Networking, not another research grant.
COST — European Cooperation in Science and Technology — funds bottom-up networks called Actions. It does not fund the research itself; it funds the coordination around it: meetings, Working Groups, researcher mobility, training schools and open dissemination over a four-year period.
Actions are open and inclusive by design, with a deliberate focus on connecting less research-intensive Inclusiveness Target Countries to the wider European community — exactly where the MSK burden falls hardest.
What the Action will coordinate.
Ratify the SPIRO framework and clinical pathway by structured two-round Delphi consensus — an open-access statement and terminology lexicon.
Agree a minimum core outcome set and harmonised reporting so results are comparable across centres and countries.
Map European centres, capabilities and evidence gaps into a shared research agenda that avoids duplication.
Define transparent, non-commercial criteria for a quality regenerative centre — the Centre of Excellence framework.
Convene clinicians, scientists, biomaterials engineers, industry, regulators and patients in one balanced community.
Training Schools and Short-Term Scientific Missions that give early-career researchers skills, mobility and real leadership.
Involve patients in setting the agenda and separate evidence-based regeneration from commercial hype.
A self-sustaining society that continues the coordination and briefs regulators beyond the funded Action.
Five Working Groups, mapped to SPIRO.
Each Working Group owns one domain of our shared framework, so the Action's structure and its science speak the same language.
Ratify SPIRO, the clinical pathway and a shared terminology lexicon through structured Delphi consensus.
Coordinate evidence on preserving native joints and intervening before irreversible damage.
Harmonise MRI, markerless motion analysis and synovial-fluid multi-omics into FAIR, interoperable datasets.
Align biologics, cell therapy, biomaterials and tissue engineering around comparable methods and endpoints.
Agree a core outcome set, quality benchmark and the Centre of Excellence framework for real-world care.
A large burden, a growing network.
The tools that move people and knowledge.
Fund researchers — especially early-career and ITC-based — to spend time in another centre, learning methods and building collaborations.
Support researchers from Inclusiveness Target Countries to present at international conferences outside the Action.
Structured, geographically inclusive schools that transfer skills in imaging, omics, biostatistics and regenerative methods.
Open-access outputs, virtual mobility grants, the annual congress and public and patient engagement.
From launch to a self-sustaining network.
Management Committee formed, Working Groups convened, SPIRO Delphi round opened, first Training School and STSM call.
Consensus statement and core outcome set published; European centre and evidence map; Centre of Excellence criteria drafted.
FAIR data resource operational; expanded STSM and ITC programme; quality benchmark piloted across centres.
Quality benchmark adopted; policy and regulator briefings; the self-sustaining association carries the network forward.
Where the coordination leads.
Shared classification, outcomes and FAIR data end duplication and let Europe reason about MSK regeneration as one body of evidence.
Training Schools, STSMs and ITC grants build lasting skills and leadership where the burden is highest.
A quality benchmark and patient involvement move care toward regeneration and away from premature, avoidable replacement.
Action activities map one-to-one onto COST tools.
Everything the Action does has a funded COST instrument behind it — so the plan is deliverable, not aspirational.
Impact across four axes and three horizons.
Who is at the table, and how they are engaged.
Choose and deliver regenerative treatments; ground consensus and outcomes in real practice; give access to patient cohorts.
Engaged from the outset via Working Groups, congress and Training Schools. Challenge: clinical time pressure. Mitigation: efficient virtual working, CPD-accredited outputs, leadership recognition.
Provide the science behind therapies; align protocols; drive innovation and translation.
Co-lead scientific Working Groups; exchange via STSMs. Challenge: cross-discipline language gaps. Mitigation: the shared lexicon and joint activities.
Accelerate translation; surface real-world and regulatory constraints; support adoption.
Engaged behind an integrity firewall that insulates scientific decisions from commercial interest. Challenge: conflict of interest. Mitigation: firewall governance and transparent declarations.
Translate standards into safe-adoption, reimbursement and policy; provide oversight.
Invited to annual policy roundtables and consulted on standards. Challenge: differing national priorities. Mitigation: align outputs with European agendas.
Define patient-centred priorities; co-produce agenda and dissemination; ensure relevance and inclusivity.
A Patient & Public Involvement framework in Year 1; representation on the Management Committee and in the inclusiveness Working Group. Challenge: tokenism. Mitigation: trained facilitation, expense reimbursement and real agenda-setting power.
Disseminate, align standards, extend reach and legitimacy; inform policy and funding.
Liaison points, co-hosted sessions and policy briefs. Challenge: overlapping remits. Mitigation: complementary, non-duplicative positioning.
What each Working Group owns and delivers.
Management and MC support, communication and dissemination, and the plan to sustain the network as a durable society after the Action.
Website & members’ platform; dissemination plan; annual reports; sustainability / legacy charter.
The Delphi process and annual consensus statements; classification and terminology for the field.
Ratified classification & pathway; terminology lexicon; annual consensus statements.
Training Schools, Short-Term Scientific Missions, and the Centre of Excellence accreditation framework.
Training curricula & e-learning; STSM programme; accreditation standards.
Mapping the evidence base, the minimum core outcome set, and harmonised reporting.
Evidence & capability map; core outcome set; reporting guideline; joint research agenda.
Geographic (ITC), gender and career-stage balance; a young-researcher leadership pipeline; patient & public involvement.
Inclusiveness & participation plan; PPI framework; public resources; leadership report.
Join the Action.
Research groups, clinical centres, industry and patient organisations across Europe — and especially in Inclusiveness Target Countries — are invited to become partners in the network.