CO ST European COoperation in the field of Scientific and Technical research Rita Ward National Coordinator

October 2006 Mission Strengthen Europe in scientific and technical research for peaceful purposes through the support of cooperation and interaction between European researchers

October 2006  European COoperation in the field of Scientific and Technical research  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 What is COST?

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 (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 countries  Bulgaria  Romania  Candidate countries  Croatia*  Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)*  Turkey of Macedonia (FYROM)*  Turkey  EFTA Member States  Iceland  Norway  Switzerland  Other European Countries  Serbia and Montenegro *  COST Cooperating States  Israel * not associated to FP

October 2006  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 Organisations from non-COST countries May participate on an “Action by Action” basis given:

October 2006 Total number of participations in running Actions: 120 (incl. 5 NGO) Australia - 7 Argentina - 2 China - 10 Japan - 6 Canada - 22 New-Zealand - 1 South Africa - 1 Albania - 1 Bosnia & Herzegovina - 1 Armenia - 1 Ethiopia - 1 Eritrea - 1 Ukraine - 15 Russia - 27 USA - 14 Rep of Korea - 1 China (Taiwan) - 1 China (Macao) - 1 Brazil - 1 Algeria - 1 India - 1 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 163 rd meeting November 2005: 1.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 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 An Open Call system was introduced in March 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  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 These changes help COST playing its distinct role within the ERA and enhancing its contribution to the Lisbon process. COST reforms its governance and structure

October 2006 Scientific and Technical Domains 1.Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences 2.Food and Agriculture 3.Forests, their Products and Services 4.Materials, Physical & Nanosciences 5.Chemistry and Molecular Sciences & Technologies 6.Earth System Science & Environmental Management 7.Information & Communication Technologies 8.Transport & Urban Development 9.Individuals, Society, Culture & Health The CSO decided to restructure the scientific and technical Domains in COST in November This new committee structure from 1 June 2006.

October 2006  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 COST Open Call for proposals

October 2006 COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Preliminary Proposals: Eligibility Check Allocation to Domains anonymised distribution Electronic Rating Automatic Ranking Normalisation of the ranking of the DCs Invitation of top 75 for Full Proposals BMBS CMST FA FPS ISCH ICT MPNS TUD ESSEM Collection Date 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?Does the proposed network address real current problems/scientific issues? Would the proposed network make a significant difference?Would the proposed network make a significant difference? What is the level of innovation and/or originality in the proposed Action?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?Networking aside, how great are the potential benefits of the proposed Action? Is COST the best mechanism for achieving the Actions’ objectives?Is COST the best mechanism for achieving the Actions’ objectives? Is the proposed Action presented in a clear and understandable way?Is the proposed Action presented in a clear and understandable way?

October 2006 COST Open Call for proposals Selection process – Full Proposals: Establishment of External Expert Panels Rating by External Expert Panel meetings Presentation of proposals Ranking by DCs Meeting of DC chairs Final List for approval Approval by the CSO Deadline Full Proposals 10 weeks 2 weeks JAF Start of the new Action 2 weeks 4 weeks

October 2006 COST Open Call for proposals Selection process –Full Proposal Criteria : IMPACT Is COST the best mechanism for achieving the Actions’ objectives?Is COST the best mechanism for achieving the Actions’ objectives? Does the proposed network address real current problems/scientific issues?Does the proposed network address real current problems/scientific issues? Does the proposed network make a significant difference?Does the proposed network make a significant difference? Networking aside, how great are the potential benefits of the proposed Action?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?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 innovation in the proposed Action?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 originality of the proposed Action? What is the level of scientific quality 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?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 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 involving young researchers? To what extent does the proposed network aim at being gender balanced?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?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?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 is the plan of activities and the management organisation appropriate? To what extent are the time schedule and the targets 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 monitoring and evaluating the achievement of objectives? To what extent has provision been made for assessing potential application, and fostering exploitation, of results?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 ( € 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 ( )

October 2006 Contacts COST Office 149 avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 (0) Fax: +32 (0) Website: National Coordinator Rita Ward – Enterprise Ireland Tel: