GRANTS FOR VISITS BY RESEARCHERS, PROFESSORS, EXPERTS,
CULTURAL FIGURES AND CULTURAL OPERATORS
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) supports and encourages missions abroad and in Italy by Italian and foreign researchers, professors, experts, cultural figures and cultural operators respectively.
The primary objective of the funding is to foster the development of strategic partnerships and cultural and scientific projects between foreign and Italian institutions in the medium and long term.
Office VI – DGCE provides grants, under Budget Chapter 2619/7, for:
- Funding travel and accommodation expenses for Italian researchers, professors, experts, cultural figures and cultural operators, or foreign nationals residing in Italy for at least two years, invited abroad by foreign university or cultural institutions;
- Contributions toward travel and accommodation expenses for foreign researchers, professors, experts, cultural figures and cultural operators, or Italians residing abroad, invited by Italian university and cultural institutions to promote collaboration and joint research programmes.
Applicants may request a partial financial contribution from MAECI to cover travel and accommodation costs, disbursed as a lump sum of up to €1,500 or €3,000 depending on the destination, for a maximum period of 10 days of activity.
No funding is provided beyond the tenth day. For counting purposes, only days of actual cultural and/or research activity are included.
The grant consists of an all-inclusive daily lump sum for a maximum of 10 days: €250 per day for stays of up to 5 days, and €50 per day from the sixth to the tenth day of the stay abroad or in Italy, for a maximum total of €1,500 per mission.
APPLICATION AND DISBURSEMENT PROCEDURES
Interested parties, both Italian and foreign, wishing to submit a grant application must send it to the competent Italian Cultural Institute for their territory, no later than 31 July 2026.
Applications will only be accepted if accompanied by an official invitation from a university or cultural institution, preferably within the framework of existing bilateral Cultural Cooperation Agreements and Executive Programmes.
For Italian applicants or foreign nationals residing in Italy, the invitation must come from a foreign university or cultural institution. For foreign applicants or Italians residing abroad, the invitation must come from an Italian university or cultural institution.
Grants for foreign beneficiaries will be disbursed through the overseas office that submitted the application. Italian beneficiaries will receive the grant directly from Office VI.
Applications will be reviewed in order of receipt, subject to available resources.
DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED TO THE APPLICATION
Interested applicants must send their application by email to iictelaviv@esteri.it, using the appropriate form (Annex 1), accompanied by the required documentation. The form and guidelines can be downloaded here.
Within ten days of the end of the mission, in order to receive the grant, the applicant must supplement their application with the following documents to be sent to the Institute and the Office:
- Travel documents, such as flight tickets and boarding passes;
- Certificate of stay issued by the host institution;
- Final report on the activity carried out.
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING APPLICATIONS
Applications may be evaluated by the Institutes based on the following criteria:
- Applicant’s curriculum vitae;
- Potential medium and long-term outcomes of the mission in terms of developing cultural or scientific projects and partnerships between Italian and foreign institutions;
- Prestige of the cultural institutions involved;
- Rotation principle among grant beneficiaries.
When evaluating applications, consideration will also be given to the mission’s alignment with MAECI’s geographical and thematic priorities, as well as the existence of an active executive cultural cooperation programme between Italy and the relevant foreign country.
Grants will be awarded in all cases until available funds are exhausted.
DEADLINES
Applications must reach this Institute at iictelaviv@esteri.it no later than 31 July 2026. Applications received after this date will not be considered.
The grant is available for all activities taking place from 1 January to 15 November 2026. Please note that grants cannot be provided for missions taking place after this date.
How is the grant disbursed?
Grants will be transferred by bank transfer to the beneficiary’s bank account.
Is a final report required?
Grant beneficiaries must send the Italian Cultural Institute to which they submitted their application a report on the activities carried out during the mission.
