Blank landscape foils

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European COoperation in the field of Scientific
and Technical research
New Opportunities New Procedures Dr. Piotr
SwiatekCOST Office, Brussels
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COST mission
Strengthen Europe in scientific and technical
research for peaceful purposes through the
support of cooperation and interaction between
European researchers
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COST helps by pooling resources
Change over the period 2000-2003
Source Research Europe 11-2005
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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

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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
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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)
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COST governance
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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

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What is a COST Action?
CouncilCOST Secretariat
COST National Coordinators
COMMITTEE OF SENIOR OFFICIALS (CSO)
COST OFFICE
9 COST Domain Committees (from 01/06/2006)
..
.
FA

..
MC
COST Actions (200)
Action WGs
WORKING GROUPS (NETWORKS) 30.000 researchers
Scientific Domain
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COST Actions Running Actions 1980-2005 (status
31 December)
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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.

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COST Office

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COST Actions what activities?
Nationally funded projects (min. 5 signatories)
with a joint work programme are receive finance
for

• Science management meetings
• Scientific workshops and seminars
• Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs)
• Training Schools and Research Conferences
• Dissemination

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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

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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 Missions 5,000
Average for Publications 4,000
Average for Workshops 7,000 Final
Evaluation up to 2,500
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Short Term Scientific Missions

• Aim
• promote exchange within an Actions 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

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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 !

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Organisations from non-COST countries

• May participate on an Action by Action basis
  given
• there is mutual ST 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

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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
  May 2006)
• 2 stage process / peer reviewed
• first COST Actions following the Open Call to
  start early 2007

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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
  originality in 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?

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COST Open Call for proposals (2)
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
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COST Open Call for proposals (4)
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
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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?

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COST Open Call for proposals (6)
Selection process Criteria Full Proposal
QUALITY

• What is the level of innovation in 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?

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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?

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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.e
sf.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.
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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
  fundedspecial YIN Conferences and research
  management training courses
• Pilot Call for YINs to test the demand expected
  in summer 2006

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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.

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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,

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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

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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

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COST future evolution (2)
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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

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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

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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

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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 Actions conference in
  Istanbul on October 14-16 2005 on Royal Courts
  and Capitals, including papers on How to become
  a sultan, Ottoman regalia etc.

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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.

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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

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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.)

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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.)

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COST- Sixth Framework Programme
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COST - ESF
co-operation with PESC
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Contact
Dr.-Ing. Martin Grabert Director COST Office Av.
Louise 149 B 1050 Brussels mgrabert_at_cost.esf.org
Dr. Piotr Swiatek Science Officer Av. Louise
149 B 1050 Brussels pswiatek_at_cost.esf.org
www.cost.esf.org
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Thank you for your attention