Rita Ward

Introducing COSTEuropean CoOperation in Science and Technology

NUI Galway23rd May 2017

COSTEuropean CoOperation in Science and Technology

1. COST Introduction2. COST Actions3. COST in H20204. COST in H2020 – join an existing Action 5. COST in H2020 – submission of proposal and

evaluation6. Benefits of COST participation - Q & A

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1. What is COST? Founded in 1971, COST is the oldest and widest European

intergovernmental framework for transnational Cooperation in Science and Technology.

COST has been supporting networking of research activities across the 37 COST countries and beyond for more than 40 years (19 COST countries in 1971).

COST budget €300 million from H2020.

One instrument: the COST Action (network of researchers). Only a few Actions (each with 4 year duration) at the beginning, to more than 325 Actions running in 2016.

COST DOES NOT FUND RESEARCHCOST DOES NOT FUND RESEARCH

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

All fields of S&T (highlight on trans-, multi-, interdisciplinary, new and emergent fields)

All partners (academia, public organisations, SME, industry, NGO, International Organisations)

All career stages (young and experienced researchers) Capacity building, Early Career Investigators

All countries COST Countries (36 COST Member Countries + Cooperating

State (Israel) Global cooperation on the basis of mutual interest (NNC, IPC) Geographical balance

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COST Strengths and Key Features

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37 COST members

International dimension of COST

The participation of Institutions from Near Neighbour Countries (NNC) and International Partner Country (IPC) is welcome and is based on mutual benefit

Institutions in Near Neighbour Countries (NNC): Balkan countries (Albania),

Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Syria and Tunisia) Eastern European Countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine)

Institutions in all other International Partner Countries (IPC)

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Near Neighbour Countries

Nr of participations in COST Actions (Feb 2017)Russian Federation 67Ukraine 54Albania 27Tunisia 18Armenia 16Belarus 10Republic of Moldova 10Egypt 8Morocco 8Palestinian Authority 6Georgia 5Jordan 5Algeria 4Lebanon 3

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International Partner CountriesParticipation Data December 2016

Network of Researchers with a duration of 4 years

Bottom up (no Calls for Proposals, no themes)

Expandable to new participants, (min 7 countries to startan Action, with Inclusiveness Target Country participation)

Implemented through networking activities: Meetings,Working Groups, Conferences, Workshops, Short TermScientific Missions, Training Schools and DisseminationActivities

Average Annual COST Budget EUR 129,000 (based on25 participating countries)

Action’s objectives and deliverables described in theapproved proposal (Memorandum of Understanding)

2. What is a COST Action?

COST DOES NOT FUND RESEARCHCOST DOES NOT FUND RESEARCH

COSTNETWORKING

TOOLS

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MC & CORE GROUPMEETINGS

WGMEETINGS

WORKSHOPS &

CONFERENCES

DISSEMINATION

SHORT TERMSCIENTIFIC MISSIONS

TRAININGSCHOOLS

COST Networking Tools

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COST members’ Action participation in 2016

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

AT BA BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE EL ES FI FR HRHU IE IL IS IT LT LU LV MKMTNL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK TR UK

3. COST in Horizon 2020FP7 Horizon 202055 billion euro budget 70.2 billion euro250 million euro COST budget 300 million euro

ESF operating agent COST Association(as COST not a legal entity)

COST Secretariat COST AssociationCOST Office in Bxls COST Administration in Bxls

Domain Committees (DCs) No Domains (OECD fields)

2-step application single step application

Evaluated by DCs, peer Peer review, Review Panels, review and DCs hearings and Scientific Committee

COST in Horizon 2020

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EUR 300 million budget (constant prices) for 7 years drawn from two Horizon 2020 work programmes:

Challenge 6 “Europe in a changing world – inclusive, innovative and reflective Societies”

“Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation”

Four specific Objectives to fulfil COST mission: Joining research efforts and developing common S&T

programmes

Building capacity

Addressing societal questions

Strengthening COST’s Inclusiveness Policy

COST Policiesaiming at

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Excellence & Inclusiveness Geographical coverage Early Career

Investigators (ECR) PhD < 8 yrs

Gender balance

Openness All fields of S&T All kind of participation

Academia, SME/Industry, …

All countries

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COST Inclusiveness Target Countries

Specific inclusiveness-oriented activities

Raising awareness at various events Seeking target countries’ full involvement by organising: COST Info Days Strategic events Conferences Workshops

Seeking researchers’ full involvement by taking up: Partner roles in preparing proposals for COST Actions Leadership roles in COST Actions Initiator roles in scientific committees Grant Holder role

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Early Career Investigators and Gender Balance

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ECI = PhD + up to 8 yearsEncourage and enable under represented gender and young investigators to be intensively involved in all COST activities by the Action in gaining visibility and recognition European-wide.

Entrusting young investigators with leader roles under their own responsibility (Grant Holders, Working Group leaders)

Encourage and enable under-represented gender to be intensively involved in all COST activities

Networking the way to gender equality in science and technology Benefiting from COST networking tools (STSM and Training

Schools in particular).

SOME EXAMPLES:

Aiming to facilitate/ encourage industry participation

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SMEs & Industry

SOME EXAMPLES:

STSMs with industry acting as home/ host institution

Participation in networking activities

Session dedicated to industrial participation at Action events

Roundtable discussions with industrial partners at Action events

International Cooperation

Aiming to support the involvement of researchers from NearNeighbour and International Partner Countries in COST Actionson the basis of mutual benefit.

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SOME EXAMPLES:

Approved IPC and NNC Institutions can host STSMs Researchers from approved NNC Institutions can:

Apply for STSMs Attend Training Schools

Researchers from approved IPC and NNC Institutions can be Trainers when Training Schools are organised

4. How to participate in COST - join

Join an existing COST Action:-

As a Management Committee (MC) member taking part in the management of the Action (in addition to participating in some working group activities):Contact your COST National Coordinator and apply to become a MC member representing your Country.

As a Working Group (WG) participant taking part in the Scientific activities of the Action:Contact the Action Chair and/or the national MC representative

COST Action Structure

MANAGEMENTCOMMITTEE

(MC)

WG 1 WG 2

WG 4WG 3

COSTAssociation

AdministrationGRANT HOLDER

(GH)

WG X (max 6)

Management Committee

Up to 2 members nominated by their respective COST National Coordinator (CNC)

Coordination, Implementation and Management of an Action

Achievement of the Action’s objectives (MoU)

Define the Action Strategy

Supervise the appropriate allocation and use of funds

Implement COST mission and policies

MC Observers (NNC, IPC, Eur. RTD Org., Internat.Org.)

DECISION MAKING BODYDECISION MAKING BODY

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COSTNETWORKING

TOOLS

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MC & CORE GROUPMEETINGS

WGMEETINGS

WORKSHOPS &

CONFERENCES

DISSEMINATION

SHORT TERMSCIENTIFIC MISSIONS

TRAININGSCHOOLS

COST Networking Tools

4. How to participate in COST (cont.)

Join an existing COST Action (continued)

– Look at Actions on COST website http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions

– Look at Management Committee for a particular COST Action– (MC members decide on participation in the working groups)

– If no Irish involvement on MC, contact Rita Ward - COST National Coordinator (MoU needs to be signed, and MC member nominated)

– If one from Ireland on MC, a second person (or substitutes) can be nominated (contact Rita Ward) OR if only want to participate in the working groups within the COST Action (contact the Chair or MC person direct)

– If two from Ireland on MC then contact Chair or MCs direct in order to participate in the working groups within the particular COST Action

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How to find a running Action?

http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/all_actions

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5. How to participate in COST – submit

Submit a proposal for a COST Action

– Online submission throughout the year via the new e-COST online submission tool

– Guidelines for submitting COST Action proposals and evaluation criteria http://www.cost.eu/participate/open_call

– Had 2 collection dates per year – spring and autumn (new 8 month cycle) – next collection date 7th September 2017

– Had 30 to 40 Actions approved each collection subject to budget availability (now 25 Actions, up to 40 for Sep 2017)

– Open to all S & T fields (including social sciences and humanities)

– Min of 7 of COST members with a min number from COST ITC (in Annex II COST 133-14 Rev 19 December 2016)

– Coordination support up to 3,000 euro available from Enterprise Ireland for ROI

http://www.horizon2020.ie/who-can-help/financial-assistance/

COST in Horizon 2020 - New submission & evaluation procedure

– One stage submission process (15 pages max) – Open Call System – Next Collection date 7th September 2017 (12:00 CET)

http://www.cost.eu/participate/open_call

– Two step evaluation process– Step 1 – Evaluation: S&T excellence and implementation by External Experts – (anonymously and remotely evaluated by 3 External Experts taken from COST

database)

– Step 2 – Revision: Quality check and resolution of discrepancies by the Review Panels

– The Ad Hoc Review Panels identify the top 10% proposals from those that are above the threshold after validation of their consensus and marks.

– (up to 3 experts per scientific field based on OECD (6 fields) per country, 2 year mandate).

– To become an external evaluator and for possible nomination to the Review Panel, must register on the COST Database at http://www.cost.eu/participate/experts

Submission and Evaluation ProcedureSingle stage submission process (15 pages max)

Open Call System – Next Collection date 7th September 2017 Keywords important - OECD scientific fields will be used for categorisation,

OECD fields• Natural Sciences• Engineering and Technology• Medical and Health Sciences• Agricultural Sciences• Social Sciences• Humanities

Criteria: S & T Excellence; Impact; Implementation (next slide)

65 marks allocated, threshold is 45 marks (really need to target 58+ marks)Mention gender balance and early career investigators, involve pan-European partners Min of 7 of COST members with a min number from COST ITC (Inclusiveness Target Countries)Anonymous, careful of conflict of interest

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Evaluation Process Step 1Remote evaluation using the following criteria:-The identity of the Main Proposer and of the network of proposers will be kept anonymous, and evaluated by external experts (threshold 45 marks)

S&T EXCELLENCE (25 marks) Soundness of the challenge (wow factor) Progress beyond the state-of the-art and innovation potential (why COST, why now) Added value of networking (how COST will leverage existing activities and make research

area “bloom“)

IMPACT (20 marks) Scientific, technological and/or socio-economic impact (short and long term impacts) Measures to maximise impact Level of risk and level of potential innovation/breakthroughs (wide reaching effect, impact

on industry(?) H2020 funding(?))

IMPLEMENTATION (20 marks) Coherence and effectiveness of the work plan (describe planned activities “COST tools”) Appropriateness of management structures and procedures (Core Executive Group,WGs

organised around topics, designed to include all members) Network as a whole (deliverables: what will COST be able to put its name to?)

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Evaluation Process Step 2

Quality check and resolution of discrepancies by the Review Panels

Ad Hoc Review Panels established every Collection Date based on the number and topics of received proposals

Composed of a pool of active scientists (up to 3 experts per OECD scientific field) nominated by the COST National Coordinator and registered on the COST database – mandate of 2 years

Review Panels check the quality of the independent External Expert evaluation outcome and resolving potential differences in their opinions

Ad Hoc Review Panels identify the top 10% proposals from those that are above the threshold (45 marks) after validation of their consensus and marks and prepare a list of the top ranked proposals for examination and selection by the Scientific Committee

Review Panel members cannot participate in any approved Action of the collection date where they were involved in Step 2

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Selection Process Step 3

Selection by Scientific Committee

Scientific Committee composed of 37 members - one high-level expert per COST country

receives from each Review Panel the list of the top 10% proposals

Shall select among the ranked list of proposals received from the Review Panels by discriminating among proposals with the same marks, taking into account the COST mission and policies

Submits the final number of selected proposals to the CSO for approval

The final number of proposals to be approved will depend on the budget available at each call

Final step – Approval of Actions by CSO

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6. Benefits of COST participation

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% national participation by Ireland on Management Committees in running Actions (total number of running Actions in brackets)

Participations from Ireland in COST Action networking activities

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Total number of reimbursed participants in Actions’ networking activities(meetings, Short Term Scientific Missions, Training Schools).

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Number of participations from Ireland as trainees or trainers

STSM and Training School involvement from Ireland

Current COST Actions with Irish participation on MCs

BMBS 26 4 CMST 26 6 ESSEM 27 9FA 20 1 FFP 21 4 ICT 28 6ISCH 40 10 MPNS 30 0 TUD 21 1TD 33 5 TN 3 2 (new in H2020) CA151 25 3 CA152 21 1

258 Actions with Irish participation (79%) (from 326 Actions)approx 516 Irish MC participations (plus 168 as subs to MC)52 COST Actions with NUIG participations on MCsto end December 2016 plus 7 in CA161 just starting

Benefits of COST participation

• development of international networks • participation in leading edge research• early access to developing technologies • enhancement of career progression• priming participants to undertake research in the EU Framework

and other International programmes• travel opportunities

http://www.cost.eu/participate/open_call

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COST Administration – European Cooperation in Science and TechnologyAvenue Louise 1491050 Brussels, BelgiumT: +32 (0)2 533 3800F: +32(0)2 533 3890www.cost.eu

www.youtube.com/user/COSTOffice

www.twitter.com/COSToffice

www.linkedin.com/company/cost-office

http://www.facebook.com/COST.Programme

Rita Ward – COST National CoordinatorEnterprise Ireland - R & I InternationalisationT: +353 (0) 1 7272767E: rita.ward@enterprise-ireland.com

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COST Contacts

Questions?

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