The survey reveals that nearly 100% of individuals asked, would recommend joining a COST Action, with 8 out of 10 reporting that participating in an Action has led to new professional opportunities.
The results of the 2019/2020 COST customer satisfaction survey have been released, revealing overwhelmingly positive feedback, most notably from early career investigators and researchers from Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) countries. International collaboration and networking were considered to be the main strengths of the COST framework, with 3 out 4 respondents stating that holding a COST grant had a very or fairly positive impact on their institution and 8 out of 10 stating that participation had led to new professional opportunities.
All of COST’s networking tools were deemed important by participants, particularly meetings, workshops, conferences and Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs).
Meeting the strategic objectives of COST
Results from the survey clearly demonstrate that the 3 strategic objectives of COST are being reached, with 86% of respondents agreeing that COST plays an essential role in promoting and spreading scientific and technological knowledge across Europe. 82% believing that COST plays an important role in enhancing the careers of young researchers and 80% stating that participation in COST, helps to foster breakthrough scientific developments.
COST puts a great value on hearing the feedback from the COST Action participants, as it helps the organisation to continuously improve services offered to the research community. This survey had a response rate of 37%.