MC Meeting Prague 2017 Protocol & Minutes

1. Welcome to participants: Martin Leucker
2. Verification of the presence of two-thirds of the Participating COST Countries or, if applicable, a quorum:

AT, CZ, *DK, EE, FR, *fMAC, DE, GR, *IS, *IE, *IL, IT, LT, LU, MT, NL, NO, PT, *RS, ES, SE, CH, UK

*: not attending
3. Adoption of agenda
4. Approval of minutes and matters arising of last meeting: approved
5. Update from the Action Chair
    a) Status of Action: start and end dates of Action, participating COST countries, participating NNC/IPC institutions and Specific Organisations.

  • New fiscal year upcoming; no new countries.
  • Interest from Australia, currently investigating self-funding.
    b) Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM): review of completed reports and new applications

  • 3 STSMs, still money available
6. Update from the Grant Holder: Action budget status

  • Within budget, but uncertainty in number of participants per meeting leads to underspending (members not declining invitations)
7. Update from the COST Association, if a representative is present: NA
8. Monitoring of the Action: NA
9. Implementation of COST policies on:
    a) Promotion of gender balance and Early Career Investigators (ECI)

  • Angela Wallenburg (Altran, UK) contacted
    b) Inclusiveness and Excellence (see below list of Inclusiveness Target Countries)

  • In contact with Serbia for next year
10. Follow-up of MoU objectives: progress report of working groups

— see linked slides on MC meeting web-page —
11. Scientific planning
a)     Scientific strategy (MoU objectives, GP Goals, WG tasks and deliverables)

— see linked slides on MC meeting web-page —
    b) Action Budget Planning
    c) Long-term planning (including anticipated locations and dates of future activities)

  •  June: Portugal, WG1-4 Meeting
    8th and 9th of June, MC Meeting
  • September 18th: WG Meeting in Torino
     together with iFM, MC Meeting
  • November 2017: Small WG2 + WG3 Meeting in Luxembourg
  • Late February 2018: Training School in Grenoble
    WG+MC Meeting as well
    d) Dissemination planning (Publications and outreach activities)

(Ezio: progress on the book, some chapters already in reviewing, introduction needs to be written)
12. Requests to join the Action from:
    a) COST countries: None
    b) Institutions in Near Neighbouring Countries, International Partner Countries, and/or Specific Organisations: EU agencies, European RTD Organisation, International Organisations

VOTE: Go-ahead for Australia if they provide their own funding
13. AOB: None
14. Location and date of next meeting
8./9. June 2017, Lisbon, PT
15. Summary of MC decisions
16. Closing