young Investigator Programme offers conference organizers the opportunity to apply for support of a lecture to be given by one of its members.
Eligibility: Only current EMBO Young Investigators are eligible. A list can be found here.
Maximum funding: 800 euro and 1200 euro (for overseas speakers)
Please complete the application form and send it to the EMBO Young Investigator office: yip @ embo.org
EMBO Science & Society Lecture
The EMBO Science & Society Programme offers conference organizers the opportunity to include a non-scientific talk from a scientist, sociologist, ethicist or journalist.
Eligibility: The lecturer must hold a presentation on ’Science & Society’ issues.
Maximum funding: 1000 euro and 2000 euro (for overseas speakers)
Please complete the application form and send it to the EMBO Science & Society office: scisoc @ embo.org
EMBO Women in Science Lecture
EMBO Women in Science offers course organizers the opportunity to include a talk from a scientist to address issues related to women in science.
Eligibility: The lecturer must hold a presentation on ’Women in Science’ issues.
Maximum funding: 800 euro and 1200 euro (for overseas speakers)
Please complete the application form and send it to EMBO Women in Science office: women @ embo.org
Advertisement & Payment
Advertising & co-sponsorship
All EMBO-sponsored conference series will be advertised in selected journals and on the EMBO website. Additional advertising is left at the organizer's discretion. It is a strict condition of EMBO support that any additional publicity, as well as the programme and abstract book, should clearly indicate the event as an EMBO Conference Series and must include the EMBO logo with suitable prominence (co-sponsorship may be acknowledged).
EMBO does not consider co-sponsoring conferences when the other sponsoring agency insists on the proceedings being published as a book.
Online HelpDesk
The EMBO Online HelpDesk will organize the setup of all websites (including online registration) and design meeting posters. Full details will be supplied to organizers shortly after funding has been confirmed.
Payment of the grant
The first payment (50% of the total funding) will be transferred to organizers approximately four months prior to the start of the conference. EMBO must be notified of any significant changes to the conference budget. Payment of the remaining funds will be transferred to the organizers once the following documentation has been submitted to and approved by EMBO:
Final documentation
• Short report about the conference (scientific and general - this should include a short scientific overview, the reaction of the participants to the location and organization, and any other relevant comments)
• Final financial statement, which should include all income and expenditure for the conference. (Please note that receipts must be retained by the organizer for five years after the conference, for possible auditing.)
• Statistics (list of participants and speakers, including their nationality; total number of participants (male and female) and speakers (male and female); number of participants from industry; and total number of applications)
• Programme and/or abstract book (in print form or CD)
• Participants’ questionnaires (feedback from participants is to be submitted online, using the EMBO system)
All above documentation must be submitted to EMBO within six months following the end date of the conference. Failure to do so will result in the final payment being forfeited.
Awards & Publications
EMBO reports
The organizers of EMBO Conference Series are invited to consider the commissioning of a meeting report for EMBO reports. If interested, organizers must contact the editorial staff of EMBO reports (emboreports @ embo.org) well before the conference takes place to ensure that there is space available in an appropriate issue. Please note that the report should not be written by the organizers but by one or more of the speakers. However, organizers are encouraged to provide input regarding the selection of authors from among the conference participants. It is stressed that the commissioning of such a report is an option and not an obligation.