Cochrane LMIC/UMIC Stipends

Please note: DO NOT register for the Cochrane Krakow Colloquium before you receive notification of the result of your stipend application.

Cochrane is committed to promoting and supporting the participation of active members from low-, lower-middle-, and upper-middle-income countries (LMICs and UMICs) in our annual Colloquium. Stipends are available to help cover travel and other expenses for residents of LMICs/UMICs who are actively contributing to Cochrane. However, funds are very limited, so applicants who can secure some or all of their costs from another source—such as their Cochrane Group or their institution—are encouraged to do so.

• Stipend application deadline is 13 April 2026 23:59 GMT
• Stipend recipients notified on 4 May 2026

Individuals who wish to apply for a stipend must be:

• permanent residents (living and working in) in low-, lower-middle- and upper-middle-income countries as defined by the World Bank.
• active Cochrane members as a review author, editor, information specialist, methodologist, peer reviewer, translator or coordinator of local Cochrane activities; active involvement must have started no later than one year before the 2026 Krakow Colloquium.
• able to attend the entire 2026 Krakow Colloquium (8-10 December 2026). Make sure that the conference dates do not conflict with any other commitment you may have, and that your employer has approved your attendance at the Colloquium. We will not fund partial attendance of the 2026 Krakow Colloquium.
• recommended by a Cochrane Group (CRG Network, Review Group, Field, Network, Centre, Associate Centre or Affiliate) or an individual highly involved with Cochrane. You will be asked to indicate the Cochrane Group that you are most closely associated with or an individual that can comment on your involvement. Please note that in some cases applicants may be contacted to provide a support letter for their applications.
• a new stipend applicant –you must not have received a stipend to attend the last three Cochrane Colloquia or previous Global Evidence Summit.

• Partial funding: to be able to fund as many people as possible to attend the 2026 Krakow Colloquium, our preference is to provide partial support only. Your chances of receiving a stipend are higher if you are able to cover part of the costs yourself or from other sources. The application form will ask for information on other organisations that you have contacted to obtain funding. You will not be able to request further funding once your application has been accepted.
• Upper-middle-income country residents: contributors based in upper-middle-income countries are expected to cover at least 25% of their costs themselves.
• Cochrane employees: applicants who are employed – and paid – to do Cochrane work are eligible for partial funding only. For the purpose of their application, a Cochrane employee is anyone hired by any institution who has protected time on a weekly basis to work for a Cochrane Group (CRG Network, Review Group, Methods Group, Field, Centre, Associate Centre, Affiliate, and Group satellites). As a guideline, applicants who have protected Cochrane work time for less than half time (less than 2.5 days per week) can apply for a maximum of 75% of funding support. Applicants who have protected work time for more than 2.5 days per week paid to do Cochrane work should not request more than 50% funding support. If a person’s paid Cochrane work finishes before the start of the Global Evidence Summit, these eligibility criteria do not apply.
• Persons temporarily based in high-income countries: applications from residents of low- and middle-income countries that are currently based in a high-income country may be considered on a case-by-case basis if the stay is clearly limited to a specific period of time and the applicant does not receive a salary. Please contact Cochrane’s Central Executive (lmicstipends@cochrane.org) before you submit your application if this applies to you.

Applicants will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Cochrane involvement
• contribution to the 2026 Krakow Colloquium programme
• anticipated gains from attending the 2026 Krakow Colloquium
• ability to raise partial funds to support attendance
• recommendation from a Cochrane Group/individual highly involved with Cochrane
• previous receipt of a Cochrane Colloquium or Global Evidence Summit stipend

Funds may be available for one or more of the following:

• Travel to and from Krakow, Poland (most economical return fare)
• Accommodation will be reserved and paid directly by the Stipends team, unless you wish to reserve your own hotel. If reserving your own room, reimbursement will not exceed €680 in total for a maximum of four nights (€170 per night).
• Registration fee, which entitles you to attend all sessions, conference materials, lunches and coffee breaks from 8-10 December 2026, including attendance at the Evening Social Event
• Allowance for ground travel and meals not included in the registration fee, up to €25 per day (no more than €100 in total for the four days)

• Produce a report on their experiences at the 2026 Krakow Colloquium. This may be used as a blog or news item for the Cochrane websites.
• Produce receipts for expenses covered by the stipend.

• All submitted applications are screened and those meeting the eligibility criteria will be considered by the LMIC Stipend Committee.

Demián Glujovsky

Aline Rocha

Luciane Lopes 

Mina Ma 

Mayara Rodrigues  

Shalu Jain

If you require assistance with your application, please contact lmicstipends@cochrane.org