COST, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, has funded research networks connecting scientists and professionals across Europe since 1971. Ukraine is a full COST Member Country. On 31 July 2026, the COST Open Call 2026 opens, accepting proposals for new COST Actions until 28 October 2026.
This article covers the full COST programme overview and the specifics of the 2026 Open Call: what COST Actions are, how the budget works, what COST actually funds, and what Ukrainian researchers need to know about eligibility and the application process.
COST differs from most EU grant programmes: it funds networking activities rather than research itself. Yet participation in a COST Action triples the success rate for follow-up Horizon Europe applications – from around 12% to 39%.
Find more EU grants for researchers and universities
GetGrant – AI search across open Horizon Europe, MSCA, ERC, COST, and hundreds of other programmes for Ukrainian scientists and organisations.
What COST and COST Actions are
COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is one of Europe’s oldest intergovernmental research cooperation programmes, founded in 1971 and now covering 41 member countries. The European Commission funds COST through Horizon Europe. The COST Association in Brussels administers it.
The main tool is the COST Action: an interdisciplinary research network that researchers propose and lead themselves. A COST Action brings together participants from multiple countries around a chosen topic for four years. Participants can come from universities, research institutes, public institutions, NGOs, SMEs, and industry.
One defining feature of COST is the bottom-up approach. Researchers choose their own topic – COST sets no thematic priorities. Any field of science and technology qualifies.
A further distinction from most EU grant programmes: researchers can join a running COST Action at any point during its four-year cycle. The network stays open to new members throughout.
What COST funds
COST funds networking activities, not research itself. The budget covers coordination, knowledge exchange, and participant mobility.
A typical COST Action receives approximately €150,000 in its first year and €180,000 in each of the following three years – giving a total of roughly €690,000 over four years. The exact amount varies depending on the number of COST countries represented in the working groups.
Conferences, workshops, and meetings. COST Actions fund Management Committee meetings, working group gatherings, scientific conferences, and thematic workshops across member countries.
Short-term Scientific Missions (STSMs). A researcher from one country visits a lab or institution in another member country for five days to three months. COST covers travel, accommodation, and a daily allowance.
Training Schools. Intensive courses for PhD students and postdocs on the Action’s topic. Participants receive a stipend to attend.
Communication activities and conference grants. Publications, websites, outreach – and grants for Action participants to attend relevant international conferences outside the COST framework.
Why COST is more than a network
COST describes itself as a pre-portal to Horizon Europe. The reason is concrete: follow-up Horizon Europe proposals from COST Action participants have a 39% success rate, compared to roughly 12% on average. That gap is substantial.
The average spin-off funding attracted by a COST Action after participation in the programme is €4.5 million. The network built during a COST Action becomes the foundation for significantly larger projects.
For early-career researchers: 85% of young researcher participants report that the COST Action advanced their career. Women make up 49% of COST Action participants – one of the higher proportions in EU research programmes.
COST and Ukraine
Ukraine is a full COST Member Country. Ukrainian researchers and organisations hold the same rights as participants from any EU country: they can propose new COST Actions, join Management Committees, receive Short-term Scientific Missions, and participate in Training Schools with full cost reimbursement.
Unlike many EU programmes where Ukraine holds an associated status with specific conditions, COST carries no such restrictions. Ukrainian researchers can serve as the main Proposers of new Actions and lead them throughout their duration.
Universities and research institutes in Ukraine already participate in dozens of running COST Actions. If your institution is not yet part of any, two routes are open right now: join a running network today, or propose a new one through the Open Call 2026.
COST Open Call 2026: key parameters
The Open Call 2026 opens on 31 July 2026 at 12:00 noon CEST. The submission deadline is 28 October 2026 at 12:00 noon CET. COST plans to fund up to 80 new Actions from this call.
The call uses a single-step process: no preliminary letter of intent or concept note. A full proposal goes directly through e-COST at e-services.cost.eu.
The SESA procedure (Submission, Evaluation, Selection and Approval) is fully science-driven. Independent external experts carry out the evaluation, and the COST Committee of Senior Officials takes the funding decision within seven months of the submission deadline – approximately May 2027. New Actions kick off around four months after approval, making September 2027 the indicative start.
COST notes that the 2026 procedure includes changes, so even experienced proposers should read the updated documents: the COST Open Call Proposers Guidelines and Open Call Announcement at cost.eu/funding/documents-guidelines/
Who can apply and the key eligibility requirements
Proposals are open to researchers and professionals from universities, public and private institutions, NGOs, SMEs, and industry located in any COST Member Country. Participants can apply at any stage of their career.
The proposal topic can cover any field of science and technology, including new and emerging interdisciplinary areas. COST sets no thematic restrictions.
Three mandatory structural requirements apply to the proposing team:
Minimum 7 COST Member Countries. The proposing team must include participants from at least seven different COST Member Countries.
At least 50% from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC). Half the team must come from ITC – the less research-intensive COST member countries where the programme actively promotes participation. Check the current ITC list on the COST website before composing your team.
At least 40% Young Researchers and Innovators. More than a third of the team must be early-career researchers. COST defines a young researcher as someone who obtained a PhD no more than eight years ago, or a current PhD student.
How proposals are evaluated
The SESA process is fully science-driven: COST sets no thematic priorities and does not reserve Actions for specific fields. Independent external experts carry out the evaluation.
Evaluators look at the scientific quality and interdisciplinary nature of the topic, how well the Action’s objectives fit the networking format COST funds, the composition and geographic spread of the proposing team, and the realism of the working group structure and planned activities.
The COST Committee of Senior Officials takes the funding decision within seven months of the submission deadline. All applicants receive a written outcome with reasoning.
Ten tips for a strong COST Action proposal
1. Build your team early. Assembling participants from 7+ countries and meeting the ITC and young researcher quotas takes months. Don’t wait for the call to open on 31 July.
2. The topic must be a networking topic, not a research topic. COST funds coordination and knowledge exchange, not lab work. The proposal must show why this topic needs an international network rather than a single project.
3. Name the coordination gap clearly. Evaluators look for a concrete problem that a network solves. Not “we will connect researchers,” but “problem X cannot be solved without coordinated data from 10 countries.”
4. Prioritise interdisciplinarity. Proposals that bridge multiple disciplines get preference. COST explicitly encourages interdisciplinary proposals.
5. Plan concrete network outputs. Joint publications, databases, standards, training materials – the more specific the planned outputs, the stronger the proposal.
6. Include practitioners, not only academics. COST values participants from industry, NGOs, and the public sector. It signals the applied dimension of the topic.
7. Check ITC eligibility before finalising your team. Verify the current ITC list on the COST website. A team that fails the 50% ITC requirement gets rejected before evaluation reaches the scientific assessment stage.
8. Consult your National Coordinator. The COST National Coordinator in your country can review the proposal before submission and answer procedural questions at no cost.
9. Read the 2026 Guidelines carefully. COST notes that this year’s procedure includes changes. Re-read the documents even if you’ve applied before.
10. A rejected proposal is not the end. COST welcomes resubmissions. A proposal rejected in one cycle can be reworked with evaluator feedback and submitted again the following year.
How to join a running COST Action now
The Open Call 2026 opens only on 31 July. But if you want to start benefiting from COST today, you can join one of the hundreds of currently running COST Actions.
Browse the catalogue at cost.eu/cost-actions-event/browse-actions/. Three routes to get involved:
Participate in Action activities. Conferences, Training Schools, workshops – many are open to external participants. Check the Action’s website or social channels for upcoming events.
Join a Working Group. Contact the Action’s Chair or your country’s management committee representative and discuss how you could contribute to working group tasks.
Apply for a Short-term Scientific Mission. If you are already a member of a running COST Action, apply for an STSM to visit a lab or institution in another member country. The Action covers your travel and accommodation.
COST Innovators Grant: an additional tool
Running COST Actions can apply for the COST Innovators Grant – up to €60,000 to bring in business partners or industry and applied-sector specialists who were not part of the original network.
If your Action is already running and you want to strengthen its applied dimension or prepare for commercialisation of results, the Innovators Grant gives you a direct tool for that. More at cost.eu/cost-innovators-grant/
Summary table: COST Open Call 2026
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Organiser | COST Association (funded by Horizon Europe) |
| Support type | Grant for networking activities (not for research itself) |
| Budget per Action | ~€150,000 (year 1) + ~€180,000 × 3 years = ~€690,000 total |
| Actions funded in 2026 | Up to 80 |
| Action duration | 4 years |
| Submission opens | 31 July 2026, 12:00 noon CEST |
| Submission deadline | 28 October 2026, 12:00 noon CET |
| Process | Single-step, science-driven evaluation (SESA procedure) |
| Funding decision | Within 7 months of deadline (~May 2027) |
| Indicative kick-off | ~September 2027 |
| Minimum countries | 7 COST Member Countries |
| Team composition requirements | ≥50% from ITC; ≥40% Young Researchers and Innovators |
| Topic restriction | None – any science and technology field (bottom-up) |
| Submission platform | e-services.cost.eu → |
| Contact | opencall@cost.eu |
| Official page | cost.eu/funding/open-call → |
Find all open EU grants for your research project
GetGrant updates its database of active opportunities for researchers, universities, and NGOs daily. With a subscription – AI matching for your profile.