COAST has two primary objectives:

• To ensure that Dutch organizations apply the newest analytical technologies, giving them a competitive edge and helping them contribute to society and the economy;
• To strengthen the field of analytical science as an economic activity in and of itself.

These two, rather broad objectives have been broken down into more manageable objectives which align with the Strategic Agenda:

1. To encourage and facilitate research projects by partners from a range of application areas and backgrounds;
2. To optimize the fit of level of training and education with market needs for analytical scientists;
3. To open up infrastructure to partners.

These objectives will be achieved through the partnership of organizations from key application areas and diverse backgrounds (private, public, academic, etc.) that have a strong interest in the development and application of analytical technologies.