COST is much more than an organisation that implements a funding programme; we are a community of over 45,000 people connected by a desire to advance research and innovation. As the coronavirus situation rapidly evolves, there is now more need than ever for us to stand together, to collaborate and share ideas, because together we are stronger.
We understand that this is a worrying and challenging time for everyone, so to help minimise the impact on our networks we have implemented a number of measures, which ensure the safety of our community and enable operations to continue. In this spirit, our team will be working remotely for the foreseeable future, they will be fully contactable via telephone and email and the day to day operations of the COST Association will continue.
For safety reasons, COST Actions have had to suspend physical meetings, as well as cancel training schools and STSMs. The challenge for the period to come is now how to stay in touch and continue to nurture our networks, which is key to our success. Luckily modern technology is at hand, offering us a wealth of options for video conferencing, networking and project management. It is our duty to leave no one behind, so to help we have created a quick guide to commonly used tools, which we will be distributing to all of our Actions.
Another measure we have implemented, is to postpone our Open Call by 6 months, to enable researchers and innovators the necessary time to develop their proposals during this difficult period. The deadline for submissions will now be 29 October 2020.
I would like to personally reassure you that we will stay in touch with you regarding any further developments. As part of this commitment, a designated page on our website has been created and we are regularly updating our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook channels.
Ronald de Bruin, Director of the COST Association