COST - participation in an approved COST Action

Research

Funding organisation:

Europese Commissie

What?

The COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) has recently approved 80 new COST Actions (results from OC-2025-1) that will have their first kick-off meetings between September and November 2026. An overview of the newly approved COST Actions can be found here.

Since 2021, all COST Member States (including Belgium) have been part of new COST Actions once approved by the CSO. Researchers and innovators in Belgium can directly participate in these new COST Actions. Applications for participation to the working groups of the COST Actions can be submitted through the e-cost platform and are subjected to the management committee's approval of the COST Action. Working groups perform the tasks required by the COST Action to fulfil the objectives of the network’s project plan.

There are several ways to participate in these new COST Actions:

• Management Committee: Each COST Action has a Management Committee composed of officially designated delegates from the COST Member States. The management committee supervises and coordinates the proper implementation of the COST Action concerned. Each COST country can nominate a maximum of 2 national delegates. If possible, a regional and institutional balance is sought in the appointment of the Belgian delegates. Page 5 of the document Rules for COST Actions (level B) provides more information on the role and responsibilities of the management committee.

• Working Groups: The implementation of a COST Action proceeds through various working groups in which a group of researchers works on specific tasks to fulfil the objectives of the COST Action. Applications for the working groups are submitted via the e-cost platform and approved by the management committee of the COST Action. The FWO does not intervene in this process. Members of the management committee should also participate in at least one of the working groups.

• COST activities: throughout the duration of the COST Action, it is also possible to just participate to an activity of the COST action (e.g. training schools, short term scientific missions, workshop, conference, etc.) on an ad-hoc basis without being a permanent member to the COST action. These COST activities are usually published on the website of the COST Action. If you are interested to participate in these activities please contact the Action Chair or the national representatives in the management committee of the COST Action for more information and further instructions.

Application?

Applications for participation in a COST action can in principle, be submitted at any time, but preferably at the start of an action.

Participation in the management committee is subject to a national application procedure. Candidates from Flemish institutions wishing to sit on the management committee should complete the application form of the FWO and send it to cost@fwo.be by Friday 3 July 2026 at the latest. It is highly advised that individuals who are interested in participating in the management committee contact the Action Chair or Main Proposer to discuss their participation in the COST action before submitting their application. Please contact FWO for further guidance regarding the application procedure for participation in the management committee. Each COST Member State can nominate up to two national representatives in the management committee of a COST Action.

More information?

You can find more information on the FWO website.
New COST actions overview

Please contact research@uhasselt.be if you want to apply.

Contact Hasselt University?

E-mail ilse.das@uhasselt.be

Tel. +3211268098