Organisation

The Action is co-ordinated through the establishment of several Research Projects each of which will be dedicated to a specific research theme, additional themes may be developed as new members join the research programme. Chairs of each of the research projects are members of the Management Committee which is responsible for the overall direction of the COST Action, ensuring its stated aims are fulfilled. The Management Committee will meet every 6 months and in addition will regularly and frequently exchange information, preferably via electronic mail and teleconference. The primary task of this Management Committee is that of promoting the scientific activity of the Action, enhance the co-operation between members, stimulate the development of new joint studies, promote the mobility of researchers (through short term scientific missions), and organise two dedicated symposia (one at the end of Year 2 and one concluding meeting in year 4) to report and disseminate the results of the scientific research programme. The concluding symposium will be devoted to summing up the progress achieved during the Action and to discuss the production of a book or special issue of a topical journal consisting of comprehensive review articles covering the various aspects of the field under study. This will provide a comprehensive state of the art summary and will be a clear demonstration of the advances made possible by the collaborative joint research activities within the COST Action.

The Management committee will also be responsible for the administration of the COST Action budget, reviewing applications for membership of the programme and prepare reports to the COST central administration. The Project co-ordinator will Chair the Management Committee with both a Vice-Chair and Secretary being appointed from amongst its first members.

Each research project will establish its own Project Committee (PC) to oversee the research undertaken and ensure that the scientific aims of the Action are met. These PCs will serve to strengthen and initiate contacts between the participating research groups and to obtain a comprehensive overview of the different activities planned. This will also include discussions on the details of collaborative research and exchange visits.