COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology

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1 COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology Prof Tatiana Kovacikova Head of Science Operations COST Association Brussels, 24 November 2014 COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through a European Commission contract

2 OUTLINE COST in Horizon 2020 COST POLICIES COST ACTIONS HOW TO PARTICIPATE? 2

3 What is COST? COST is the oldest and widest European intergovernmental framework for Cooperation in Science and Technology (1971) COST has been supporting the networking of nationally funded research activities across all 35 Member Countries + 1 Cooperating State and beyond for over 40 years COST is based on networks called COST Actions. Currently there are 328 running Actions networking around researchers per year, worldwide. 3

4 COST objectives under H2020 Enabling breakthrough scientific developments leading to new concepts and products. Jointly contributing to strengthening Europe s research and innovation capacities. Joining research efforts and developing common S&T programmes Capacity building Addressing societal questions Strengthening COST s Inclusiveness Policy 4

5 COST Budget from H2020 EUR 300 million for 7 years coming from two H2020 work programmes: Challenge 6 Europe in a changing world inclusive, innovative and reflective Societies Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation For trans-european networking of nationally funded research activities. 5

6 COST CURRENT POLICIES 6

7 Originated from: Inclusiveness Political context of the Innovation Union (Horizon 2020) The intergovernmental context of the COST Member Countries With the aim to: Encourage and enable researchers from less research-intensive countries across the COST Member Countries to set up and/or join COST Actions and get more intensively involved in all COST activities Counterbalancing research communities unequal access to knowledge infrastructures, funding and resources distribution 7

8 COST Inclusiveness countries 8

9 Early Stage Researchers ESR = 8 Years PhD* To address the difficulty in developing independent careers and to establish their first research group under their own responsibility COST Strategy Support ESR *PhD or equivalent experience 9

10 Gender balance With the aim to: Encourage and enable under represented gender to be intensively involved in all COST activities. Networking the way to gender equality in science and technology. 10

11 Contribution to the Innovation Union Facilitate/ encourage industry/sme participation 11

12 COST ACTIONs 12

13 COST Actions COST supports the networking of researchers through science and technology networks, which are open to: All fields of S&T (including interdisciplinary, new and emergent fields) Any novel and original idea (innovative) All partners (public and private, big and small) All career stages (young and senior investigators) All countries, including COST Near Neighbour Countries (NNC) and International Partner Countries (IPC) fostering international cooperation 13

14 COST Networking Facilities COST Action duration 4 years Minimum 5 COST member countries Average budget EUR per year (24 partners) Management Committee Meetings Training Schools Working Group Meetings NETWORKING TOOLS Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) Scientific Workshops & Seminars Dissemination & Publications

15 COST Actions

16 Who can participate? Any researcher, engineer or scholar affiliated to the following INSTITUTIONS: Institutions from COST Countries, Near Neighbour Countries and International Partner Countries. European Commission and EU Agencies. European RTD Organisations limited to: CERN, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, European XFEL, ILL, EFDA JET. International Organisations (examples: UNESCO, FAO, WHO, EFI, CABI, MARIE CURIE FELLOWS ASSOCIATION, EUROPEAN CENTER FOR WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY). 16

17 COST Countries 17

18 COST Near Neighbour Country 206 participations in running COST Actions across 17 countries Albania (15) Algeria (7) Armenia (8) Azerbaijan (5) Belarus (6) Egypt (7) Georgia (5) Jordan (2) Lebanon (5) Moldova (5) Montenegro (12) Morocco (13) Palestinian Authority (3) Syrian Arab Republic (2) Russia (51) Tunisia (14) Ukraine (46) March 2014 data 18

19 International Partner Countries 519 participations in running Actions across 27 countries March 2014 data 19

20 HOW TO PARTICIPATE? 20

21 OPTION 1 SHORT TERM STRATEGY Would you like to join an existing COST Action? 21

22 COST Actions are Open! You can join any Action that is running: AS A MC MEMBER: By contacting your CNC in order to be one (of the maximum two) MC members representing your Country. AS A WG PARTICIPANT: By contacting you respective MC member and or the Action Chair and participate in the Working Groups. 22

23 How to Find a running Action? 23

24 How to Find a running Action? Description of the Action Objectives, Working Groups, etc 24

25 OPTION 2 LONG TERM STRATEGY Are you already in contact with other researchers and you would like to submit a COST Action proposal? 25

26 Make your own COST proposal What do you need? An idea on any Science and Technology topic that needs networking support At least 5 colleagues from 5 different COST countries 26

27 COST New Open Call Proposals can be submitted as of January 30th, 2015 through the online submission tool (e-cost): Next collection date March 24th, 2015 New Proposal Template as well as the Guidelines for submitting COST Action proposals and evaluation criteria available in January 2015 Call open to all fields of Science and Technology Proposals should include researchers from a minimum of five countries 27

28 COST New SESA Procedure SESA Submission, Evaluation, Selection and Approval Fully Science and Technology-driven o Open to all science and technology fields, focusing on excellence o No prior categorisation of Action proposals o Equal opportunities to succeed for all scientists and topics Ensuring a competitive evaluation and selection of proposals in line with the bottom-up, open and inclusive nature of COST One-stage submission based upon a proposal of up to 15 pages 28

29 1. Evaluation Three Steps Approach Peer review: each proposal anonymously and remotely evaluated by three independent External Experts in the science and technology field(s) indicated by the proposers Consensus-oriented, using on-line collaborative tools 2. Revision Driven by Review Panels checking the quality of the independent External Experts evaluation outcome and resolving potential differences in their opinions Ad hoc Review Panels composed of active scientists nominated by the COST National Coordinators to a pool of experts 3. Selection Driven by the Scientific Committee, identifying, among the list of proposals presented by the RPs, those that respond best to COST 29

30 OPTION 3 Become a COST EXPERT 30

31 Become a COST Expert! As a COST Expert, you will have the opportunity to: Contribute to the evaluation of COST Open Call proposals; Participate in the assessment of Action results and outcomes; Be invited to take part in the assessment of COST strategic activities.. New experts can express their interest via the COST Expert online registration form ( An updated Curriculum Vitae with a list of publications is required to demonstrate competence in specific areas of expertise. More on COST Experts: 31

32 THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTION. IF YOU NEED FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT Prof Tatiana Kovacikova 32

33 COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology Avenue Louise Brussels, Belgium T: +32 (0) F: +32 (0) Get COST News by by signing up at twitter.com/costoffice