Building Europe's FinAI Community

When COST Action CA19130 launched in September 2020, it began with a handful of researchers asking a simple question: how do we make AI in finance more transparent? Four years later, that question had drawn 380 researchers from 47 countries into a collaborative network that would become the second-largest COST Action in Europe.

The network's growth wasn't accidental. By organizing around three fundamental research questions - transparency in FinTech, explainability in AI models, and clarity in investment products - the Action created space for researchers across disciplines to find their place. Computer scientists sat alongside economists; statisticians collaborated with legal scholars. The result was a community that could tackle problems no single discipline could solve alone.

Data source: COST Action CA19130 (wg_members.json, country_statistics_full.json). Switzerland (SNSF Hub) shown with amber ring.

The network organized itself around three fundamental questions that no single researcher could answer alone. Each question became a Working Group, and each Working Group became a community of specialists who learned to speak each other's languages.

One of the network's most significant achievements was demonstrating that research leadership isn't confined to traditional academic centers. Researchers from Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITC) - nations traditionally underrepresented in European research funding - didn't just participate; they led.

By the numbers: 53% of network members came from ITC countries - 23 nations traditionally underrepresented in European research funding. This wasn't charity; it was recognition that financial AI challenges are global, and solutions require global perspectives.

Nearly half the network - 41.3% - consisted of young researchers and early career investigators. For them, COST wasn't just a funding mechanism; it was a career accelerator.

The interactive map above tells a geographic story, but the real connections happened in working groups, training schools, and mobility grants. Switzerland - home to the SNSF project that funded network coordination - became the natural hub, with researchers from 40 countries visiting Bern for conferences in 2023 and 2024.

The green circles represent ITC countries - and notice how many are larger than traditional academic powerhouses. Turkey (48 members), Albania (30), Romania (25), and North Macedonia (11) all have stronger representation than France (6) or Belgium (1). This wasn't accidental - it was the result of deliberate outreach and the recognition that emerging financial markets need AI expertise just as much as established ones.

Countries joined the COST Action between 2020-2024. The network grew from founding members in April 2020 to 47 countries by October 2024.

See full country list at COST Portal

By October 2024, COST Action CA19130 had demonstrated something that mattered beyond any single publication: that a truly inclusive research network could produce better science. The numbers tell part of the story, but the meaning lies in what they enabled.