COST celebrates 50th anniversary: a look at the organization and its COST Actions
Story first published in Nether on Dec 02 2021 – view original in Dutch
Written by Joep Bresser, Policy Officer
The European Research Network Funding Organization European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Founded to build bridges in the fragmented post-WWII European research landscape, the program still focuses on funding network tools that are the main drivers of the 291 research networks ( COST Actions ) currently operating. In the 2014-2020 program period, the organization connected no fewer than 92,000 researchers in 669 Actions , with more to come in Horizon Europe. In this article we look at the success behind COST and researcher Angele Reinders explains what the organization meant to her.
50 years of COST
The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) has become more gender balanced with 42% female participants in the last program period. For the festive occasion, COST published a birthday message from COST President Prof. Alain Beretz and she launched a special edition of her website: 50 Years of Research Networks . COST is the longest-running European framework for research & innovation (R&I), kicking off at the ministerial conference on 22-23 November in 1971. It was introduced to coordinate the European research landscape by creating networks and thus bridge the technological gap with the US. to close.
Platform for European cooperation
Today, COST still provides a platform for global collaboration, with a European focus. The organization pays special attention to researchers in so-called Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs) , also known as the ‘widening countries’ in the EU Framework Programmes. No fewer than 38 European countries within and outside the EU are members. The research ministers of these 38 countries appear to appreciate COST’s networks, as they called for a 50% budget increase in Horizon Europe this year .
Great reach through the COST promotions
In the 2014-2020 program period, the organization reached more than 92,000 researchers through its various activities. It mainly reaches these researchers through its COST Actions : interdisciplinary research networks that bring together not only scientists, but also stakeholders from SMEs, governments, consultancy firms and other social organisations. For four years, they conduct research into an emerging scientific topic chosen by the proposer of the Action . The networks are characterized by their openness, as you can join at any time during the first three years of the project’s duration.
Great impact & many spin-offs
Participation in these Actions provides (young) researchers with a lot of benefits. This way they can easily sign up for training courses, workshops, conferences and short scientific missions to research infrastructures. Although COST only finances the network activities, it does research emerging topics within and outside the Action . On average, Action participants are able to generate around 5.8 million euros in spin-off financing from European and national funds. Consortia that arise from a COST Action are also many times more successful in Pillar 2 ( Global Challenges) of Horizon 2020 (37% success rate for COST consortia vs. 12.2% average in H2020). Almost half of these spin-off projects also include partners from the ITCs , confirming COST’s role in broadening participation in the European Framework Programme.
Looking to the future with confidence
COST can therefore look forward to the next 50 years with confidence. In Horizon Europe, the organization will also benefit from the increase in its ‘ Wining participation and strengthening the European Research Area ‘ component, enabling it to fund around 60-70 Actions each year , compared to 40 in Horizon 2020. However, a recent evaluation identified also a number of points for attention for the future: “the organization will have to remain alert to the balance between the interests of ITC and non-ITC countries and could benefit more from cooperation with the European Universities Initiative and Erasmus+.”
COST in the Netherlands
COST is also popular in the Netherlands. In 2019, 1119 researchers took part in a COST Action , 112 of whom took a leadership position, for example as (vice) chair, working group leader or science communication coordinator. Unfortunately, those numbers have been declining over the past five years. Dutch researchers also chair a significant number of these actions, for example on themes relevant to Neth-ER itself, such as international student mobility and the position of China in Europe .
“COST gives confidence”
“There is a life before and after a COST Action , the cliché goes. But it is true,” says Angele Reinders, professor of ‘Designing Sustainable Energy Systems’ at Eindhoven University of Technology and associate professor at the University of Twente. She started and leads the COST Action PEARL PV . The network is conducting research into performance improvement and cost savings of electricity generated by photovoltaic (PV) solar energy systems. “Personally it has brought me a lot of good, you get to know your own leadership qualities and that gives a lot of confidence in your possibilities. It also ensures an enormous expansion of your network, with motivated people who share the same interest and passion”, says Reinders.
“Large network throughout Europe”
Currently, the network consists of 250 participants from 38 countries. Almost every country in Europe is connected, except for a number of Scandinavian countries that simply have too little solar activity. Angele Reinders works very closely with researchers from Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Germany, the UK and of course the Netherlands itself. “It’s great to see that researchers from every country can contribute, even in countries where research is less institutionalized and data collection is more difficult. However, the quality of the participating researchers themselves is beyond dispute. You also see that the research activity in so-called ITCcountries such as Portugal, Cyprus and Slovenia is higher in my field than in the Netherlands. Sometimes you have prejudices about what is happening in the rest of Europe, but in practice the reality turns out to be different. It opens your eyes,” according to Reinders.
“Connecting expertise and data”
The participants in PEARL PV form an inclusive research network who share their expertise and also disseminate this knowledge to stakeholders such as installation engineers, system designers, governments and investors. The network connects not only solar stakeholders, but also an unprecedented amount of data on the performance of PV systems in European countries. This provides insight into factors that influence the lifespan of such systems, such as size, design, as well as specific parts and maintenance systems. Due to the large number of participating countries, the network can also measure the influence of different climates on the functioning of PV systems.
fragmented landscape
Compared to centrally controlled energy supplies, such as nuclear energy, solar energy systems have a fragmented landscape with many companies, users and investors from different countries with varying climates. And therefore also differences in performance and service life. Angele Reinders hopes that the insights from the COST Action and the Horizon 2020 spin-offs, such as Trust PV and Serendi-PV, lead to higher energy production, lower investment risks and a longer lifespan. In 2017, the International Energy Agency expected 11 percent of the total energy mix to be generated by PV systems by 2050. That will be obsolete in 2021 with many countries such as the Netherlands and Germany that have significantly increased their targets. “With such a massive effort, you as an investor and user want to be able to rely on the performance and longevity,” says Reinders.
“COST Action continued despite crisis”
In any case, the lifespan of the COST Action itself is good. While some Actions lost their lives due to the consequences of the corona crisis, contact within Pearl-PV intensified. The corona crisis resulted in many fruitful online encounters and therefore reduced the distance. Ultimately, the project will be completed with only half a year’s delay, in April 2022. Angele Reinders is satisfied with the results achieved: Despite Covid-19, we then gave four training schools, realized an international data base for sharing measurement data, widely published about the relationships between climate, yield of PV systems and overviews of defects.
“Hope for continuation of research network”
Angele Reinders hopes that PEARL-PV can continue to exist as a research network, and wants to apply the experience gained in international research management in new positions. She also hopes that in the future researchers will be adequately recognized and valued for leading (and participating in) such networks, and will receive support for this, for example in the form of assistants and postdocs.
Context
COST will be fully funded for the first time in the 2021-2027 programming period from the Widening participation and strengthening the European Research Area part of Horizon Europe. At least 50% of that budget will benefit researchers from widening countries and 80% of the COST activities must have a significant widening dimension. The widening countries as defined in Horizon Europe largely correspond to the countries classified by COST as ITC. In recent years, the organization introduced a range of new activities in support of the COST Actions, such as COST Connect , a series of workshops on focused themes; the COST Academy, offering training courses, workshops and coaching for participants; COST Innovators Grants to translate COST Action research into commercial or societal applications, and COST Global Networking for the participation of partners outside of Europe.