COST Actions 2026:

Basic Information

The COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) grant program provides funding for the trans-European coordination of researchers, innovators, and other relevant stakeholders to collaborate on research activities.

• Allocation and supported projects: Up to 80 new projects (so-called COST Actions) are expected to be approved in 2026.
• The program has an open "bottom-up" structure, meaning it is intended for all scientific and technological fields.
• Network activities (Actions) are planned for 4 years, and funding is drawn through annual grant periods.

Level of Funding

• Average funding reaches approximately EUR 600,000 per project.
• The final amount is not fixed at the proposal submission stage and may vary over the years and between individual projects.

Explanatory Notes:

• Funds are not distributed separately to each network member.
• The network's Management Committee selects one institution as the Grant Holder, which subsequently manages the budget and ensures both administrative and financial coordination.
• No detailed budget is submitted during the application phase itself.

Conditions for Obtaining a COST Actions Grant

• Minimum network composition: The project must be supported by representatives from at least 7 full or cooperating COST Member States.
• Support for target regions: At least 50% of these represented states must fall under the so-called Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs).
• Support for young talents: A minimum of 40% of individual proposers must belong to the category of Young Researchers and Innovators (YRIs).
• Evaluation: The proposal must be submitted anonymously, as it is evaluated in a double-blind process—any breach of anonymity leads to disqualification.
• Score: The maximum number of points is 13; the application must score at least 3 points (out of 5) in the Excellence in Science criterion and 3 points in the Impact criterion.

What the COST Actions Grant Can Be Used For

The COST program grant cannot be used for the research itself, research personnel capacities, or the purchase of equipment (these activities must be financed from other national or institutional sources).

Only networking activities can be financed, particularly:

• Meetings and gatherings (Management Committee meetings, working groups, organizing workshops, conferences, and other network meetings),
• Organizing educational events (Training Schools),
• Professional internships and mobility (Short-Term Scientific Missions - STSMs and virtual mobility grants),
• Travel and conference grants (for young researchers, innovation leaders, and participants from ITC countries),
• Dissemination and communication products (dissemination of results and communication towards the public and the professional community).