About this programme

COST – European Cooperation in Science and Technology – is the European intergovernmental framework for the coordination of national or regional funded research.

COST plays an important role in the development of the European research area. COST's mission is to strengthen Europe in scientific and technological research through the support of European cooperation and interaction between European researchers.

COST offers financing for the coordination of pan-European research networks (COST actions). The actual research is financed via other (national or regional) channels.

The main features of COST are:

  • bottom-up approach: European researchers determine themselves the idea and topic of a COST action;
  • inclusiveness and equal access: participation is open to all COST member states;
  • flexible structure: simple implementation and management of networking initiatives;
  • commitment to participate in capacity building by linking up high quality scientific networks across Europe and worldwide;
  • particular attention to offering networking opportunities to young researchers;
  • increasing the impact of research on policy makers, regulatory authorities and national policy makers as well as the private sector.

COST is financed with specific budget lines from the EU Framework Programmes. At present, COST supports some 300 ongoing actions and reaches out to more than 30,000 researchers across Europe. 

Click to read more 
Hide text 

Your NCP contact for this programme

Image of Man Hei To

Man Hei To

manhei.to@fwo.be

+32 2 550 15 55

Your PC contact for this programme

Find the contact info on the site of WEWIS

The National Contact Points (NCPs) provide support, guidance, and practical information to potential applicants, helping them navigate funding opportunities and application processes.

The Programme Committee (PC) members represent their country in decision-making about the work programmes, evaluate implementation, and provide strategic input on priorities and calls.

Latest news

Upcoming events

No events that are specifically related to COST were found. Check the full calendar.

Infosheets

Infosheets contain edited content on aspects related to this programme. They are reviewed at least yearly.

    No infosheets available for this domain

Related links

Related links are easy pointers towards external information. We curate the list, but are not liable for the destinations.

Documents

Documents contain additional information related to this programme, and are similar to related links.

    No documents available for this domain

Testimonial

image of ScreenME - Enhancing excellence in screen media entrepreneurship

ScreenME - Enhancing excellence in screen media entrepreneurship

The Horizon2020 twinning project ScreenME has as its objective to enhance excellence in screen media entrepreneurship at Tallinn University (TLU). To do so, ScreenME has established a network of universities across Europe that aim to improve research into and teaching of entrepreneurship for the screen media industry. ScreenME will develop a teaching course and will kick off research initiatives and projects on entrepreneurial activities in media organisations. The research group on ‘Studies in Media, Innovation and Technology (SMIT)’ of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is partner in the network and is involved in two cross-cutting activities of the project: support for early stage researchers and developing stakeholder involvement.