ESF provides the COST Officethrough a European Commission contract

COST is supported by the EU Framework Programme

COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology

A Networking Programme to enhance European Research

Dr Lucia Forzi, COST Office Brussels, 11 June 2014

What is COST? COST is the oldest and widest European intergovernmental framework for transnational Cooperation in Science and Technology

COST has been supporting the networking of research activities across all 35 Member Countries and beyond for over 40 years

COST is open to all disciplines, all novel and ground-breaking science and technology (S&T) ideas and to all categories of partners where mutual benefit is real

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COST Mission

COST enables breakthrough scientific developments leading to new concepts and products. It thereby contributes to strengthening Europe’s research and innovation capacities.

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  Inclusiveness and excellence   Supporting highest quality in science and

technology (S&T)   Action proposals are S&T-driven (bottom-up)   Early Stage Researchers are a key target of

COST support   COST funding is used to leverage funding from

nationally and regionally funded projects

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COST Key Principles

COST supports the networking of researchers through science and technology networks called ‘COST Actions’ and open to:

  Any novel and original idea (innovative)  All fields of S&T (including interdisciplinary, new and

emergent fields)   All partners (public and private, big and small)   All career stages (young and senior researchers)   All countries (small and big, leader and follower countries)

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COST Strengths

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  COST was established in 1971   1974 : ESF   1984 : 1st FP   1985 : EUREKA

  COST meets continuous interest from scientific communities   From 19 member states in 1971 to 35 Member States

and 1 Cooperating State in 2011   From 7 Actions in 1971 to more than 300 Actions in 2014

(in total more than 850 COST Actions funded)   From 7 Science disciplines in 1971 to 9 multidisciplinary

Domains in 2011…   From a few hundred thousands € in FP1 to 250 Million €

in FP7

COST History

COST: 2014 year of transition

Preparing for the future:   Establishment of a new implementing structure,

the COST Association (19 September 2013)   Transition from FP7 to Horizon 2020 ‒  To prepare for this transition, the COST Office and

the current implementing agent for COST, ESF, are collaborating to finalise FP7 activities

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COST Budget from H2020

EUR 300 million (constant prices) 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

Funded through the FP7 ‘Cooperation’ programme. The European Science Foundation (ESF) is COST’s implementing agent. Operated by the COST Office (Brussels).

European Commission

FP7 ESF COST

Office

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COST Funding under FP7

The ‘COST Association’ was established on 19 September 2013 with the aim of providing the legal entity for the implementation of COST activities in the near future.

The COST Association is established as an International Non-Profit Association under Belgian law (AISBL).

COST Funding 2014

European Commission Horizon 2020

COST Association

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COST Association

COST Countries

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  Inclusiveness   Early stage researchers,

ESRs   Gender balance   International

cooperation   SMEs/industry

participation

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COST has identified its priorities and developed its policies on:

COST Policies under H2020

Originated from:   Political context of Horizon 2020   Geographical 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

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Inclusiveness under H2020

COST Inclusiveness countries EU Member States: “EU13”: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia

EU candidate countries: former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Turkey

Potential EU candidate countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Inclusiveness under H2020

COST Organisation under H2020

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What will the COST Association do?

Supports the scientific and technical implementation of COST Framework:

  Science Operations :  COST Actions  Open Call – 2 cut off dates per year  Scientific Committee(s)

  Communication activities:  S&T-driven activities and events

  Strategic activities:  Policy-driven activities and events

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What is a COST Action?

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COST does not fund research itself, but supports networking activities carried out within COST Actions.

COST Actions are pan-European, bottom-up science and technology networks open to researchers from academia and industry or to policy stakeholders.

Every COST Action lasts for up to four years and requires the participation of researchers from at least 5 COST Member Countries.

COST Action Features

  Expanding networks   130 000 EUR support for a COST Action

featuring 20 participating COST Countries on average

  Fostering transdisciplinary research   Supporting new ideas and knowledge

sharing

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COST Near Neighbour Countries Participation 206 participations in running COST Actions across 17 countries

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  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

International Partner Countries 519 participations in running Actions across 27 countries

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March 2014 data

How do COST Actions work? Scientists and researchers network and collaborate within COST Actions using different networking tools:

  Management Committees   Working Group Meetings   Scientific Workshops and Seminars   Training Schools   Short-Term Scientific Meetings (STSMs)   Dissemination and Publications

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Utilisation of Biomass for Sustainable Fuels and Chemicals (UBIOCHEM) COST Action CM0903

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Objective

to generate a synergistic approach for utilisation of biomass for sustainable fuels & chemicals through cooperation between scientists from different member states and different areas and disciplines

  WG1 Primary conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks   WG2 Biomass to energy   WG3 Biomass to novel materials   WG4 Biomass to platform chemicals

Hybrid Energy Storage Devices and Systems for Mobile and Stationary Applications (Hybrid-ES) COST Action MP1004

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Objective

To provide scientific and technological knowledge to develop innovative hybrid energy storage devices and systems and to prepare an appropriate platform for their adequate practical implementation in transportation and energy technique

  WG1 Improved materials for energy storage devices (ESD`s)   WG2 Strategy to build “intelligent” hybrid energy storage devices

and systems   WG3 Hybrid energy storage solutions for mobile applications   WG4 Hybrid energy storage solutions for stationary applications

NANOSTHYS - Nanostructured Materials for Solid-State Hydrogen Storage COST Action MP1103

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Objective

to develop innovative nanostructured materials that meet the targets for practical Solid State Hydrogen Storage for their adequate implementation in stationary and transport applications

  WG1 Synthesis of novel materials with optimized properties   WG2 High resolution and high sensitivity characterization of

atomic level structure and of microstructural features   WG3 Characterization of hydrogen storage properties both at

the laboratory level and at the scale of prototype tanks   WG4 Computational modeling of processes relevant to SSHS

Supramolecular photocatalytic water splitting (PERSPECT-H2O) COST Action CM1202

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Objective

to develop a fundamental understanding of the function determining light-induced elementary reactions in supramolecular photocatalytic water splitting and to realize novel supramolecular photocatalysts for water splitting

  WG1 Synthesis and Photocatalysis   WG2 Device Integration   WG3 Photoinduced Dynamics   WG4 Structural Intermediates and Catalytically Active Species

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Dr Lucia Forzi Science Officer Chemistry and Molecular Sciences and Technologies lucia.forzi@cost.eu

COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium T: +32 (0)2 533 3800 F: +32(0)2 533 3890

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