BI-International für internationalen Fachaustausch

Participation in Conferences

Grants for Foreign Library Staff to Attend Conferences and Congresses in Germany

BI-International, the standing committee at the German National Association of Library and Information Associations Bibliothek & Information Deutschland (BID), provides financial support for congress attendances in Germany with German government funding.

1 Eligibility

Library professionals and information/documentation centre staff, who are actively integrated into the library systems of their home countries, are eligible to apply for financial support. Financing is available for the attendance of professional events (congresses, conferences) in Germany.

Should third-party financing be available, these funds must be used first. Financing in addition to the BII grant is generally attainable, but must be included in the application. German citizens are not eligible for financing even if they work or live abroad. Trips in relation to professional business cannot be funded.

Grants for professional excursions subsequent to a conference are available under certain circumstances.

2 Application Period

The application should be made as early as possible, and should be submitted at least six weeks prior to travelling. The grant application is submitted via the online form on the BI-International website.
A detailed cost estimate and the URL of the conference to be attended in Germany must be submitted with the application.

BII will confirm by e-mail the receipt of the application. The decision and notification will be sent by e-mail upon assessment by the BII committee.

3 Grant

The grant is based on a per diem rate for the duration of the event in Germany and is calculated at the lowest registration fee. Travel costs are self-funded. Funding is granted on an individual basis. As a general rule, each applicant is eligible for one grant per year. Funds will be available upon final approval from the sponsor in the designated calendar year. Applicants have no legal entitlement to receive funding.

The grant does not include travel costs and event registration. Grant recipients are responsible and liable for their own travel insurance, preparation and organization. Only fully completed applications will be processed. The paper acceptance letter can be submitted at a later date. Grant recipients are obliged to prepare a comprehensive written report on their conference attendance, which must be submitted within eight weeks of departure from Germany. The report has to explicitly mention the financing through BII. BII assumes copyright ownership for the report and is entitled to publish it, or parts thereof, on the BII website.

On acceptance of the grant, the recipient agrees to these guidelines for financing. BII is entitled to reclaim the grant, or parts thereof, if the grant has not been used as intended or if the report is not submitted on schedule.

The online form is available at:
http://www.bi-international.de/english/application_forms/international_conferences_in_germany/
Download Fact Sheet:
Grants for Foreign Library Staff to Attend Conferences and Congresses in Germany (PDF 65KB)