Deadline: 20-Oct-22
Applications for the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is now open.
COST is a pan-European intergovernmental framework2 dedicated to European-based Science and Technology (S&T) networking activities aiming at allowing their participants to jointly develop their ideas and new initiatives across all scientific disciplines through trans-European coordination of nationally or otherwise funded research activities. COST has been contributing since its creation in 1971 to closing the gap between science, policy makers and society throughout Europe and beyond.
The COST Mission is to provide networking opportunities for researchers and innovators in order to strengthen Europe’s capacity to address scientific, technological and societal challenges. There are three strategic priorities:
- promoting and spreading excellence;
- fostering interdisciplinary research for breakthrough science;
- empowering and retaining young researchers.
Objectives
- Research Coordination Objectives: These objectives entail the distribution of tasks, sharing of knowledge and know-how, and the creation of synergies among Action Participants to achieve specific outputs. Achieving these objectives turns COST Actions from initially scattered groups into one transnational team and leverages the existing funded research.
- Capacity-building Objectives: Achieving these objectives entails building critical mass to drive scientific progress, thereby strengthening the European Research Area. They can be achieved by the delivery of specific outputs and/or through network features or types and levels of participation.
Eligible Participants
- COST Actions are open to all researchers and innovators who are committed to work on and achieve the Action objectives and are affiliated to a legal entity. Action Participants are defined as any person being an Action MC Member, an Action MC Observer, a Working Group member or an ad hoc participant:
- Action MC Members and Observers: their role is to represent and benefit their national community and pro-actively participate in the implementation of coordination and management decisions in the Action.
- WG members: any individual affiliated to a legal entity in any country in the world may become a WG member. Their participation needs to be approved by the Action MC, based on an application submitted through the COST Action webpage. Their role is to contribute to the achievement of the Action objectives through their participation in WG.
- Ad hoc Participants: Individuals selected, as necessary, by the Action MC to contribute to the COST Action activities towards the achievement of the COST Action Objectives. Ad hoc participants can be STSM grantees, trainees and trainers in Training Schools, and invited speakers at COST Action Workshops and Conferences.
- All Action Participants must be affiliated to a legal entity located in a COST Member or in any NNC or Third State (IPC).
- A legal entity can be (non-exhaustive list) a public entity (national, regional, local public authority or any other kind of public entity), a university, a research centre, company, association, Specific Organisation or any other form of legal entity recognised under a national or international framework.
Eligibility Criteria
COST Action proposals must:
- represent a Network of Proposers from at least 7 different COST Full or Cooperating Members among which a minimum number (≥50%) shall be from COST Inclusiveness Target Countries;
- respect fundamental ethical principles and in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, with particular emphasis on originality of findings and ideas, and on peaceful purposes of the addressed S&T challenges;
- respect word and page limits. Do not change in any way the compulsory format of the “Technical Annex” (font, margins, line spacing, etc.) and make sure any added figures or tables are readable. Furthermore, do not provide links or references to any additional information about the proposal;
- be written in English, the working language of the COST Association;
- be anonymous, in order to comply with the double-blind principle of the evaluation:
- proposals may not contain any direct or indirect reference to people and/or their institutions participating in the Network of Proposers (Main or Secondary Proposers). This means that names of proposers or institutions should neither be explicitly mentioned, nor be potentially identifiable through links to web pages or through references to their role and/or participation in existing or ended projects, grants, networks.
For more information, visit https://www.cost.eu/funding/how-to-get-funding/open-call-a-simple-one-step-application-process/