From Individual Papers to Collective Impact
How 244 Researchers Transformed Scattered Expertise into Shared Knowledge
The 7,483 publications produced by COST FinAI network members tell only part of the story. Before the network existed, these researchers published individually - experts in their fields but isolated by geography, language, and institutional boundaries. The deeper impact of CA19130 lies in what happened when they started writing together: cross-border collaborations that would have been impossible to arrange without the network's infrastructure, multi-author policy papers that carried weight precisely because they represented pan-European consensus, and research that bridged the gap between academic theory and financial practice.
For the SNSF Narrative Digital Finance project, this publication ecosystem proved invaluable. When a research question emerged - about digital asset regulation, about AI transparency in trading, about narrative influence on markets - there was already a community of collaborators with complementary expertise, ready to contribute. What might have taken years of relationship-building happened in months.
These numbers represent four years of coordinated research output - the collective knowledge base that SNSF project collaborators could draw upon.
The most striking evidence of network impact isn't found in solo publications but in the papers where researchers who would never have met began writing together. Before COST Action CA19130, a Romanian econometrician, a German blockchain specialist, and a Swiss financial engineer might cite each other's work without ever collaborating directly. The network changed that equation.
Flagship: Mitigating Digital Asset Risks (2023)
When regulators across Europe struggled to understand cryptocurrency risks, the COST network produced something no single institution could: a comprehensive position paper with 33 co-authors from 15 countries. The paper drew on expertise spanning blockchain technology, financial regulation, consumer protection, and market microstructure - all available because the network had already connected these researchers.
SSRN: 4594467 | Topics: Blockchain, DLT, Digital Asset Regulation
"A single-author paper reaches your field. A 30-author paper from 15 countries reaches policymakers. The network gave us the scale to be heard."
- Illustrative quote reflecting the network's collaborative impact
Hypothesizing Multimodal Influence (2024)
This paper exemplifies SNSF-COST synergy: Gabin Taibi (SNSF doctoral researcher) collaborated with COST network members across multiple countries to explore how multimodal data - text, images, market signals - combine to influence financial decisions.
SSRN: 4698153
AI 4 Crowdfunding (2024)
The network's WG1 focus on transparency in alternative finance produced this analysis of how AI can improve crowdfunding market outcomes - connecting researchers who specialized in algorithmic fairness with those who understood platform economics.
Multiple COST network authors across 6 countries
SSRN: 4941279
When 244 researchers from 47 countries focus on AI in finance, patterns emerge that no individual research agenda could anticipate. The network's publications clustered around four themes that became increasingly central to both regulatory debate and industry practice:
1 Transparency in Algorithmic Trading
As high-frequency trading came under regulatory scrutiny, network researchers produced methods to understand and explain algorithmic decision-making. This work directly informed the SNSF project's WP4 focus on HFT analysis with Deutsche Borse data.
2 Explainable AI for Credit Decisions
WG2's focus on XAI produced practical frameworks for explaining why AI systems approve or deny credit - methods now being tested by network partners including ING Group and OTP Bank.
3 Blockchain Regulation Frameworks
The Digital Assets Position Paper represented the network's most visible policy contribution - comprehensive recommendations that were shared with regulators across Europe as MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation developed.
4 Crowdfunding Market Dynamics
With access to the network's ICO and P2P lending databases (see Resources), researchers produced insights into how alternative finance platforms succeed or fail - informing both investor protection and platform design.
The 10,000+ citations tell us that other researchers found this work useful. But academic impact is only part of the story. The network's publications reached audiences that traditional academic output rarely touches:
Peer researchers building on this foundation
ING, Deutsche Borse, OTP, iFactor testing methods
Digital asset recommendations shared with EU regulators
Who Cites This Work?
Beyond their individual contributions to knowledge, the network's publication record demonstrated several important lessons for research organization:
Scale Enables Policy Impact
A position paper with 33 authors from 15 countries carries weight that no individual researcher could achieve. The network provided the scale to be taken seriously by policymakers.
Diversity Improves Research Quality
Papers with authors from multiple countries and research traditions proved more robust - peer review happened before submission, within the collaboration itself.
Infrastructure Accelerates Output
Shared databases, reproducible code repositories (QuantLet), and established communication channels meant new collaborations could begin producing output immediately.
Citations Follow Collaboration
Multi-author papers reached broader audiences and accumulated citations faster - each co-author brought their own network of readers and collaborators.
For the SNSF project, these lessons translated into practical advantage: access to a publication ecosystem where collaboration was already the norm, where shared infrastructure was already built, and where the path from research question to published output was already well-worn.
Full publication list available at COST FinAI Wiki