In short, the essence of a COST Action is the generation of a durable network of participants that meet one to each other regularly. COST is a fast and flexible tool for enabling collaborative research across Europe and beyond which can be the basis for capacity building, strong, sustainable and successful consortia.


Yes, COST Actions have an excellent record of building the critical mass for follow up activities in the EU FP or other similarly competitive programs.

Yes, absolutely! As deliverables we have planned two large European project proposals and we intend to foster small and medium-sized proposals, especially for Marie Curie Individual Fellowships and Erasmus projects.

None, a participation to a cost network is very similar to a letter of interest with no strings attached. While the idea is that people get involved to the degree that fits their interests, the participant is not a­priori bound to any minimum work or presence, what he chooses to participate to is only up to him/her. Within a Cost network, the only persons with such responsibilities will be the persons assuming special roles (Management Committee, Working group leaders etc.) within the network.

Unlike for other European project fundings, participation in a COST network is on a personal level and does not engage or relate in anyway to the participant’s institution. In fact, by the time of the proposal, the network of proposers is anonymous. With regards to the proposers, reviewers are only informed about their characteristics (Nationality, gender, seniority etc.).

COST actions have an inclusive approach and intend to gather together the whole spectrum of actors. In other words, it actively fosters heterogeneous networks with any kind of profiles.In fact, some selection criteria for a proposal are the number of nationalities represented and the balances of selected criteria such as gender, seniority, public vs private etc. Such criteria aim at making sure that all profiles are sufficiently represented.

First and foremost, the interest is to play a central and visible role in driving the network towards achievements of the participants liking. After, each special role has its own duties and advantages and can help, among other things, building your own network, being aware of future collaboration, traveling to conferences etc.

The eligibility to be financed or reimbursed depends on the country of affiliation and the member status (MC member or regular member) of the applicant. Access to Meetings or Training Schools, Short-term-Scientific-Missions  and other COST mechanisms are regulated by the COST Vademecum. In a general fashion, the rules are rather non restrictive and allow to cover a large variety of stakeholders (even non-european ones in many cases). For more detailed information, have a look here or consult the COST Vademecum.

Travel fees to meetings, training schools and scientific stays can be fully covered for a large number of participants and, on very specific occasions, fees to participate to conferences can be covered as well. COST actions do not fund for personnel. The only specific case where COST actions do fund for the work achieved by a participant is in the case of Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs).

Short­Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) allow to perform a collaborative stay at a partner institution or laboratory in another COST country ­ a concept of particular interest to young scientists. STSMs can vary from one week to three months and up to six months for Early Stage Researchers. The average contribution for a mission is a fixed grant based on the applicant’s budget request and the decision from the relevant assessment committee. It will normally not exceed EUR 2500 (EUR 3500 for Early Stage Researchers). For more information on the subject, see the dedicated part in the COST Vademecum.

In short, explicit crowdsourcing refers to crowdsourcing approaches where the crowd is aware of its participation to the crowdsourcing initiative whereas for implicit approaches the crowd is not. For more information on the subject see the following page.

Plenty of useful information can be found on the official website.