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European CO operation in the field of S cientific and T echnical research. Rita Ward National Coordinator. Mission Strengthen Europe in scientific and technical research for peaceful purposes through the support of cooperation and interaction between European researchers. What is COST?.
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European COoperation in the field of Scientific and Technical research Rita Ward National Coordinator
Mission Strengthen Europe in scientific and technical research for peaceful purposes through the support of cooperation and interaction between European researchers October 2006
What is COST? • European COoperation in the field of Scientific and Technical research • 1971 - Ministerial Conference, Brussels: launching of COST, a Framework for coordinating nationally funded research in Europe • Participation • 34 COST Member States and 1 cooperating state • International organisations and research institutions from non-COST countries • The European Commission through the Framework Programme • COST Actions • Networked research projects October 2006
COST characteristics • Co-ordination through networking • Pan-European • “Non-competitive” (pre-normative, public utility) • Bottom-up and flexible “a la carte” participation • Wide range of disciplines • “Interdisciplinary Exploratoria” • Enabling agent: focus on younger researchers • Open to wider cooperation October 2006
COST Actions – what is supported? Science management meetings (MC and WG) Scientific workshops and seminars Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) Training Schools and Research Conferences Dissemination Nationally funded projects networked around a joint work programme supporting: October 2006
COST Governance October 2006
COST Financing October 2006
Number of Actions 1980-2005 (Running any time of the year - status 30/11/2005) October 2006
Number of Actions per domain 2005 (Status on 31st December) October 2006
Number of Actions per domain 2005 (Status on 31st December) October 2006
COST Countries 25 EU Member States Acceding countriesBulgaria RomaniaCandidate countries Croatia* Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)* Turkey EFTA Member StatesIceland Norway Switzerland Other European CountriesSerbia and Montenegro* COST Cooperating States Israel *not associated to FP October 2006
Organisations from non-COST countries May participate on an “Action by Action” basis given: • there is mutual S&T benefit • the CSO approves (following MC and DC approval) • participation is confirmed by an exchange of letters between the organisation and the CSO • non-COST institutions may not vote in the MC October 2006
Canada - 22 Russia - 27 Ukraine - 15 Bosnia & Herzegovina - 1 Armenia - 1 Japan - 6 USA - 14 Albania - 1 Rep of Korea - 1 China - 10 Algeria - 1 China (Taiwan) - 1 China (Macao) - 1 Eritrea - 1 India - 1 Ethiopia - 1 Brazil - 1 Australia - 7 South Africa - 1 Argentina - 2 New-Zealand - 1 Total number of participations in running Actions: 120 (incl. 5 NGO) Number of Non-COST Participation 2005 October 2006
COST reforms its governance and structure The COST CSO took three major decisions to advance the reform process of COST during its 163rd meeting 23-24 November 2005: • The scientific and technical Domains in COST have been completely restructured. 9 strategic Domain Committees instead of former 12 Technical Committees supply advice to the CSO. The new committee structures from 1 June 2006. • A majority voting procedure has been adopted for CSO decisions. Instead of making decisions by consensus only, now a simple majority of ¾ of the COST Member States decides. This will have a significant impact on the COST governance. October 2006
COST reforms its governance and structure • An Open Call system was introduced in March 2006. This will improve transparency, secure quality and enhance an element of competitiveness to the COST Actions. In addition, a new COST Grant System (CGS) will be introduced in March 2007. • This transfer of responsibility to the Actions enables them to plan and implement their activities independently. A web based IT tool will facilitate the management of Actions and reporting. • This will become the standard management tool for all COST Actions after April 2008. These changes help COST playing its distinct role within the ERA and enhancing its contribution to the Lisbon process. October 2006
Scientific and Technical Domains The CSO decided to restructure the scientific and technical Domains in COST in November 2005. This new committee structure from 1 June 2006. • Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences • Food and Agriculture • Forests, their Products and Services • Materials, Physical & Nanosciences • Chemistry and Molecular Sciences & Technologies • Earth System Science & Environmental Management • Information & Communication Technologies • Transport & Urban Development • Individuals, Society, Culture & Health October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals • COST published an “Open Call” 3 April 2006 • Selection criteria published in a transparent way • Emphasis on young researchers to foster their joint efforts better known and recognised • Specific collection dates (i.e. June 2006, 31 March 2007) • 2 stage process / peer reviewed • Approval at November 2006 CSO meeting • First Actions following the “Open Call” to start early 2007 October 2006
Normalisation of the ranking of the DCs Invitation of top 75 forFull Proposals Electronic Rating Automatic Ranking COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Preliminary Proposals: BMBS CMST ESSEM FA Allocation to Domains anonymised distribution Collection Date Eligibility Check FPS ISCH ICT MPNS TUD 1 week 3 weeks 3 days October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Criteria Preliminary Proposal: • Does the proposed network address real current problems/scientific issues? • Would the proposed network make a significant difference? • What is the level of innovation and/or originalityin the proposed Action? • Networking aside, how great are the potential benefits of the proposed Action? • Is COST the best mechanism for achieving the Actions’ objectives? • Is the proposed Action presented in a clear and understandable way? October 2006
Establishment of External Expert Panels Final List for approval JAF Approval by the CSO Deadline Full Proposals 2 weeks 4 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Full Proposals: Presentation of proposals Ranking by DCs Rating by External Expert Panel meetings Start of the new Action Meeting of DC chairs 10 weeks October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals Selection process –Full Proposal Criteria : IMPACT • Is COST the best mechanism for achieving the Actions’ objectives? • Does the proposed network address real current problems/scientific issues? • Does the proposed network make a significant difference? • Networking aside, how great are the potential benefits of the proposed Action? • Is the dissemination plan adequate in relation to the objectives of the Action? October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Criteria Full Proposal: QUALITY • What is the level of innovationin the proposed Action? • What is the level of originality of the proposed Action? • What is the level of scientific quality of the proposed Action? • How relevant is the proposed Action to European economic or societal needs? • To what extent does the proposed Action contribute to the development of the scientific or technological field? • To what extent does the proposed network aim at involving young researchers? • To what extent does the proposed network aim at being gender balanced? • Does the number of countries the proponents come from reflect a wide European dimension? • Are the proponents aware of the state-of-the-art of the scientific/technical field covered by the proposal? October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Criteria Full Proposal: MANAGEMENT • To what extent is the plan of activities and the management organisation appropriate? • To what extent are the time schedule and the targets appropriate? • To what extent has provision been made for monitoring and evaluating the achievement of objectives? • To what extent has provision been made for assessing potential application, and fostering exploitation, of results? October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals October 2006
COST Open Call for proposals October 2006
COST future evolution FP7 funding assumptions • Secure sufficient funding for the Actions (90.000 € p.a.) • Increasing the number of Actions to 260 • More meetings (about 650 meetings p.a.) to be held in Brussels • Provisions for the transition period to FP8 in 2012 • The CSO has formally approved a request of 280M € for the funding of COST in FP7 (2007-2013) October 2006
Contacts COST Office 149 avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 (0)2 533 3800 Fax: +32 (0)2 533 3890 E-mail: office@cost.esf.org Website: http://www.cost.esf.org National Coordinator Rita Ward – Enterprise Ireland Tel: 01-8082767 E-mail: rita.ward@enterprise-ireland.com October 2006