COST EXPERIENCE,
LESON AND MESSAGES
Ladislav Petruš
Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of
Sciences, 84538 Bratislava, Slovakia
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST EXPERIENCE
Scientific Secretary for COST Chemistry, European Commission (2000 2003), then ESF/COST Office (2004), Brussels, Belgium - 4 years together
Slovakia Representative in COST Technical Committee Chemistry (2005 2006)
Slovakia Representative in COST Domain Committee Chemistry and
Molecular Sciences and Technologies (DC CMST) (2006 - 2014)
COST DC CMST Liaison to ESF Life, Earth and Environmental Standing
Committee (LESC) (2007 - 2010)
COST DC CMST Liaison to COST Domain Committee Biomedicine and
Molecular Biosciences (BMBS) (2008 - 2014)
COST Action Rapporteur D32, D37, TD0803, CM0903, CM1102
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST HISTORY / EC
• 1971-2003, COST Secretariat, DG Research, European Commission
• Full financial assistance of the networks mobility
• Ministerial Conference, Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)
• 12 COST Technical Committees (TC)
• Assessment, monitoring and evaluation of COST Actions
• Mid-term and Final Evaluation of COST Actions, External Evaluators
• COST Scientific Secretaries serving TCs and attending CSO Meetings,
together with TC Chairs
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST HISTORY / EC  ESF
• First reform of COST – Peter Kind, creation of ERANET
• COST - networking of nationally funded research projects
• ERANET - networking of national and regional research
programmes
• Outsourcing of COST from EC to ESF (after fulfilling the political
role of COST - forefront of unification of Europe) to be gradually
absorbed as a part of the ESF networks …
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST HISTORY / ESF COST OFFICE
• 2004-2014, COST Office, European Science Foundation
• First full financial assistance of COST Actions mobility, later a
transfer to COST Action grant system
• Ministerial Conference, Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)
• 9 COST Domain Committees (DC)
• Assessment including Pre-proposals and Hearings, Monitoring and
Evaluation of COST Actions
• COST Actions Rapporteurs, Annual Progress Conference, External
Evaluators
• COST Science Officers assisting TCs and not attending CSO
Meetings, neither DC Chairs
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST HISTORY / ESF  COST ASSOCIATION
• Second reform of COST
• Termination of Domain Committees
• New assessment procedure
• Strong resistance of scientific community against the endeavor of
the ESF governing bodies to absorb COST Actions into ESF networks
resulted in
• Gradual terminations of ESF organized research networks
Transformation of ESF to Science Europe
Transformation of ESF COST Office to COST Association
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST PRESENCE / COST ASSOCIATION
• Since 2014, COST Association under Belgium Law
• COST Action Grant System
• Ministerial Conference, Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)
• Single Scientific Committees (under creation) should foster Inter- ,
Multi- and Transdisciplinarity of COST Actions
• New, one-step assessment procedure of COST Action proposals
• Not enough clear monitoring of COST Actions and their final
evaluation
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
Summary
From this survey of historical developments of COST there is an
evident and significant shift from the initial Bottom-Up to TopDown Organization of COST
COST Message to NC and Slovakia Representatives in
CSO and SC
It is a real challenge for COST Association to sustain and persist the
actual COST mission and success without many former assessment
and monitoring instruments, not to become a common (but poorly
financing) funding organization
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
COST Mission
COST is a unique means for European researchers, engineers and
scholars to jointly develop their own ideas and new initiatives across
all fields of science and technology through trans-European
networking of nationally funded research activities
COST Message to Ministry of Education Authorities
• Subsidiary financial support of nationally funded research
projects with the COST label
• In Slovak Academy of Sciences - currently € 4000 per project and
year is provided for covering the additional project infrastructure
expenses caused by inclusion of the project into a COST network,
which could not have been planned at the stage of the project
proposal
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015
THANK YOU
COST Info Day
Bratislava, 20.03.2015