COST is an intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research, allowing the coordination of nationally funded basic and pre-compeittive research on European level. COST member states are Austria, Belgium, BiH, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Serbia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (35) and Isreal (cooperating state).

COST Mission

COST aims to enable breakthrough scientific developments leading to new concepts and products. It thereby contributes to strengthening Europe’s research and innovation capacities.

In order to achieve its mission, COST endeavours to:

• Build capacity by connecting high-quality scientific communities in Europe and worldwide
• Provide networking opportunities for Early Stage Researchers (ESR)
• Increase research impact on policy makers, regulatory bodies and national decision makers as well as on the private sector.

Through its inclusiveness policy, COST supports the integration of research communities, leverages national research investments and addresses issues of global relevance.

COST is thus a building block of the European Research Area, instrumental for successful innovation strategies and global cooperation.

COST's Goals

In 2011, the CSO adopted the COST Strategy to achieve Vision 2020, looking at four goals:

1. Best performance in its implementation;
2. Orienting COST Actions
3. Improving cooperation within COST countries and beyond; 
4. Ensuring good governance.