INESC publishes its position in defence of the EU budget for research and innovation

The 5 INESC institutes, through the coordination of the INESC Brussels HUB, have issued their position against the cuts announced by the European Council to the research and innovation budget for 2022. INESC has sent the statement as a letter to the Portuguese MEPs, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal to the European Union, and the Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education. You will find the full position here and the pdf file in the Private Area here.

Climate science and policy guide available

Science Business has published, in collaboration with Elsevier, a guide on how climate science can influence climate policy in the EU context. The European Union has set itself the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to help curb climate change.  To make the right decisions, European policymakers need access to the best and most up-to-date information, much of which will have to come from myriad fields of the scientific community. That raises some important questions: What obstacles are there between the world of science and the world of policy, how can they be removed, and how can scientists give better advice to policymakers?  This paper provides a summary of the discussion around these questions with stakeholders from the climate and energy research, politics and industry.

The paper is available in the Private Area, here.

Workshop on Science for the Green Transition (7 September)

Within the same scope, Science Europe is organising, together with the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), the Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development (FORMAS), and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a virtual workshop on Science for the Green Transition that will take place on 7 September 2021, from 09.15 to 16.30 CEST.

The workshop will look at the role and contribution of science in tackling societal challenge, by discussing the role of national research performing and funding organisations in the area of climate change. With participants from all around Europe, the workshop aims to study the roles and contributions that national governments, research performers, and research funders can play to help apply and translate scientific knowledge into policies and actions that address the climate crisis. Connection details and the finalised agenda will be provided in due course.

Registrations are available here.

Horizon Europe Data Management Plan template published

The Commission has published the template for the Data Management Plan in Horizon Europe. It is available on the Funding portal of the Commission and in the Private Area of our website, here.

New guide to sustainable research data

Science Europe has published a practical guide to sustainable research data. It provides guidance to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of research data, and wants to support organisations to provide a framework in which researchers can share their output in a sustainable way. The guide is available in the Private Area of our website, here.

Roadmap on the EU standardization strategy

The Commission’s DG GROW published a roadmap on the EU standardisation strategy  The strategy aims to address the challenges facing the European standardisation system. It is a response to the need to be more assertive and strategic at international level and seeks to better respond to standardisation needs arising from the green and digital transformation of the EU’s industrial ecosystem. The roadmap comes as a follow-up to the Competitiveness Council of 27 May 2021, where a joint non-paper (attached) of 17 EU Member States was presented for discussion, highlighting concerns on systemic issues related to the functioning of the European standardisation system.

Consultation on the Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation

The Commission’s DG RTD has opened a stakeholders’ consultation on the Guiding Principles for Knowledge Valorisation. The context of this consultation is given by the Communication on “A New Era for research and innovation”, which calls to update and develop Guiding Principles for knowledge valorisation and a Code of Practice for the smart use of intellectual property (IP). This action is expected by the end of 2022 and will support a common valorisation strategy for research and innovation based on existing good practices. The results of the survey will be considered as an important feedback for the co-creation of the upcoming Guiding Principles for knowledge valorisation and Code of Practice for smart use of IP. The consultation will be open util 6 September.

Commission’s consultation to improve EU rules on protecting seas and oceans

As human activities on land and at sea continue to exert pressure on the sea and marine life, the Commission is reviewing the EU rules that protect the marine environment. The review of the Directive will look in more detail at how it has performed so far and will assess the relevance of this instrument in the context of the European Green Deal. The online public consultation seeks to gather the views of citizens, institutions and organisations from the public and private sectors on how to overcome these challenges. Citizens and organisations are invited to share their views on the potential objectives and actions of the new Marine Strategy Framework Directive until 21 October 2021. The MSFD will be reviewed by mid-2023 and where necessary, amendments will be proposed.