Cost: Its recent past and its future

COST- the acronym for European CO-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research- is the longest running and widest European intergovernmental network for cooperation in research.The contribution to European competitiveness in the global market is testified by the many contributions to normative and standardisation bodies where COST results, COST models, COST methods are commonly referred to and recommended. In this report, the progress of COST from its recent past to its future is discussed.