Impact of COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology NCP_WIDE.NET Workshop Bonn 13-14 March 2017 Friederike Beulshausen DLR-Project Management Agency German COST Bureau of the BMBF

COST - Intergovernmental Initiative To support networking activities of researchers in large scale pan- European Networks for European researchers enabling them to jointly develop their own ideas and new initiatives across all scientific disciplines through trans-European coordination of nationally funded research activities.”

European Cooperation in Science and Technology - COST Aim: Networking activities of Research in big European Networks Target Group: Researcher sof all scientific and technological fields (Applied and fundamental research) Bottom-Up: Researchers decide on the research subject and content of COST- Actions Funded Networking Activities: Travelling costs to Workshops, Meetings Organizer Support of conferences Short-term Scientific missions, Training Schools, Publications No funding of research, Personnel costs Duration of COST Actions: 4 Years COST Budget: 300 Mio. Euro  COST is financed by Horizon 2020  Commitment to spend 50 % of COST budget by EC for the benefit of ITCs plus 50 % for 6. Challenge, Integrative Societies Mindestanforderungen: mind. 5 COST-Mitgliedsstaaten Einrichtungsgebundene Förderung, d.h. Wissenschaftler/in kann nicht als Privatperson beantragen Mission mit messbare Zielen und Ergebnissen Basiert auf exzellenter Forschung Überzeugendes Inklusionskonzept, um Ungleichbehandlungen hinsichtlich Alter, Geschlecht und Geographischer Herkunft zu überwinden. Idee bedeutend für Europa. Bottom-Up: Forschende bestimmen die Inhalte der COST-Aktionen Offen für alle Fachrichtungen Inklusiv: Die Rolle von Wissenschaftlerinnen, jungen Forschenden und Forschenden aus forschungsschwächeren Ländern werden gestärkt. Expandierend: COST-Aktionen sind offen für weitere Teilnehmer während der gesamten Laufzeit. Wird alles über die COST Association abgewickelt (Antragstellung, Evaluierung, Projektbegleitung), in Brüssel, ist eine zwischenstaatliche Initiative

37 COST Member Countries EU 28 EU Candidates and EU Potential Candidates: Bosnia and Herzegovina fYR Macedonia Montenegro Serbia Turkey Other Countries: Norway Switzerland COST Cooperating State: Israel COST has today 37 COST member countries. Across the 37 countries Cost has been supporting networking of research activities .

COST Action Characteristics Excellent Inclusive Open Pan- European Bottom-Up COST Action Inclusive Open All fields of S&T All participants All countries Global Large Scale Geographical Early Career Gender balance COST supports the networking of researchers through science and technology networks -‘COST Actions’- open to: All fields of S&T All partners: academia, public organizations, SME, industry, NGO, International Organizations) All countries, also beyond COST: Global cooperation on the basis of mutual interest All career stages (young and experienced researchers The COST Action allows researchers, engineers or scholars from COST Member Countries and Cooperating State to jointly develop their own ideas and new initiatives in a field or topic of common interest. COST is inclusive: Geographical balance of COST Countries (COST Member Countries + Israel) Early Career Investigators: This part addresses the difficulty in gaining visibility and recognition European-wide. COSt wants to entrust young investigators with leader roles under their own responsibility Gender Balance: Encourage and enable under-represented gender to be intensively involved in all COST activities. COST understand a COST Action as a way to gender equality in science and technology.

COST Strategic development in ERA

ERA Challenges and COST To fullfil three “O”s (Moedas, ERA Conference, 23/06/2015 Open innovation Open Science Openness to the world COST position in ERA Fulfills three “O”s Fosters innovative, multidisciplinary research subjects Total bottom-up approach: Openness to all research disciplines (no research fields prescribed) Possible: International worldwide participation in Actions

COST Strategy September 2016 Enhance collaborative bottom-up research Build on COST’s open inclusive culture to empower researchers all over Europe Become the leading open networking tool in the ERA Provide evidence-based information to society and policy stakeholders on emerging scientific and societal challenges

COST Inclusiveness Targeted Countries 20 ITCs, representing 55 % of all COST Member states (36 and Israel) Bulgarien, Estland, Kroatien, Lettland, Litauen, Malta, Polen, Rumänien, Slowakei, Slowenien, Tschechische Republik, Ungarn und Zypern

COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy Commitment Horizon 2020: to spend 50 % of COST budget by EC for the benefit of ITCs.  Encouraging and enabling excellent researchers from less research-intensive countries (ITC) across Europe to set up, lead or join COST Actions Implementation: Organisation of COST Info days in ITCs Easy access to COST at proposal stage and in running Actions At proposal stage: Provide a concept towards Implementation of E & I and a strategy to attract researchers and stakeholders from ITC. Increase Leadership positions held by ITC Organizing and locating Action meetings and events in ITC Promoting STSM Since 2012 Increase ITC Participation. ITC members should benefit from the Action! COST Task force in 2016: Determination of widening measures to introduce a unified calculation method to monitor the 50% spending target for the benefit of ITC researchers to implement a set of measures as of 2017 COST Inclusiveness Policy: Encouraging and enabling excellent researchers from less research-intensive countries across Europe to set up, lead or join COST Actions Counterbalance research communities’ unequal access to knowledge infrastructures, funding and resources distribution Contributing to the realization of Horizon 2020 Widening Pillar objectives trough COST Excellence and Inclusiveness Policy Thus the COST Action have to have a plan and a strategy in order to underline the COST policy

Achievements - ITC Participation in COST Visible increase of researchers from ITC in COST activities in the last 5 years Increased ITC participation in eligible proposals and in running COST Actions (~ 38 %) Increased COST budget spent to ITCs Increased ITCs hosting COST events and participation in networking tools Researchers from ITC are represented in all running COST-Actions But: Still difficult to achieve the goal to spend 50 % to the benefit for ITC An additional set of measures hast been set up starting in 2017 Introduce a conference Grant for PhD-Students and ECI from ITC. compare: Share of Researchers from ITC with regard to all researchers in all member states is about 25 per Cent)

Participation in running COST Actions State: 30/11/2016

IMPACT

COST-Action Idea Cooperation Exchange of Know-How Harmonisation of Know-How/ Common Standards Education & Career-Development New Ideas and Research Approaches Further Participants from Research and Industrial enterprises Common Results Research Projects Project Proposals Publications Product Development Identification of Innovations Stakeholder & Multiplicators Idea Duration: 4 Years

COST Research cooperation to the benefit of ITC Access of researchers to European research community Visible increase of participation of researchers from ITC in COST- Actions 21.000 Early Career Investigators participating in COST Capacity building of research in ITC High Degree of cross linking research, Higher density of research (networks) in ITCs and ERA COST Action meetings and conferences in ITC -> visibility Involvement of stakeholders, industrial partners Experience in taking leadership roles in Actions and possibly beyond

Benefit of Networking results beyond the COST Action Long lasting Research collaboration  to create synergies beyond the COST Action Common bilateral /multilateral proposals / projects Common application for EU-proposals (H2020) Intensifying Collaboration between research institutions of European Countries Creating synergies with widening Instruments (Teaming, Twinning) COST Action results as preliminary step for development of products/ spin offs, SMEs CA as basis for new subjects of research in EC Framework Programs Bottom up and high inter-/multidisciplinarity of COST-Action subjects

Action budget returning to ITC countries (per cent of COST countries)

COST: To foster impact on national level (1) CNC: To increase visibility of COST To ask Action members for active participation, demanding a motivation letter To use mentoring by CNCs from non-ITC COST countries (EU15) To actively involve more partners from SME/ industry To better exploit COST Action results, Identification of Success Stories

To foster COST impact on national level (2) CNC: To initiate / intensify cooperation of COST Action members beyond the COST Action: To create synergies with other funding programs By strengthening cooperation and exchange of know how between CNC and NCPs in order To better inform COST Action members on funding programs To look for a cooperation with universities and research institutions – they should develop an international research strategy … in order to fostser interantiona cooperation and research

CONTACT Details German COST Bureau of the BMBF at DLR Project Management Agency COST National Coordination Friederike Beulshausen Tel. 0228 3821-1672 E-mail: friederike.beulshausen@dlr.de Dr. Sibilla Bohlmann Tel. 0228 3821-1357 E-mail: sibilla.bohlmann@dlr.de COST-Website: www.cost.eu

Thank you for your attention!