Virtual Mobility

↳ What are VM Conference Grants?

A Virtual Mobility (VM) Grant supports collaboration in an online setting among researchers or innovators within a COST Action. It enables participants to exchange knowledge, learn new techniques, and strengthen the network’s capacity for virtual cooperation.

For the COST Action, a VM Grant offers a flexible tool to implement online activities, advance the Action’s objectives, and enhance its impact and visibility across Europe. For the grantee, it provides an opportunity to develop skills in online collaboration and networking within a pan-European framework.

Typical VM Grant activities include virtual mentoring schemes (particularly supporting young researchers and innovators), harmonising and standardising methods or procedures across the network, and supporting research coordination tasks such as data analysis, computational work, or developing shared protocols and surveys.

↳ Current Calls

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↳ Past Calls

Grants Virtual Mobility STSMs

Past Calls

Call for STSM and Virtual Mobility Grants, 2nd Call

We are pleased to announce a second call for the STSM and Virtual Mobility Grants. The call is open for application from 15 May...

↳ Grants by Years

VM Grants in 2025

Anna Escobedo (Spain)
Title: Developing methodology to compare parenting leave in different family scenarios and countries from the child perspective
Summary: The aim of this virtual mobility grant is to develop methodology as the basis for an international comparative paper using vignettes of different types of family situations. The aim of the comparative paper is to describe and analyse how does PPL (paid parenting leave) look like from the child perspective in different typical situations in a selection of different countries, from pregnancy (270 days) until second year, which has been identified as the First 1000 days in recent innovative policy trends.
Johanna Lammi-Taskula (Finland)
Title: Planning of a policy brief on future research needs on social inequalities in parenting leave
Summary: The aim of the proejct is to develop a draft for a policy brief about the most relevant future research needs around the topic of social inequalities in parenting leave. The policy brief will be based on the results and conclusions of the CA21150 WG2 forthcoming report on this theme, covering up-to-date knowledge gaps about various dimentions of social inequalities in eligibility, take-up and consequences of parenint leaves.
Pedro Romero Balsas (Spain)
Title: Terminological analysis of dataset of international comparative articles on paid parental leave
Summary: The main objective of this virtual mobility grant is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the terminological treatment found in academic articles that undertake international comparisons — involving at least three different countries — of various dimensions of paid parenting leave.
This action seeks to explore how authors conceptualise and employ terminology when addressing key aspects such as length, income replacement, eligibility criteria, flexibility and gender equality implications. Particular attention will be given to identifying the strategies used to harmonise the comparative concept across diverse linguistic and socio-political contexts, as well as to examining how terminological choices may influence the framing and interpretation of comparative results.
Rūta Brazienė (Lithuania)
Title: Inequalities in Leave Policies across the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia)
Summary: The main objective is to map and address knowledge gaps regarding inequalities in parental leave policies across the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia). It considers the resilience of family policy to systemic crises, highlighting the importance of stable and inclusive parental leave provisions in sustaining support for families during economic downturns or other disruptions. The objective is to produce a coordinated report and research agenda that will fill these gaps by leveraging the COST Action network, thereby advancing research coordination and informing future studies and policy improvements in line with the Action’s goals.
Marija Mosurović Ružičić (Serbia)
Title: Organisational Innovation for Parental Leave Policy Integration and Implementation
Summary: The purpose of this Virtual Mobility is to conduct a systematic literature review to identify and analyse how specific organisational dimensions can facilitate the acceptance and effective implementation of parental leave policies. Led by Marija Mosurović Ružičić, the research will focus on examining the relationship between certain organisational elements (strategic management, human resource management (HRM), organisational culture) and parental leave policies (PPL), aiming to ensure the successful adoption and implementation of PPL.
Jiřina Kocourková (Czechia)
Title: Parental Leave, Fertility, and Sustainability: A Comparative Perspective
Summary: The overarching aim is to compare policy and socio-demographic contexts in the three countries to identify how different parental leave arrangements and related measures shape the realization of reproductive intentions. The analytical framework will serve as a foundation for subsequent empirical work and collaborative outputs.
The specific objective of the project is to explore and discuss the possibilities of conducting a comparative analysis of the conditions influencing the realization of reproductive intentions, with a particular focus on paid parental leave (PPL) as a key policy instrument. The analysis will focus on three countries representing contrasting policy and demographic contexts: Czechia, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.
Dejana Pavlović (Serbia)
Title: Advancing Research on Fathers’ Parental Leave: Methodology Development for a Cross-National Comparative Study
Summary: This Virtual Mobility Grant will support the development of a qualitative research methodology focused on investigating the involvement of fathers in parental leave. The aim of this activity is to explore the experiences and attitudes of fathers who have used parental leave, through in-depth qualitative interviews with ten men residing in Belgrade. The study will examine their motivations, challenges they faced, and the broader institutional and social implications of paternal caregiving in the Serbian context. By doing so, it will contribute to a deeper understanding of men’s parenting practices and the cultural and structural barriers to more active father involvement.
Merve Uzunalioglu (UK)
Title: Organisational characteristics, culture and work/family boundaries: Implementing parenting-related leaves at universities
Summary: This Virtual Mobility aims to finalise the article “Organisational characteristics, culture and work/family boundaries: Implementing parenting-related leaves at universities”, co-authored by Merve Uzunalioglu, Katherine Twamley, Alison Koslowski, and Margaret O’Brien.
Bahar Aksoy (Turkey)
Title: Training in Title and Abstract Screening for a Systematic Review: Early Parenting and Long-Term Child Outcomes
Summary: The main objective of this Virtual Mobility (VM) is to enhance methodological and mentorship skills in title and abstract screening and eligibility assessment within the ongoing systematic review project entitled “Early Parenting and Long-Term Child Outcomes.” This review aims to synthesize current evidence on how early parenting practices shape children’s developmental, health, and psychosocial trajectories over time.
Tatjana Zorcec (North Macedonia)
Title: Comparative analysis of parenting leave policies in Iceland and North Macedonia
Summary: The purpose of this Virtual Mobility Grant is to conduct a comparative analysis of parenting leave policies in Iceland and North Macedonia through virtual collaboration. The focus will be on consolidating research findings, examining differences in legal frameworks and policy approaches and identifying factors influencing gender equality and work–family balance.
Anna Šťastná (Czechia)
Title: Exploring the Feasibility of a Parental Leave Module in Generations and Gender Survey (GGS)
Summary: The purpose of this Grant is to engage in preparatory discussions and planning for the potential inclusion of a specialized module on Paid Parental Leave (PPL) into the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) in the Czech Republic as a pilot. The focus of the grant is on exploring the feasibility, integration options, and methodological requirements for such a module. This work is grounded in the recognition of critical gaps in data on parental leave policies and attitudes identified by the COST Action CA21150 study (Dobrotić et al., 2023: Parenting leave policy data gaps: a comparative critical analysis. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/8g25k), and builds on prior attempts of to integrate a PPL module into the European Social Survey (ESS) by members of the COST action.
Branko Bošković (Montenegro)
Title: Parental leave take-up: What difference make economic and social conditions?
Summary: The main objective of this virtual mobility is to explore which economic and social conditions impact take up of parental leave among workers in Europe and prepare a scientific paper for publishing. The research will focus on the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).
Thordis Reimer (Germany)
Title: Preparations for Open Online Courses
Summary: The proposed project aims to develop a design for an open online course for early-career researchers, students and members of CA21150.
Kristina Kosic (Serbia)
Title: Systematic literature review: Comparative analysis of parental leave policies in Serbia and the former Yugoslav countries- similarities and differences
Summary: The main objective of a systematic literature review comparing parental leave policies in Serbia and other countries of the former Yugoslavia countries (e.g., Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia), is to analyze the parental leave systems in these countries, too evaluate and compare the structure and gender equality dimensions of parental leave policies in order to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for policy improvement—especially regarding support for working parents and the promotion of shared childcare responsibilities.
Danijela Zorcec (North Macedonia)
Title: Compilation of a literature database
Summary: To build a Sustainability@Leave Literature Repository mapping developments in the state of the art of the research into parenting leave policies across European countries.
Jochen Devlieghere (Belgium)
Title:
Summary: This Virtual Mobility Grant will support the development of white paper that connects the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to paid parental leave (PPL). The aim is to explore how PPL can be conceptualised not merely as a labour market or family policy instrument, but as a foundational public provision with far-reaching societal benefits. Using the best interests of the child as an interpretive lens, the collaboration will identify and develop normative paradigms that reframe parental leave as integral to achieving multiple SDGs, particularly those related to gender equality, decent work, child well-being, and reduced inequalities.
Gerlinde Mauerer (Austria)
Title: Integrating policy data into the Online Mapping Tool of Parenting Leave Policies