COST action 714, supported by the European Commission, had the objective to promote the development of measurement techniques and the use of directional wave measurements. The action was launched in 1996, and, in the end, representatives of ten European countries (Belgium, Finland, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and of the United Kingdom) participated in it.
Within the action a working group was created with the title Intercomparisons of Spectral Properties of Surface Waves for the purpose of improving the understanding of measurement techniques, methods of analysis, and comparisons between different instruments.