On 19 May 2026, COST’s governing board, the Committee of Senior Officials, confirmed the funding of 80 new COST Actions, that will officially start in Autumn 2026.
The 80 new COST Actions in figures:
29% of main proposers are Young Researchers or Innovators
53% of main proposers are women
70% of the networks already include partners from industry or SMEs
38% of main proposers come from an Inclusiveness Target Country
71% of the new networks have attracted participants from all over the world
As an indicator of multidisciplinarity, 61% of the new Actions cover at least two OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) fields of science and technology, while 20% cover at least three fields.
Natural sciences lead the way as the most represented field of science (represented in 50% of the Actions), followed by Social Sciences (40%), Engineering and Technology (33%), Medical and Health Sciences (31%), Agricultural Science (16%) and Humanities (15%).
The success rate for applications in this Open Call (OC-2025-1) is 7%.
The 80 new COST Actions cover topics as wide and varied as phychosis prevention, silent fans, neuromorphic computing, vaccines for overall health benefits, artificial intelligence, conservation of modern art, and parental and children well-being.
On Friday 12 June 2026 these new COST Actions, including all Memorandums of Understanding, will be available on the COST website, so if you see a network that is of interest then you can apply to join. The official kick-off, the first Management Committee meeting, of these research networks will take place between September and November 2026.
Additional information
Discover what’s new in the COST Open Call 2026
In 2026 the Open Call for new COST Action proposals will open in e-COST on 31 July 2026 (12:00 noon CEST) and close on 28 October 2026 (12:00 noon CET). You can already start building your network and preparing your proposal. If you’re familiar with our existing submission and evaluation procedure you might notice some changes.