COST IC0702 MC Meeting, Warsaw (PL) 20 October 2008 By Sophie Beaubron ICT Administrative Officer

www.cost.esf.org

European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research

COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme

ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract

ICT

COST IC0702 MC Meeting, Warsaw (PL)

20 October 2008

By Sophie BeaubronICT Administrative Officer



ICT What is COST ?

• Multigovernmental Agreement– Created in 1971– 9 Scientific and Technical Domains

• Participation– 35 COST Countries– European Commission– International Organisations – Organisations from Non-COST Countries on Mutual

Benefit Basis• COST Actions

– Coordination of research funded otherwise– Pre-competitive and bottom-up– A tool for networking researchers



ICT

• Coordination of research funded otherwise– Nationally, EC, etc– COST does not fund the research effort

• Pre-competitive and bottom-up– No strategic objectives– No narrow-focussed contracts– Based on a research agenda

• Networking researchers– Effective instrument for integration– Incubator for proposals– Collective scientific knowledge pool– Some 1000 institutions/3000 researchers in ICT

What is a COST Action ?



ICT

COST Secretariat at the Council

COST OfficeDomain Committees (DC)

Actions Management Committees (MC)

Committee of Senior Officials (CSO)

COST National Coordinators

Working Groups (WG)

COST Structure



ICT

The 27 EU Member States

EFTA Member States Iceland Norway Switzerland

Acceding & Candidate Countries

Croatia FYR of Macedonia (FYROM)*

Turkey

Other Countries Republic of Serbia*

COST Co-operating States Israel

* not associated with FP

COST Countries



ICT COST Funds

• Contract between the EC and the European Science Foundation (ESF)

• Under FP6: SSA – Strengthening the European Research Area

• 80 M€ for 2003-2007• Funded under FP7 Cooperation

• 210 M€ - 250 M€ for 2007-2013• 50% - 80% increase on FP6/year

• Operated by the COST Office



ICT

• Science management meetings• Scientific workshops and seminars• Short Term Scientific Missions• Training Schools• Dissemination

What is funded ?



ICT

• COST Countries:

– “Open Call” with collection dates

– Membership is open to all countries within 12 months of Action approval

– After that, approval of MC is required

• Non-COST researchers:

– Should directly contact Chair of the Action

– If “mutual benefit” then official membership

• MC Approval, DC recommendation, CSO approval

How to participate ?



ICT

COST Actions: Global Participation

181 non-COST country participations in 65 Actions (2007)

Australia - 21

Argentina - 1

China - 8Japan - 11

Canada - 26

New Zealand - 4

South Africa - 2

Tunisia - 2

Bosnia &Herzegovina - 2

Ethiopia - 1

Ukraine - 19 Russia - 44

USA - 23Rep of Korea - 2China (Taiwan) - 1

Hong Kong - 1

Brazil - 1

Algeria - 2

India - 1

Egypt - 1

Cuba - 1

Malaysia - 1

Moldova - 2

Vietnam - 1

Colombia - 1

Armenia - 1Georgia - 1



ICT ICT Topics

• Antennas, Radio Propagation and Interference• Knowledge and Information Management• Nanotechnologies and Optical Components• Network Design and Analysis• New ICT Services• User Aspects• Wireless and Mobile Communications.



ICT

Communications

e-Society

Information Systems

Knowledge & Information Management

Algorithms

Software Engineering

RF & Signal Processing

Global Integrated Networks

(Nano) Optics

Networks & Traffic monitoring

Antennas

Security & Trust

Human-Machine Interaction

Intelligent Transport

Radio Propagation

eHealth

Agreement Technologies

Soft Computing

ICT in COST



ICT

Communications

e-Society

Information Systems

COST 293, 295, 296, 297, 299,

2100, IC0603IC0703, IC0802, IC0803

COST 294, 298, 2101,

2102, 2103, IC0601, IC0604 COST

292, IC0602,IC0701, IC0702, IC0801

COST-ICT Portfolio



ICT IC0702: Combining Soft ComputingTechniques and Statistical Methods to Improve Data Analysis Solutions

• Chair: Christian Borgelt

• Vice Chair: Frank Klawonn

• Grant Holder: Fundacion para el Progreso del Soft Computing

• Rapporteur: Leon Van der Torre (LU)

• Science Officer: Gian Mario Maggio

• Administrative Officer: Sophie Beaubron

• CSO Approval date: 16/11/2007

• End date: 30/03/2012

• 16 Parties + 1 Intention (Cyprus)

• Budget 2008/2009: 83,500 EUR

• Website: to be set-up



ICT Annual Grant Contract

• COST-ICT support: Annual Grant Contracts with Grant Holder institution

• Contract covers costs (ie, instruments) for:– Secretariat (administration + charges)

• max 15% of scientific expenses– Meetings (MC and WGs)– Seminars, Workshops, and Training Schools– Short Term Scientific Missions - STSMs– Publications & Dissemination activities

• these may be financed centrally at the COST Office for Final Publications



ICT Deliverables from MC

• Preliminary Financial Report

– 15 Jan 2009

• Work and budget plan for 2009-10

– submitted by Chair on behalf of MC, Feb/Mar 2009

• Progress Report

– 6 weeks before APC (27 Apr 2009 – provisional)

• APC: presentation of the Action’s activities during the past year, by the MC Chair;

– 8-9 June 2009, Santander, Spain (provisional)

• Final Financial Report

– 30 July 2009



ICT COST Tools (1)

Support of Early Stage Researchers (1)• Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSMs): minimum 1

one week, maximum 6 months; total shall not exceed 3.500 EUR; prior MC approval (or approval of STSM coordinator); learn new techniques, etc.

• Training Schools: normally between 3 days and two weeks; aim at providing dissemination from the Action activities and intensive training in a new emerging subject (general support for organisation, travel and subsistence for lecturers, fixed grants for attendees)



ICT COST Tools (1)

Support of Early Stage Researchers (2)• Action Think Tank: an early stage researchers‘ network

may be created within the action; each year, 1 workshop could involve early stage researchers to strengthen links with each other and with experience scientists

• Conference Grant: will shortly be established, with 3 grants per Domain per year, of max 3.000 EUR, to participate in an international conference outside the COST Action activities; accepted oral contribution is required for eligibility; selection process



ICT COST Tools (2)

Near Neighbours:• Aim: stimulate the participation of researchers from non-

COST Balkan countries (i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egyp, Lebanon, Libya, Morroco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia), Eastern European countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine)

• A dedicated sum has been set aside to fund attendance by researchers from these countries at meetings of COST Actions

• Up to 2 researchers per country may attend the meetings



ICT COST Tools (3)

Pilot scheme with Australia and New Zealand (1):• Bring European and AU/NZ researchers closer together• Specifically addresses researchers involved in COST

Actions and provides:– STSM grants for European scientists travelling to AU/NZ

(covered by COST Office)

– Travel grants to AU/NZ researchers travelling to Europe to attend a COST meeting (covered by the Australian Academy of Science and the NZ Ministry of Research, Science & Technology)



ICT COST Tools (3)

Pilot scheme with Australia and New Zealand (2):• If no formal contacts exist between Action MC and

AU/NZ researchers, the latter need to seek positive feedback for collaborating with a particular COST action

• Together with the Action Chair, the AU/NZ researchers will launch a formal request for participation as non-COST country institution (approval by MC, DC-ICT and CSO)



ICT

Thanks!

[email protected]

www.cost.esf.org

Questions ?

COST IC0702 MC Meeting, Warsaw (PL) 20 October 2008 By Sophie Beaubron ICT Administrative Officer

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Transcript of COST IC0702 MC Meeting, Warsaw (PL) 20 October 2008 By Sophie Beaubron ICT Administrative Officer