FAQ regarding the relationship between ESF and COST

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What is COST?

COST stands for European CO-operation in Science and Technology and is the longest running and widest European intergovernmental networking programme for cooperation in research.  Established by an agreement between 19 European States and launched at a Ministerial Conference in 1971, COST is at present serving the scientific communities of 36 European countries (27 EU Member States, EFTA Member States (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland), EU Candidate Countries (Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Turkey), COST Cooperating States (Israel), and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia) to cooperate in networks of researchers whose projects are funded at a national level.

For more information on COST, please visit www.cost.eu.

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How is COST structured?

COST is governed by the COST Member States. The organisation of COST reflects its intergovernmental nature.

COST Ministerial Conferences

Key decisions are taken at COST Ministerial Conferences, which are held on average every five years. The latest COST Ministerial Conference took place on 15 June 2010 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)

The Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is the main decision-making body responsible for the strategic development of COST. It decides, amongst other things, on the proposed new Actions following the Open Call.

Each COST Member State appoints two representatives to the CSO, one of whom is usually the COST National Coordinator (CNC).

The role of a CSO member is to

  • Liaise with the ministries and offices of his/her country
  • Liaise with the COST Office and the COST Secretariat

A CSO member may have a country-specific portfolio of information or support measures.

COST National Coordinator (CNC)

The role of the COST National Coordinator (CNC) is to

  • Nominate delegates to Domain Committees (DC) and Management Committees (MC)
  • Advise on all COST related matters (e.g. Actions, participation, Open Call)
  • Provide the liaison between the scientists and institutions in his/her country

A CNC may have a country-specific portfolio of information or support measures.

Executive Group of the CSO (JAF)

The Executive Group of the CSO, referred to as JAF, prepares the CSO meetings and some every day decisions delegated by the CSO. The group consists of the President and the Vice-President of the CSO as well as five other delegates from the CSO chosen to represent different COST countries for a maximum duration of three years.

Domain Committee (DC)

Domain Committees (DC) consist of experts from the respective domain and are nominated by the CNC. The DC reports to the CSO and is responsible for the quality control of the allocated Actions (assessment, monitoring, evaluation). The DC also supervises the strategic development of their respective domains.

Additional experts can be announced per domain and COST country. These experts form a “pool of expertise” that can be used in an ad hoc manner, e.g. for assessments.

Management Committee (MC)

The Management Committees (MC) - one for each Action - are formed by national experts nominated by the countries participating in the Action COST Project, coordinate the activities of the Action and report to the relevant Domain Committee.

COST Secretariat

The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union provides the secretariat for the CSO and the Executive Group of the CSO.

COST Office

The COST Office in Brussels is provided by the European Science Foundation (ESF) – the implementing agent for COST. It supports the scientific activities, e.g. the DCs and Actions’ activities, and implements CSO decisions.


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What are the COST Actions?

COST’s mission is to provide a flexible, fast, effective and efficient tool (COST Actions) for researchers to network and coordinate their research activities at project level. COST Actions are open networks of researchers, whose projects are of interest to at least five COST countries.  COST Actions cover basic and pre-competitive research for peaceful purposes as well as activities of public utility.

Every COST Action has an objective, defined goals and deliverables.  They achieve results through network building activities such as meetings, workshops, training schools and short-term scientific missions.  The COST Actions operate across a wide spectrum of specific as well as multi-disciplinary fields, and the interactions between the researchers are often maintained beyond their four-year duration.

For more information, please visit: www.cost.eu/domains_actions

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How is COST funded?

The Council Decision of 19 December 2006 concerning the Specific Programme "Cooperation" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) (2006/971/EC) sets aside a minimum of EUR 210 million in Annex II and up to EUR 250 million for COST, subject to a mid term evaluation.

The mid term evaluation 2010 did recommend to the European Commission that ‘the appropriate process be put in place to allocate the additional EUR 40 million reserved in FP7 for COST’.

In April 2011, the European Commission communicated the release of EUR 30 million to COST. The additional funding raises the total budget for COST to 240 million for FP7.

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What is the European Science Foundation?

The ESF was established in 1974 to coordinate collaboration in research, networking, funding of international research programmes, and strategic and science policy activities at a European level. ESF is a bottom-up organisation, independent of national political decision making bodies and of the European Commission.  The Member Organisations of ESF are at present 79 public national funding agencies of fundamental research, research performing organisations, academies, and learned societies.

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What does it mean that the European Science Foundation is the implementing agent for COST?

ESF took the role of implementing agent for COST in 2003, through a contract between the European Commission and the ESF. Although the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is the main decision-making body and formulates the general strategy for COST, it does not have the legal status which would allow it to sign contracts, hire staff or manage the COST Office which is responsible for implementing the CSO decisions. To that end, the ESF acts as the legal entity to provide and manage the COST Office in Brussels through a specific contract with the European Commission. Thus, COST Office staff is employed by the ESF with a contract under Belgian labour law to work on the decisions taken by the CSO.

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Who decided on the implementing agent for COST?

The COST Committee of Senior Officials decides upon its implementing agent. Its decision was communicated to the European Commission via the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union. The European Commission then signed a contract with the ESF, under which ESF would act as the implementing agency for COST.

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When will ESF end its period as implementing agent for COST?

The current contract between the ESF and the European Commission runs until 1 June 2014, which is the end date of FP7. The CSO decided at its 178th meeting on 25 - 26 May 2010, to invite the ESF to remain implementing agent until the end of FP7. The ESF Governing Council confirmed its commitment to remain implementing agent for COST until June 2014 at its meeting on 29- 30 September 2010.

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Who will be the implementing agent for COST after June 2014?

Currently, the CSO has not taken any decision about the implementing agent beyond June 2014.

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What if the ESF structure changes before the end of FP7?

Since the ESF’s continuation as implementing agent for COST for the duration of FP7 has been confirmed by both parties, ESF’s role as implementing agent for COST will not be impacted.

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What is the COST Office Association?

The COST Office Association (COA) was set up in June 2010 as an international non-profit making association under Belgian law. Its setup was acknowledged in the COST Ministerial Declaration of 15 June 2010 ( COST 4175/10).

With the publication of its Statutes in the Moniteur Belge/Belgisch Staatsblad in early September 2010, the COST Office Association has been officially established. COST countries (Member States or Cooperating States) can join the Association.

The COST Office Association is devoted to the promotion, organisation, management and funding of practical support functions for COST.

Through the COST Office Association, COST could have access to a legal status: this would require a decision of the COST to appoint the Association as the legal representative of COST. The COST Office Association could become the implementing agent of COST: this would require a separate subsequent decision of the COST CSO  if and when COST will deem this appropriate.

The CSO is yet to decide on the COST Office Association’s role in the current COST structure.