BNU June 2018

1 European Highlights, BNU June 2018, Brussels News Updates

EuCheMS attends the Science and Technology in Society Forum – STOA event

EuCheMS attended the high-level conference on a strengthened cooperation between the Science and Technology in Society Forum and the EU through the framework programme Horizon Europe. Chaired by MEP Paul Rübig and MEP Jerzy Buzek, the conference saw speeches by Carlos Moedas, EU Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council (ERC), Julie Maxton, Executive Director of the UK’s Royal Society, as well as a number of high profile ministers and CEOs from Japan and an ERC grantee.

Mr Moedas emphasised Europe’s commitment to putting science and innovation as a top priority whilst underlining that one of the key pillars to success lies in openness to the world and to international cooperation. He called on the European Parliament to take this into account with the next framework programme, declaring that the more open a country, the higher the impact of scientific findings. Whilst optimism was the order of the day, few concrete proposals were forthcoming, and it appears that any form of cooperation between the STS Forum and the EU through Horizon Europe still has some way to go – perhaps the conference can be best viewed as a simple exercise in science diplomacy.

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 1 European Highlights, BNU June 2018, Brussels News Updates

Open Science

On 22 April, the Open Science Policy Platform (OSPP) of which EuCheMS is a member, adopted a set of ‘prioritised actionable recommendations’ regarding the eight Open Science ambitions of Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, which were published on 29 May. The recommendations are to be seen as the next step towards the longer-term vision articulated by Open Science consultations and expert groups. The eight priorities are:

  • Rewards and Incentives
  • Research Indicators and Next-Generation Metrics
  • Future of Scholarly Communication
  • European Open Science Cloud
  • FAIR Data
  • Research Integrity
  • Skills and Education
  • Citizen Science

Whilst the move towards Open Science is quickening, EuCheMS nevertheless recommends slowing down the pace in order to better understand the far reaching and oftentimes overlooked effects the policy may lead to. You can read the full recommendations presented by the OSPP here.

Extra reading: the combined recommendations, a paper on Citizen Science and the minutes of the 5th meeting of the OSPP (on 2 March) are now also available online.

Meanwhile, EU ministers have endorsed the European Commission’s roadmap on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) (‘which will support EU science in its global leading by creating a trusted environment for hosting and processing research data’). Commissioner Moedas has called for commitment and ambition, calling the Cloud a ‘game changer for science in Europe’. Next steps: the incoming Austrian Presidency of the Council will gather research and innovation ministers to give the go ahead to the governance structure and launch the first version of the EOSC portal on 23 November 2018. The full press release here.

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1 European Highlights, BNU June 2018, Brussels News Updates

Horizon Europe and mission-driven science

It’s out! On 7 June, the European Commission made public its full proposal for the shape and scope of the next framework programme, Horizon Europe (aka #HorizonEU on social media). The notion of ‘Missions’ within the second pillar ‘Global Challenges and Industrial Competitiveness’ has also been included – although details are still sparse. Commissioner Moedas did however announce that a ‘Missions Board’ would be set up at the beginning of 2019 which, made up of stakeholders, experts and Member State representatives, would define the areas to be chosen as mission worthy.

Not everyone is happy however. The inclusion of ‘industrial competitiveness’ within the ‘global challenges’ pillar has caused some annoyance vis-à-vis civil society organisations. MEP Christian Ehler, one of the Rapporteurs for Horizon Europe, has in addition claimed that the notion of Missions risks running into political hurdles. Moreover, MEPs and various research and university associations continue to point out that the proposed budget for Horizon Europe is not ambitious enough. The role of the UK in the next framework programme remains open-ended, although it will be considered a ‘third country’ whilst negotiations are ongoing.

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1 European Highlights, BNU June 2018, Brussels News Updates

EuCheMS responds to UNESCO’s call for feedback on its Open Educational Resources draft recommendations text.

EuCheMS, with the support of the EuCheMS Division of Chemical Education submitted feedback on UNESCO’s Open Educational Resources (OER) draft recommendations text. We highlighted an important aspect that we found missing, namely, the lack of emphasis on the role played by educational researchers, whose actions strongly contribute to ensuring that open access to educational materials works and that teachers know how to, and are, accessing such materials. You can read our contribution here, and more information on UNESCO’s OER initiative here.

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 1 European Highlights, BNU June 2018, Brussels News Updates

EuCheMS responds to the European Commission’s consultation on the evaluation of the European Heritage Label Action

EuCheMS responded to the European Commission’s consultation on the evaluation of the European Heritage Label Action. With input from the EuCheMS Working Party on Chemistry for Cultural Heritage and the EuCheMS Working Party on the History of Chemistry, we emphasised the fact that that there are still too few sites that recognise the role played by chemistry in the European construction project – especially in a time when the divide between citizens and science appears to be widening. We moreover highlighted the crucial role that chemistry plays in the very protection and conservation of our shared cultural makeup. We reached out to the Commission by inviting them to learn more on our own EuCheMS Historical Landmarks Award, whose results will be revealed this summer. Read our Position Paper here and our response to the consultation here.

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