Here's an update concerning our workshop series and other actions that may be of your interest.

 If you want to stay up to date and be part of our science for policy ecosystem community, please fill up this registration form.

1. The upcoming ecosystem workshop on “Science for policymaking in France”, 19 May 2022, is open for pre-registration 

Our JRC workshop series on “Strengthening and connecting science for policy ecosystems across the EU” continues with the upcoming workshop on “Science for policymaking in France” to be held online on 19 May 2022 between 14h and 17h30 CET, which coincides with the French Presidency of the Council. Our partner organisation for this event is the public research institute INRAE (l'Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement).

The event features great speakers, including Remi Quirion, the chair of INGSA and chief science advisor of Quebec; Stephen Quest, Director-General of the JRC; Philippe Mauguin, INRAE’s president; and Claire Giry, Director-General for Research and Innovation at the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

Please note that the event will be mostly held in French.

If interested, pre-register:

Pre-registration

2. Two science for policy ecosystem discussion papers are now published: Greece and Portugal

As part of the JRC workshop series on “Strengthening and connecting science for policy ecosystems across the EU”, the JRC commissions external expert studies as a starting point for discussion in our assessment exercises of the science-for-policy ecosystems across Europe. Two of these discussion papers have now been officially published. Please find both reports and further information here.  

Briefly, the first paper, prepared by Stella Ladi, Dimitra Panagiotatou, and Angelos Angelou, focuses on the “The Greek ecosystem of science for policy”.

The second report, written by Vítor Corado Simões, provides an analysis of “Science for policy in Portugal”.

These discussion papers offered a starting point for our assessment exercise of science-for-policy ecosystems in these two countries.

3. "Science advice under pressure" conference, 27-28 April 2022. Register for side events!

The full programme of the 2-day conference by the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism is now available. Participants are invited to take part in workshops exploring different dimensions of the theme ‘Science advice under pressure’. The conference is fully booked but it is still possible to register to side events.

Side Events Registration

We would like to highlight two of these side events:

First, join the JRC workshop “What are #Science4Policy competences and why are they crucial for researchers to achieve policy impact?” online on 27 April between 10:00 and 11:15. Discover our new #Science4Policy Competence Framework and why it is essential knowledge for researchers and research organisations working at the science and policy interface. If interested, register here for the JRC side event.

Second, join the side event “If Covid-19 is the 9/11 moment for global science advice, what needs to happen next?” in person on 28 April between 14:00 and 15:30. This special question-time debate is organised by the International Network for Governmental Science Advice (INGSA) and the International Science Council (ISC) and will have discussants from key global stakeholders in the field, including our Head of Unit David Mair. For further information and to register, please contact ag@sci-com.eu. 

Please note: if you couldn't register in time for the conference you’ll have the opportunity to watch the plenary talks live-streamed on the SAPEA YouTube channel.

4. EIPA Workshop on “Skills for Evidence-informed policymaking”, 5 May 2022 – Open for registration

The European School of Public Administration organises – as a follow-up to the European Public Sector Awards – a series of learning and development workshops one of which will be dedicated to “Skills for Evidence-informed policymaking (EIPM)”.

The JRC will actively participate in the plenary sessions to explain the rationale of EIPM, key actors, institutions and processes across Europe supporting this, as well as in the interactive sessions to delve on EIPM competences for policymakers and scientists, Better Regulation, and the role of values and identities in policymaking, along with a range of interesting expert interventions on EIPM.

More information

5. Science and policy matchmaking event, 31 May 2022 – New event series open for pre-registration

The JRC in collaboration with Directorate-General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (DG EAC) launches a new series of science and policy matchmaking events to raise awareness about opportunities for researchers to be placed at public administration, as part of an initiative to foster inter-sectoral mobility and increase capacity for evidence-informed policymaking across Europe.

The first event entitled “Linking researchers and policymakers for MSCA non-academic placement opportunities” aims to connect researchers interested in applying for the Postdoctoral Fellowship, under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), and use the 6-month placement opportunity at a public administration body, with potential policy-related organisations (ministries, embassies, science advisory bodies, etc.) interested in hosting them.

The event will be held online on 31 May 2022 between 9h30 and 13h00, and will comprise a plenary session with general information and practical examples, followed by two matchmaking interactive sessions by scientific disciplines or policy-fields.

More information

Pre-registration

6. Engaging citizens on mental health and the environment: the HELIOS project goes live in Verona!

One year ago on April 1st, the research Helios – A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Ecosystem, kicked off. In an inter-disciplinary way and by engaging with citizens, the project has the ambition to map out the relationship between well-being and mental health, on one side, and the quality of the living environment, on the other, in the background of the Covid-19 pandemic. Helios focuses on the city of Verona and its province as a case study.

A key component of the research project is notably citizen engagement, with the participatory process starting on April 30 this year, engaging citizens of Verona. Using photo-voice, the process aims to capture the changing relationship between well-being and places, including green spaces in the city, and by doing so it aims to inform the very framing of the scientific research carried out under the Helios project. All information about the engagement process – and how to join it, are available (in Italian) at: https://www.heliosverona.eu/.   

About the project

7. Scientific opinion on “Cancer screening in the European Union”

Last March, the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (GCSA) issued a scientific opinion on how the Commission can contribute to improving cancer screening across the EU and informs the 2022 Commission’s proposal to update the 2003 Council Recommendations on cancer screening.

The GCSA recommends, among others, extending breast cancer screening to women below 50 as well as extending the screening programmes to lung and prostate cancer. For these and other cancers, the GCSA advises living-guidelines” allowing rapid improvements of screening programs. Scientific developments should be continuously reviewed, and guidelines updated regularly, to adapt novel cancer screening technologies.

You may download the scientific opinion here, and read the news of its publication here.

More about the role of advisors and the GCSA:

More information