European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Actions

• September 12, 2023
• Andrew

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) funds interdisciplinary research networks called COST Actions. These Actions bring together researchers, innovators and other professionals including industry specialists, who are based in Europe and beyond, to collaborate on research topics for a period of 4 years.

The funding a COST Action receives covers the expenses of networking activities rather than research and as such is used to organise and fund events, Short-term Scientific Missions, Training Schools, communication activities, and virtual networking tools.  

Benefits

Participation in COST Actions has led to significant results and follow-up in terms of the number of proposals submitted for collaborative research in Framework Programmes, with a success rate which more than triple the average success rates for these programmes (37% success rate). By funding networking, COST acts as a pre-portal for further research and innovation funding such as Horizon Europe, the European Union’s Framework Programme for research and innovation.

Who can participate?

COST Actions attract researchers and innovators from universities, as well as from public and private institutions, NGOs, industry and SMEs – all institutions are welcome. Participants can apply at any stage of their career. COST Actions are based on the principle of inclusivity and actively promote the participation of researchers and innovators based in less-research-intensive COST Member countries.

Submission information

Participants are invited to submit COST Action proposals contributing to the scientific, technological, economic, cultural or societal knowledge advancement and development of Europe. Multi- and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.

The Open Call Action proposal submission, evaluation, selection and approval (SESA) procedure is fully science and technology-driven and will ensure a simple, transparent and competitive proposal evaluation and selection process, reflecting the bottom-up, open and inclusive principles of COST.

Dealine: the next collection date will be 25 October 2023 at 12.00 (noon) CEST.