European CO operation in the field of S cientific and T echnical research

1. European COoperation in the field of Scientific and Technical research New Opportunities & New ProceduresDr. Piotr ŚwiątekCOST Office, Brussels

2. COST mission Strengthen Europe in scientific and technical research for peaceful purposes through the support of cooperation and interaction between European researchers

3. COST helps by pooling resources Change over the period 2000-2003 [%] Source: Research Europe 11-2005

4. COST characteristics • Co-ordination through networking • Pan-European • Multi-disciplinary “Non-competitive”(pre-normative; public utility) • National financing of researchers and projects – national responsibility • Bottom-up – no fixed programme • Flexible participation – join in if you are interested • “Interdisciplinary Exploratoria” • Enabling agent: focus on younger researchers • Open to wider cooperation

5. COST Countries COST Member States  The 25 EU Member States • EFTA Member StatesIcelandNorwaySwitzerlandCandidate CountriesBulgaria Croatia Romania TurkeyOther CountriesSerbia and Montenegro*FYR of Macedonia (FYROM)*  COST Co-operating StatesIsrael *not associated with FP

6. COST Actions: global participation Russia - 27 Canada - 22 Ukraina - 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)

7. COST governance

8. COST Scientific and Technical Domains The new Domains, as from 1 June 2006: • Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences • Chemistry and Molecular Sciences & Technologies • Earth System Science & Environmental Management • Food & Agriculture • Forests, their Products and Services • Individuals, Society, Culture & Health • Information & Communication Technologies • Materials, Physical & Nanosciences • Transport & Urban Development

9. What is a COST Action? MC = Management Committee CouncilCOST Secretariat COST National Coordinators COMMITTEE OF SENIOR OFFICIALS (CSO) COST OFFICE 9 COST Domain Committees (from 01/06/2006) …….. ……. …… ….. F&A MC COST Actions (~200) Action WGs WORKING GROUPS (NETWORKS) …… ~30.000 researchers Scientific Domain

10. COST Actions – Running Actions 1980-2005(status 31 December)

11. COST Governance • The Technical Committees (TC) are responsible for a particular research domain formed by representatives of the COST countries. • The Management Committees(MC) (one for each Action) are formed by national experts of the signatory countries coordinate the activities of the Action.

12. COST Office

13. Science management meetings Scientific workshops and seminars Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) Training Schools and Research Conferences Dissemination COST Actions – what activities? Nationally funded projects (min. 5 signatories) with a joint work programme are receive finance for:

14. Payment modalities • Grant system, no contracts • Pay-as-you-go • more then 20 thousand payments/year • mostly directly to the private accounts • Annual Grant • obligatory starting 2007

15. Budget Statistics of the COST Action average 15 countries, duration 4 years Average for Actions / Year 80,000 € Average / Meeting / Participant 880 € Short Term Scientific Missions5,000 € Average for Publications4,000 € Average for Workshops 7,000 € Final Evaluation up to 2,500 €

16. Short Term Scientific Missions Aim: • promote exchange within an Action’s scientific objectives. How: • by allowing a scientist (especially a junior researcher) to go to a laboratory in another COST country to learn a new technique or to make measurements using instruments and/or methods not available in their own laboratory. Means: • Average contribution for a mission (between 5 days and 3 month) will not normally exceed EURO 2,500

17. Short Term Scientific Missions (2) 2004: • budget 1.150 k€ → 772 STSMs 2005: • budget 1.147 k€ → 500 STSMs + 246 k€ → 151 STSMs. (246 k€ from the Actions’ budget) Means: • one of the most appreciated instruments of COST !

18. 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

19. COST Open Call for proposals (1) • COST published an “Open Call” 3 April 2006 to improve transparency, secure quality and introduce an element of competitivity to the selection of COST Actions • selection criteria are published and transparent • emphasis will be on young researchers to foster their joint efforts to become better known and recognised • specific collection dates are foreseen (i.e. 31 May2006) • 2 stage process / peer reviewed • first COST Actions following the “Open Call” to start early 2007

20. COST Open Call for proposals (3) 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?

21. COST Open Call for proposals (2) Normalisation of Ranking by DC Invitation of top 75 forFull Proposals Electronic Rating Automatic Ranking Selection process – Preliminary Proposals: BMBS CMST ESSEM FA Allocation to Domains anonymised distribution Eligibility Check Collection Date FPS ISCH ICT MPNS TUD 1 week 3 weeks 3 days

22. COST Open Call for proposals (4) Establishment of External Expert Panels Final List for approval JAF Approval by the CSO Dead Line Full Proposals 2 weeks 2 weeks 2 weeks 4 weeks Selection process – Full Proposals: Presentation of proposals Ranking by DCs Rating by EEP in panel meetings in Brussels Start of the new Action Meeting of DC chairs 10 weeks

23. COST Open Call for proposals (5) Selection process – Criteria Full Proposal: 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?

24. COST Open Call for proposals (6) 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?

25. COST Open Call for proposals (7) 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?

26. COST Open Call for proposals (8) COST invites researchers throughout Europe to submit proposals for research networks and use this unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and to embark on new European perspectives. www.cost.esf.org/opencall This continuous call is thematically open. Proposals from all Scientific Domains are welcome. A first collection date for preliminary proposals is 31 May 2006.

27. Special type of COST Actions proposed “Young Investigators Networks” (YINs): • Exclusively for young scientists at postdoc level, (PhD or equivalent + max. 5 years); min. 8 young scientists with international experience from 5 COST member states, holding their first positions • Support: 90 k € p.a. (2006 prices) as a grant for up to 4 years • Eligible activities: meetings, Short Term Scientific Missions, seminars, conferences, outreach activities, plus[centrally organised & funded]:special “YIN Conferences” and research management training courses • Pilot Call for YINs to test the demandexpected in summer 2006

28. Young Investigators Networks” (YIN) • new COST instrument will contribute to closing the gap between the training part and the project funding part in European funding opportunities • will use the ideas generated by young teams, in particular from the new member states • will require close interaction with the partners on the national level.

29. Young Investigators Networks” (YIN) 2 • the participation of young scientists as Management Committee members will also serve as a training ground to promote their ambitious ideas on a broader scale • special “YIN Conferences” will be organised by the COST Office. • research management training courses will be offered to YIN members,

30. COST – ESF synergies • Joint Forward Looks (e.g. “Nutrition in a changing world”) • Joint conferences (e.g. “European Forum on Nanosciences”, Latsis conferences, Food & Health conference) • Joint workshops (e.g. “Bio-energy”) • Invitation of SC chairs and/or liaison persons to DC meetings • Joint meetings at JAF/ExBo level • Regular senior management meetings • Common IT system to be developed

31. COST future evolution FP7 funding assumptions • Increasing the number of Actions to 260 • Action budgets increasing to 90.000 € p.a. • More meetings (about 650 meetings p.a.) to be held in Brussels • Provisions for the transition period to FP8 in 2012

32. COST future evolution (2)

33. COST Dissemination and Co-operation Policy • COST subscribed to AlphaGalileo and Cordis Wire • COST is present at all major events of European impact (ESOF, EARMA, MRS, EPS, etc) • COST-Days (18 April 2006 in EP) • Co-operation with DG-Research, EUREKA, INTAS, NATO

34. Signatures of Actions: Turkey • 924 07/02/2005 • 925 19/08/2005 • 927 25/01/2005 • A26 15/06/2005 • C17 01/10/2004 • D17 03/07/2002 • 284 12/09/2003 • 285 26/05/2003 • 288 10/06/2004 • 289 23/04/2003 • 535 18/02/2005 • 633 08/11/2002

35. Signatures of Actions: Turkey • 924 07/02/2005 • 925 19/08/2005 • 927 25/01/2005 • A26 15/06/2005 • C17 01/10/2004 • D17 03/07/2002 • P14 09/03/2006 • 284 12/09/2003 • 285 26/05/2003 • 288 10/06/2004 • 289 23/04/2003 • 535 18/02/2005 • 633 08/11/2002

36. A36 Tributary Empires Compared: Romans, Mughals and Ottomans in the pre-industrial world from antiquity till the transition to modernity • duration 2005-2009 • The main objective of the Action is to produce a better understanding of classical tributary empires and the problems relating to segmented, loosely integrated and partly overlapping forms of power and authority through the establishment of a European network for the comparative study of the Roman, Ottoman, Mughal and related empires. The network contributes to our understanding of forms of social power and state organisation which lie outside the national state, and to current debates on the character of empire and imperialism. • Prof Metin Kunt, Sabanci University, Turkey, is the local organiser of the Action’s conference in Istanbul on October 14-16 2005 on “Royal Courts and Capitals”, including papers on “How to become a sultan”, “Ottoman regalia” etc.

37. 535 Thermodynamics of Alloyed Aluminides (THALU) The main objective is to create the thermodynamic platform which is crucial for the development of new alloys based on intermetallic compounds. This scientific platform will comprise models of the thermodynamic properties of engineering aluminides, evaluated existing data and data, based on new theoretical and experimental approaches.

38. How can I join COST Depending on your own position and that of the Action (for details visit the COST web site and look for the relevant Action details) there are series of different forms of co-operation

39. running Actions • If your laboratory or institution is in a COST member country (this has nothing to do with your own nationality) you can join the Action as • Member of the Management Committee of an Action in case your country has not yet nominated 2 scientists but is already signatory of the Action. • Member of the Management Committee if your country is not yet signatory of the Action. In that case your country has first to sign its participation in the relevant Action. (Note: If your country wishes to become member 12 months after the approval of the Action the approval of the Management Committee of the Action is required) • Member of a working group of an Action • Invited expert to specific events of an Action (Meetings of the MC, WG, workshop participation etc.)

40. running Actions • If your laboratory or institution is in a COST member country (this has nothing to do with your own nationality) you can join the Action as • Member of the Management Committee of an Action in case your country has not yet nominated 2 scientists but is already signatory of the Action. • Member of the Management Committee if your country is not yet signatory of the Action. In that case your country has first to sign its participation in the relevant Action. (Note: If your country wishes to become member 12 months after the approval of the Action the approval of the Management Committee of the Action is required) • Member of a working group of an Action • Invited expert to specific events of an Action (Meetings of the MC, WG, workshop participation etc.)

41. COST- Sixth Framework Programme

42. COST - ESF co-operation with PESC

43. Contact: Dr.-Ing. Martin Grabert Director COST Office Av. Louise 149 B 1050 Brussels mgrabert@cost.esf.org Dr. Piotr Swiatek Science Officer Av. Louise 149 B 1050 Brussels pswiatek@cost.esf.org www.cost.esf.org

44. Thank you for your attention