This page documents the guidelines for reimbursement of participant travel expenses which are being covered by the HSF-India project. Please read carefully the entire document, including both the general guidelines and any event- or workshop-specific instructions described at the end of this page. Additional instructions or limitations for reimbursement may also have been included in any email you received informing you that your travel is eligible for reimbursement from the HSF-India project.

General Guidelines for Reimbursement of Travel Expenses

Reimbursement will be provided for travel expenses for participants, up to a specified limit, upon presentation of valid receipts. The following guidelines apply:

  • Participants should plan on traveling on dates agreed with the HSF-India project for a particular event. These will be documented in “Notes for specific events and workshops” section of this webpage or specified in email from a designated representative of the HSF-India project.
  • Travelers should pay for their travel themselves and will be reimbursed up to the specified limits after the meeting/training event has concluded.
  • The reimbursement can be done by check or bank transfer, typically within 5-10 business days from submission and approval of the required documentation.
  • Only the traveler can be directly reimbursed (not the traveler’s research group).
  • Reimbursed travel should use the least expensive options possible, which reasonably meet normal travel time constraints.
  • Reimbursed travel should be booked in regular, economy fares. No business class or paid economy class upgrades can be reimbursed. In cases where airlines offer “economy basic” or similar discounted fares, with limitations on carry-on baggage or similar, it is fine to choose the “regular” economy fare permitting baggage.
  • For participants flying from outside the U.S., air flights can only be reimbursed if the carrier is allowed by the Fly America Act and U.S. Open Skies agreements and normally reimbursable with U.S. government (NSF) sponsored research funds.
  • For long distance ground travel in US/Europe, mass transportation (train, bus) is preferred to long distance taxi. Uber is recommended in India.
  • Receipts should be provided in electronic form (scanned or clear photos), preferably grouped together into a single pdf file.
  • The form(s) for reimbursement are linked below. This should in general be filled out by one week after the end of the event itself and submitted along with the electronic copy of the receipts described above.

If you have any questions or doubts about travel reimbursement please send an email with your travel plan to david.lange@cern.ch before booking to get confirmation on reimbursement.

Forms for reimbursement

There are two relevant forms for travel reimbursement:

Please note the following:

  • The form can be filled out electronically (e.g. in Acrobat Reader). This is the preferred method in order to guarantee legibility.
  • You can either sign the pdf electronically (e.g. in Acrobat Reader) or fill it out electronically, print the result, sign it and scan the result.
  • If you cannot fill the form out electronically, print the form and fill it out using clear block letters. Sign it and make a clear scan of the completed form.
  • On the form:
    • Fill out “Today’s date” in the upper right hand corner of the form
    • Fill out your name, address and business phone
    • Specify the departure and return date from your trip to the school (please use MM/DD/YY format)
    • Specify the city, state and country where the event was located for the “Destination”
    • Business purpose: “To participate in the HSF-India workshop on research software held at fill-in-location, fill-in-dates”
    • Fill out the list of expenses as appropriate. Include the date (in MM/DD/YY format), a short description of the type of expense and the amount in U.S. Dollars.
    • “per diem” can not be paid per policy. Instead, please list a breakout of meals. I suggest a single line on the expense form called “Meals (combined, breakout attached)”, and then a page in the PDF listing per meal estimates. There is no need for receipts. Our group policy is $37.50 on travel days and $50 on other days when no meals are provided. As in general meals are provided (and paid by our grant), please take that into account, but at the same time do make sure to cover your actual costs (up to $37.50/$50). Questions, ask me.
    • If you paid an expense in something other than U.S. Dollars, look up the exchange rate (corresponding to the date of the expense!) on some online service and make a screenshot of the rate (including the date). Include the screenshot in the pdf with the receipt. Put the equivalent U.S. Dollar cost in the form in the “Amount” column and include the amount in the foreign currency (with label such as CHF, EUR) in parentheses in the item “Description”. (Note that the administration may adjust the conversion amount if the wrong rate or date is used.)
    • Add your name, date and signature at the bottom of the form.
  • Make a readable scan or clear photo of all relevant receipts for the expenses to be reimbursed. Please merge these receipts into a single file.
  • Use this form to upload all forms and to make your request for reimbursement.