How to apply

This page refers to proposing a COST Action. If you would like to join a running Action as a participant instead of proposing your own Action, please visit our page What are COST Actions?

How to apply

Proposals for new COST Actions can be submitted to our annual Open Call via e-COST, our dedicated grant management tool. Once the deadline (collection date) has been reached, all applications are evaluated based on clear criteria.

COST Actions are bottom-up and can be on any topic, however they must fulfill certain criteria in order to be approved, such as including researchers from at least seven COST Member countries, half of whom come from our Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC). 

Following a thorough evaluation and selection process, the decision for funding a proposal is taken by the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) within eight months from the collection date. Successful proposals are approved to become COST Actions and can expect to kick-off within three months after approval.

The Open Call

Participants are invited to submit COST Action proposals contributing to the scientific, technological, economic, cultural or societal knowledge advancement and development of Europe. Multi- and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.

The Open Call Action proposal submission, evaluation, selection and approval (SESA) procedure is fully science and technology-driven and will ensure a simple, transparent and competitive proposal evaluation and selection process, reflecting the bottom-up, open and inclusive principles of COST.

Participants planning to submit a proposal for a COST Action will need to refer to the SESA guidelines and the Open Call Announcement on the Documents and Guidelines page.

Process of applying for the COST Open Call (collection date 2024: 23 October at noon). 1: Build your idea and team with a bottom up approach. You must be at least 7 peers from 7 COST Member countries. 2: Submit your anonymous proposal online via e-COST. 3: Evaluaton and selection is carried out by independent external experts and ad-hoc review panels. The scientific committee make the final selection of proposals. 4: Approval and launch final decision is taken by the COST committee of Senior Officials. New COST Actions kick off in autumn 2025
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The next collection date will be 23 October 2024 at 12.00 (noon) CEST.

Evaluation, selection, and approval

COST is committed to a transparency and simplicity. The proposal evaluation and selection follows a three-step process:

Evaluation by independent external experts

Step 1

Revision and quality check of consensus reports by ad hoc review panels

Step 2

Establishment of a shortlist of selected proposals by the COST Scientific Committee (SC)

Step 3

The shortlist of proposals selected by the Scientific Committee is submitted to the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) for approval.

Proposals are evaluated and selected on a competitive basis, taking into account the available funds for the particular Open Call collection. COST reserves the right to involve observers to assess and provide feedback on the evaluation and selection process.

For general questions related to the Open Call please contact your COST National Coordinator who will be able to assist. More technical questions can be addressed to opencall@cost.eu

Related links

10 tips for preparing a COST Action proposal: 1. Innovative idea 2. Team of 7 proposers 3. Demonstrate how networking helps 4. Present a detailed plan 5. SMART objectives 6. Promote geographical, age & gender balance 7. Adhere to ethical principles 8. Respect word limit 9. Use templates 10. Anonymous
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1. Proposals are evaluated and selected on a competitive basis, taking into account the available funds for an Open Call. 2. Evaluation and selection follows 3 steps: i. Evaluation by Independent External Experts ii. Revision and quality check of the Evaluation Reports by Review Panels iii. Proposal selection by the COST Scientific Committee 3. Final approval of new COST Actions is made by the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) 4. Time from submission to awarding is 7 months. Proposers should discover by May 2025 if they are successful. 5. Evaluation happens against COST’s eligibility (network of proposers, length, anonymity, language, ethical principles & peaceful purposes) and evaluation criteria (S&T excellence, networking, impact, implementation).
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6. COST uses double-blind peer review. The identities of Independent External Experts, Review Panel members, and proposers are kept confidential. 7. Ad-hoc Review Panels are established after each Collection Date based on the number and topics of received proposals 8. COST strives to avoid any conflict of interest and all those involved in the process commit to confidentiality. 9. The Evaluation Report and results of the assessment are made available to each proposer via e-COST after CSO approval. 10. To ensure fairness and transparency COST has a Redress Procedure.
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