ESF provides the COST Office

through a European Commission contractCOST is supported

by the EU Framework Programme

Dr. María Moragues Cánovas

Science Officer

EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

COST ACTIONS

“Promotion of Physics in the CEI Countries and Integrating

Access to Research Infrastructures in Europe”

24/11/2014, Sofia, Bulgaria

What is COST?

COST is the oldest and widest European

intergovernmental framework for Cooperation in

Science and Technology (1971)

COST has been supporting the networking of

research activities across all 35 Member Countries

and beyond for over 40 years

COST is based on networks called COST Actions.

Currently there are 328 running Actions networking

around 30 000 researchers per year, worldwide.

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COST objectives under H2020

Joining research efforts and developing common S&T programmes

Build capacity by connecting high-quality scientific communities

Addressing societal questions

Strengthening COST’s Inclusiveness Policy

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COST aims to enable breakthrough scientific developments

leading to new concepts and products. It thereby contributes to

strengthening Europe’s research and innovation capacities

COST Key Principles

Supporting excellence

Being open

Being inclusive

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COST Driving Forces

Fostering new ideas

Sharing knowledge

Output orientation

COST Key Features for H2020

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COST Budget from H2020

EUR 300 million for 7 years coming from two

H2020 work programmes:

Challenge 6 “Europe in a changing world – inclusive,

innovative and reflective Societies”

“Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation”

Trans-European networking of nationally

funded research activities.

COST Policies under H2020

Inclusiveness.

Early stage researchers,

ESRs.

Gender balance.

International

cooperation.

SMEs/industry

participation.

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COST Inclusiveness Policy

Originated from:

Political context of Horizon 2020.

Geographical context of the COST Member Countries.

With the aim to:

Encourage and enable researchers from less research-

intensive countries across the COST Member Countries to

set up and/or join COST Actions and get more intensively

involved in all COST activities.

Counterbalancing research communities’ unequal access to

knowledge infrastructures, funding and resources distribution.

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COST Inclusiveness countries

COST ACTIONs

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What is a COST Action?

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pan-European, bottom-up science and technology

networks open to researchers, industry and policy

stakeholders

Duration 4 years.

Minimum 5 COST member countries

COST supports the following networking activities:

Meetings, Conferences, Workshops, Short-term scientific exchanges,

Training schools, Publications & dissemination activities

All fields of S&T (including interdisciplinary, new and

emergent fields).

Any novel and original idea (innovative).

All partners (public and private, big and small).

All career stages (young and senior investigators).

All countries, including COST Near Neighbour Countries

(NNC) and International Partner Countries (IPC) – fostering

international cooperation.

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COST Actions

COST supports the networking of researchers through

science and technology networks, which are open to:

Who can participate?

Researchers affiliated to the following INSTITUTIONS:

Institutions from COST Countries, Near Neighbour

Countries and International Partner Countries.

European Commission and EU Agencies.

European RTD Organisations, including: CERN, EMBL,

ESA, ESO, ESRF, European XFEL, ILL, EFDA JET;

International Organisations (examples: UNESCO, FAO,

WHO)

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http://www.cost.eu/participate

COST Countries

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328 running Actions

March 2014

Country participation

in COST Actions

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COST Near Neighbour Country 206 participations in running COST Actions across 17 countries

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Albania (15)

Algeria (7)

Armenia (8)

Azerbaijan (5)

Belarus (6)

Egypt (7)

Georgia (5)

Jordan (2)

Lebanon (5)

Moldova (5)

Montenegro (12)

Morocco (13)

Palestinian Authority (3)

Syrian Arab Republic (2)

Russia (51)

Tunisia (14)

Ukraine (46)

March 2014 data

International Partner Countries519 participations in running Actions across 27 countries

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March 2014 data

HOW TO PARTICIPATE?

http://www.cost.eu/participate

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OPTION 1

SHORT TERM STRATEGY

Would you like to join an existing

COST Action?

http://www.cost.eu/participate/join_action

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COST Actions are Open!

You can join any Action that is running:

AS A MC MEMBER:

By contacting your CNC in order to be one (of the

maximum two) MC members representing your Country.

AS A WG PARTICIPANT:

By contacting you respective MC member and or the

Action Chair and participate in the Working Groups.

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How to Find a running Action?

http://www.cost.eu/domains_actions/all_actions

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How to Find a running Action?

Description of

the Action

Objectives,

Working

Groups, etc…

OPTION 1

SHORT TERM STRATEGY

Would you like to join an existing

COST Action?

SOME EXAMPLES

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40 Actions Approved by CSO

13-14 November

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TD1401- Fast advanced Scintillator Timing

S&T topic: High Energy physics (calorimetry, scintillators, Photodetectors,

etc.)

Objectives: to establish an interdisciplinary network that brings together experts

from different fields of interest in order to develop photon instrumentation with

an unparalleled timing precision of < 100ps, bridging separate fields of

science/disciplines to achieve breakthroughs that require an interdisciplinary

approach.

http://www.cost.eu/domains_actions/TDP/Acti

ons/TD1401

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TD1403- Big Data Era in Sky and Earth Observation

S&T topic: Astronomy and Earth Observation

Objectives: to enhance ability of conducting big-data analysis in Earth

Observation and astrophysics, with a noticeable societal impact as the topics are

engaging to wider public. The Action puts special emphasis on enhancing the

skill-set of future scientists

http://www.cost.eu/domains_actions/TDP/A

ctions/TD1403

Objective: To gather theory activities in the field of spectroscopy to supply outstanding high

level and up-to-date support for demanding and sophisticated spectroscopy experiments

using advanced large facility or laboratory radiation sources performed within academic as

well as industrial fundamental and applied research.

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MP1306 MODERN TOOLS FOR SPECTROSCOPY ON ADVANCED

MATERIALS: A EUROPEAN MODELLING PLATFORM

• WG1 Correlation ground and excited electronic state

• WG2 Spectroscopy description and implementation

• WG3 Time-resolution femtoseconds spectroscopy

• WG4 Platform integration of codes and cloud facility

• WG5 Experiment test and push theoretical models

Proponent: Hubert Ebert <hubert.ebert@cup.uni-

muenchen.de>

Interested Countries : 14

AT, CZ, CH, ES, FR, HU, IT, NL, PL, RO, SE, SI, UK

Proposer : DE

NON-COST : JP

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MP1302 NanoSpectroscopy

• WG1 Systems design and nanofabrication

• WG2 Physical processes and modelling

• WG3 Improving spectroscopic techniques

• WG4 Textbook on optical nanospectroscopy

Proponent: Monika Fleischer <monika.fleischer@uni-tuebingen.de>

Objective: Develop UV/Vis/NIR/Raman nanospectroscopy techniques with (ultra-)

high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution and sensitivity, application to novel

(hybrid) (in)organic nanomaterials, and modelling of light-matter-interaction and

energy flow at the nanoscale.

• WG1 Observations and modelling of compact stars.

• WG2 Physics of strong interaction, theory and experiment.

• WG3 Gravitational-physics theory and observations.

Objective: provide an innovative connection between the micro- and macrophysics of

compact stars; explore the behavior of matter and spacetime under the most extreme

physical conditions, not accessible to laboratory experiments.

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MP1304 NewCompStar:

exploring fundamental physics with compact stars

Luciano Rezzolla <rezzolla@aei.mpg.de>

MP1210 The String Theory Universe

Objective

Fundamental, forefront research exploring the role played by String Theory in Particle Physics, Cosmology and Condensed Matter Physics.

WG1 Equilibration & thermalisation,

emergence of canonical states

WG2 Thermodynamic and information

theoretic relations for general quantum

systems

WG3 Implementations: from classical to

quantum thermodynamic experiments

Interested Countries : 15

BE, BG, CH, DE,

DK, EL, ES, FR,

HU, IL, NL, PT,

SE, UK

Proposer : IT

NON-COST : ZA

Silvia Penati <Silvia.Penati@mib.infn.it>

Objective

To develop the physics and the

scientific community for Inertial

Confinement Fusion at the time of NIF

(National Ignition Facility) ignition.

WG1 Study of fast ignition and fast electron

transport

WG2 Study of the shock ignition Approach to

ICF

WG3 Study of Plasma and Laser Diagnostics

WG4 Secondary sources of particles and

radiation

WG5 Astrophysics in the laboratory

MP1208 Developing the Physics and the

Scientific community for Inertial Confinement

Fusion at the time of NIF ignition

Dimitri Batani <batani@mib.infn.it>

Interested Countries : 16

BE, BG, CH,

CZ, DK, GR,

ES, HU, IL, IT,

PL, PT, RO, RS,

UK

Proposer : FR

OPTION 2

LONG TERM STRATEGY

Are you already in contact with other

researchers and you would like to submit a

COST Action proposal?

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Make your own COST proposal

What do you need?

An idea on any Science and Technology topic that needs

networking support

At least 5 colleagues from 5 different COST countries

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New features highlights:

Action Proposal Evaluation and Selection

You benefit from a one-stage submission:

Proposal up to 15 pages

Open to all fields of science and technology

The scientific organisation carries out a three-step

procedure:

Evaluation

Revision

Selection

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New features highlights:

Action Proposal Evaluation and Selection

Evaluation

Driven by renowned international experts, based on

excellence, impact and implementation criteria

Peer review: each proposal anonymously and remotely

evaluated by three independent External Experts in the

science and technology field(s) indicated by the proposers

Consensus-oriented, using on-line collaborative tools

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New features highlights:

Action Proposal Evaluation and Selection

Revision

Driven by Review Panels reporting to the Scientific

Committee, quality checks and resolution of eventual

discrepancies

Review Panels composed of active scientists nominated

by the COST National Coordinators to a pool of experts

Ad hoc Panels created according to the actual needs of

the proposals submitted to each Collection Date.

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New features highlights:

Action Proposal Evaluation and Selection

Selection:

Selection Driven by the Scientific Committee (SC),

reporting to the CSO.

High-level experts, one per COST Member Country.

The SC selects the top-ranked proposals to be

recommended for approval by the CSO. CSO

COST Open Call

The new Open Call will be published on the

COST website in November 2014.

Proposals can be submitted as of January

2015.

Collection date March 2015.

Stay tuned for COST updates:

www.cost.eu/opencall

OPTION 3

Become a COST EXPERT

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Become a COST Expert!

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As a COST Expert, you will have the opportunity to:

• Contribute to the evaluation of COST Open Call proposals;

• Participate in the assessment of Action results and outcomes;

• Be invited to take part in the assessment of COST strategic activities..

New experts can express their interest via the COST

Expert online registration

form (www.cost.eu/experts)

An updated Curriculum Vitae with a list of publications

is required to demonstrate competence in specific

areas of expertise.

More on COST Experts:

www.cost.eu/participate/experts.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR

ATTENTION.

IF YOU NEED FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE

CONTACT

Dr María Moragues Cánovas

Science Officer

maria.moragues@cost.eu

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COST – European Cooperation

in Science and Technology

Avenue Louise 149

1050 Brussels, Belgium

T: +32 (0)2 533 3800

F: +32 (0)2 533 3890

office@cost.eu

www.cost.eu

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