Project Overview

Standardizing OUtput-based surveillance to control Non-regulated Diseases of cattle in the EU (SOUND control)

Project Overview

SOUND control project will bring together researchers working in surveillance programmes, applied epidemiology, economics and sociology, stakeholders and policy makers from different countries to discuss the requirements and demands for an output-based control measures for cattle diseases.

The project will coordinate, stimulate and assist with initiatives to explore and implement a widely adaptable output-based framework applicable to substantiate the confidence of freedom and cost-effectiveness in current surveillance, control or eradication programmes for non-regulated cattle diseases in the EU. This will allow a standardized and objective comparison of the output of control programmes between different regions, both from the epidemiological and economic perspective.

The work is carried out in five working groups with the following tasks:

  • Working Group 1 (WG1) – description of the current control programmes for non-regulated cattle diseases across member states,
  • Working Group 2 (WG2) – determination of data needs for an output-based framework and assessment of the available data,
  • Working Group 3 (WG3) – assessment of the available mathematical and statistical methods for objective and standardized comparison of control measures,
  • Working Group 4 (WG4) – establishment of a joint research agenda focused on the development of methodologies for objective comparison of outputs from different input-based control programmes,
  • Working Group 5 (WG5) – dissemination, communication and exploitation of the results of this project.

Action duration
Start date: 29/10/2018
End date: 28/10/2022

Contact: info@sound-control.eu

Abbreviations & Useful Information

COST = European Cooperation in Science and Technology – Funding organisation for research and innovation networks. Networks are called COST Actions, last for 4 years and bring together researchers from European countries as well as other countries:

COST Member countries: 38 full member countries and 1 Cooperating Member and 1 Partner Member

Non-COST Members: COST Near Neighbour Countries (NNC), COST International Partner Countries (IPC)

COST Vademecum = Key document which provides the terms and conditions for the financing of Actions and other activities. Other important documents and useful material can be found here.

SOUND control = Standardizing OUtput-based surveillance to control Non-regulated Diseases of cattle in the EU

CA17110 – COST Action number

MoU = Memorandum of Understanding – The agreement which describes the Action‘s objectives accepted by participating countries

MC = Management Committee – National representatives of each COST country nominated by COST National Coordinators (CNC) in charge of the coordination, implementation and management of an Action’s activities. Each country has up to 2 MC members and 3 MC substitutes.

CG = Core Group – Action‘s leadership

WG = Working Group – our Action has 5 working groups (see the list above)

STSM = Short-Term Scientific Mission – financially supported mobility of researcher from one institution participating in SOUND control COST Action to the participating institution in another country.

ITC = Inclusiveness Target Country – less research-intensive COST Member country

ECI = Early Career Investigator – An individual who is within a time span of up to 8 years from the date they obtained their PhD/doctorate

CP/CPs = Control Programme/s

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Working Groups