Science Policies In The European Union

This title is about the most important concept underpinning current European Union research policy. It focuses on the notion of the European Research Area, a European 'internal market' for research, whose achievement will become the main objective of EU research policy once the Lisbon Treaty enters into force.

Drawing on the latest research, this book investigates the processes underlying the evolution of science and technology policies in the European Union and its member states. The contributors explore the development of European Union policy since the 1980s, its influence on the policies of individual countries, the experiences of European Union collaborative research projects and the economic assumptions behind innovation policy.

This book describes the emergence of research policy as a key competence of the European Union (EU). It shows how the European Community (EC, the predecessor of the EU), which initially had very limited legal competence in the field, progressively developed a solid policy framework presenting science and research as indispensable tools for European economic competitiveness and growth. In the late 20th century Western Europe, hungry for growth, concerned about the American technological lead, and keen to compete in the increasingly open international markets, the argument for a joint European effort in science and technology seemed plausible. However, the EC was building its new functions in an already crowded field of European research collaboration and in a shifting political context marked by austerity, national rivalries, new societal and environmental challenges, and emerging ambivalence about science. This book conveys the contested history of one of the EU’s most successful policies. It is a story of struggle and frustration but also of a great institutional and intellectual continuity. The ideational edifice for the EC/EU research policy that was put in place during the 1960s and 1970s years proved remarkably robust. Its durability enabled the rapid takeoff of the European Commission’s initiatives in the more favorable political atmosphere of the early 1980s and the subsequent expansion of the EU research funding instruments and programs that permanently transformed the European research landscape.

This book analyses different aspects of science and technology policy in South East Europe (SEE). Some of these countries, particularly the ones facing political and economic crises, are still not integrated into the international community. Furthermore, their scientific communities have not been able to seize the opportunities offered to them on the international level. This has often been the consequence of the fact that R&D is not supported by efficient science policies. In addition, many of the SEE countries have not been able to develop modern management approaches in science. As a result, national scientific communities often do not have the support and information that they need to become integral and active players in the international arena. Without modern management strategies, these countries will not be able to use all of their intellectual and other resources, which are an essential part of economic development. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of S&T policies in SEE countries for the first time and brings these countries into comparative perspective with Central European and other EU countries. In addition, the volume contains analysis of several important science policy issues (human resource management, management of quality and finance, peer review and networking); in this respect, the volume will be of interest to a wider audience interested in S&T policy-making in general.

Science for Policy Handbook provides advice on how to bring science to the attention of policymakers. This resource is dedicated to researchers and research organizations aiming to achieve policy impacts. The book includes lessons learned along the way, advice on new skills, practices for individual researchers, elements necessary for institutional change, and knowledge areas and processes in which to invest. It puts co-creation at the centre of Science for Policy 2.0, a more integrated model of knowledge-policy relationship. Covers the vital area of science for policymaking Includes contributions from leading practitioners from the Joint Research Centre/European Commission Provides key skills based on the science-policy interface needed for effective evidence-informed policymaking Presents processes of knowledge production relevant for a more holistic science-policy relationship, along with the types of knowledge that are useful in policymaking

This Handbook assembles state-of-the-art insights into the co-evolutionary and precarious relations between science and public policy. Beyond this, it also offers a fresh outlook on emerging challenges for science (including technology and innovation) in changing societies, and related policy requirements, as well as the challenges for public policy in view of science-driven economic, societal, and cultural changes. In short, this book deals with science as a policy-triggered project as well as public policy as a science-driven venture.