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European Science Foundation
1. About us:The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 79 member organisations devoted to
scientific research in 30 European countries. Since 1974, they have coordinated a wide range of pan-
European scientific initiatives, and the flexible organisation structure means they can respond quickly
to new developments.
Our purpose
ESF's core purpose is to promote high quality science at a European level.
Our commitments
The ESF is committed to facilitating cooperation and collaboration in European science on behalf of
its principal stakeholders (Member Organisations and Europe's scientific community). This cross-
border activity combines both 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches in the long-term development of
science.
The Foundation is committed to providing scientific leadership through its networking expertise and
by ensuring that there is a European added value to all of its initiatives and projects.
Pan-European
ESF believes that there is value in bringing together scientists and organisations from different
countries to cooperate on projects at a pan-European level. It believes that this diversity offers the
potential for European added value.
Multidisciplinary
The background to current scientific enquiry is a complex and fluid one. New specialisms are
emerging, the boundaries between existing disciplines becoming blurred. Many of the breakthroughs
of tomorrow are likely to be the result of inter-disciplinary endeavour between specialists from a broad
range of backgrounds. Multidisciplinarity is therefore essential, and the ESF promotes this, providing
a clear, relevant voice across the whole science spectrum - from humanities and the social sciences, to
biology and physics.
Flexible
The ESF is a relatively small organisation. One benefit of its size is that it remains flexible and
responsive. It is free to move rapidly into new and emerging areas; it can respond to the changingneeds of the interest groups it serves.
Rigorous
Rigour informs everything that the ESF does; the way it is structured; the way it operates; the values it
promotes. Quality is paramount, at the very heart of our remit - to promote high quality research, and
encourage effective cooperation with existing and emerging avenues of scientific enquiry throughout
Europe.
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Open
The ESF exists to make possible greater openness in European scientific cooperation. The scientific
Standing Committees role is to provide broader opportunities for scientists to work together and share
knowledge. Through a wide range of networking activities the ESF provides focus and support for
scientists throughout Europe.
2. ESF Structure and GovernanceTo fulfil its purpose to promote high quality science at a European level, ESF operates with a flexible
administrative structure. This helps to be responsive - free to move rapidly into new and emerging
areas and capable of responding to the changing needs of the interest groups we serve. It also makes
our contribution a cost-effective one.
The following organigramme shows how we are organised.
The Assembly
The Assembly is the main decision-making body of the ESF. It meets once a year, and all Member
Organisations are represented. The Assembly appoints the President, Vice Presidents and the Chief
Executive of the ESF. It also approves the annual reports of the Governing Council, the reports of any
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The ESF Office
The office of the ESF, based in Strasbourg, manages the day-to-day business of the ESF. The ESF
Office is directed by the Chief Executive who is appointed by the Assembly. The current Chief
Executive is Professor Marja Makarow. She is assisted by an international staff.
COST
COST- the acronym for European COoperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research - is
the oldest and one of the widest European intergovernmental network for coordination of nationally
funded research activities. Established by a Ministerial Conference of 19 European States in
November 1971, COST is at present serving the scientific communities of 35 countries to cooperate in
common research Actions supported by national funds.
COST Structure
The Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) is the main decision-making body and is made of
representatives of all COST countries. The Domain Committees (DC) are responsible for a particular
research domain and are also formed by representatives of the COST countries. The Management
Committees (MC) - one for each Action- are formed by national experts nominated by the countries
participating in the Action, coordinate the activities of the Action and report to the relevant Domain
Committee. The secretariat to the CSO is provided by the Secretariat General of the Council of the
European Union, thus underlining the intergovernmental character of COST. The scientific and
administrative Secretariat to the COST Domain Committees and to the Actions is provided by the
European Science Foundation (ESF) - the implementing Agent of COST- through a COST Office
located in Brussels.
3. ActivitiesESF categorises its activities by dividing them into three pillars.
Science Strategy
Within this pillar which aims to provide high level and high quality foresight and advice on science,
research infrastructure and science policy issues, are activities such as Forward Looks, Science Policy
Briefings, Member Organisation Fora and Exploratory Workshops.
Science Synergy
The instruments grouped here aim to bring together excellent scientists at all stages of their careers to
advance the frontiers of research. These activities are EUROCORES, ESF Research Networking
Programmes and ESF Research Conferences.
Science Management
ESF also manages external programmes and takes a co-ordinating role in various EC-funded ERA-
NETs.
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Science Strategy
Forward Looks:
The flagship activity of ESFs strategic arm, Forward Looks enable Europes scientific community, in
interaction with policy makers, to develop medium to long-term views and analyses of future research
developments with the aim of defining research agendas at national and European level. Forward
Looks are driven by ESFs Member Organisations and, by extension, the European research
community. Quality assurance mechanisms, based on peer review where appropriate, are applied at
every stage of the development and delivery of a Forward Look to ensure its quality and impact.
Current Forward Looks
Title Starting
year
Affiliation
Ageing, Health and Pensions in Europe 2008 SCSS*
EMRC
Implementation of Medical Research into Clinical Practice - A
Growing Challenge
2008 EMRC*
Central and Eastern Europe beyond Transition: Convergence
and Divergence in Europe
2009 SCSS*
Mathematics and Industry in Europe
2009 PESC*
Responses to Environmental and Societal Challenges for our
Unstable Earth (RESCUE)
2009 LESC*
PESC
SCH
SCSS
COST
NuPECC Long Range Plan 2010 (Perspectives for Nuclear
Physics Research in Europe)
2009 NuPECC*
PESC
Technology breakthroughs for scientific progress (TechBreak)
2009 ESSC*
Gene environment interaction in chronic disease 2010 EMRC*
Media Studies: new Media and new Literacies 2010 SCH*
SCSS
*leading Committee
Completed Forward Looks
Title Starting
year
Affiliation
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Earth System Science: Global Problems, Global Science -
Europe's future role in global change research
2001 LESC*
SCSS
European Computational Science Forum: The Lincei Initiative:
from Computers to Scientific Excellence
2006 PESC*
LESC
European Food Systems in a Changing World 2006 LESC*
EMRC
SCH
SCSS
COST
Higher Education in Europe Beyond 2010: Resolving Conflicting
Social and Economic Expectations
2006 SCSS*
SCH
Immigration and the Construction of Identities in Contemporary
Europe
2002 SCH*
Investigator-Driven Clinical Trials
2007 EMRC*
Nanosciences and the Long Term Evolution of Information
Technology (NSIT)
2001 PESC*
Nanomedicine 2003 EMRC*
RNA World: a new frontier in biomedical research
2007 EMRC*
LESC
Security - Advancing a Framework for Enquiry (SAFE)
2007 SCH*
SCSS
Systems Biology 2004 EMRC*
LESC
PESC
Urban Science 2002 SCSS*
EMRC
LESC
PESC
SCH
Forward Look Workshop on Cultural Diversity, Collective Identity
and Collective Action
2002 SCSS*
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Corporate Science Policy Initiatives
ESF governing and scientific bodies monitor emerging science policy challenges likely to impact on
the way science is being funded and research is conducted. ESF together with its member
organisations and other key players join efforts in helping raise awareness of pressing issues providing
a venue to discuss common strategies and developed adequate solutions.
The Second World Conference on Research Integrity
The First World Conference on Research Integrity held in Lisbon, Portugal in September 2007, and
organised by the ESF, addressed the creation and promotion of a worldwide understanding of the key
issues of research misconduct policy, responsible conduct of research, education and the promotion of
professional responsibility in research.
The Second World Conference on Research Integrity, to be held in Singapore, is a further opportunity
to:
y Explore research integrity issues in depthy Demonstrate the global research communitys commitment to the highest standards of
behaviour in research
y Develop the global networks and understandings needed to maintain public confidence inresearch in whatever field and wherever it is undertaken
ESF Research Infrastructures
The second ESF Strategic Plan, covering the years 2002-2006, reflected the greatly increased profile
and interest in Research Infrastructures (RI) at the time it was written and identified RI as one of its
principal Action Lines. Whilst the interest and activity in RI has continued to grow greatly since
2001, especially in research domains where the concept of RI was previously weak, so has changed
the landscape within Europe for debating and planning for current, upgraded and future RI. The
emergences the European Roadmap for Research Infrastructure" (ESFRI), of RI-centric ERANets,
and the Research Infrastructures priority in the joint EUROHORCs and ESF vision and Action
Roadmap for the future ERA, are examples of this.
In writing its third Strategic Plan, for the years 2006-2010, ESF and its stakeholders reflected on how
best ESF could contribute to debates and strategies in RI and how best to organise itself internally to
fit the new Strategic Plan direction. Organisationally, ESF recognised that the creation of a separate
Action Line and office unit for RI had had the effect of distancing the scientific committees and boards
from RI issues. To reengage the scientific committees and boards, which represent or have contact
with the majority of RI-users as well as some RI-provider communities, ESF has returned
responsibilities for coordinating scientific debates, reviews and strategies in specific research domainsto the scientific committees and boards. Each committee and board has RI actions and activities.
However, certain RI issues span, either in content or strategy, the range of ESF research domains.
Such issues are coordinated at the corporate ESF level in the CEOs Unit, involving the relevant
science committees, boards and units as necessary. The current activities at the corporate level are
listed below.
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The Strategic Plan 2006-2010 increased the emphasis on ESFs role in scientific foresight, in
particular with the Forward Look instrument and in creating foci for Member Organisations to discuss
issues and plan actions in the MO Fora instrument. With the addition of ESFs traditional strengths in
reviewing with scientific rigour and at the international level both proposals for new RI and the
performance of existing RI, ESF is now able to deploy a tool-kit for the majority of MOs and other
organisations on RI needs.
Corporate Coordination in Research Infrastructure
The main corporate Research Infrastructure activities during 2008 are
- European RIs web portal
- Preserving Digital Records of Science
Member Organisation Fora
An ESF Member Organisation Forum is an output-oriented, issue-related venue for the MemberOrganisations, involving other organisations as appropriate, to exchange information and experiences
and develop joint actions in science policy.
Research Networking Programmes
Research Networking Programmes (RNPs) lay the foundation for nationally funded research groups to
address major scientific and research infrastructure issues, in order to advance the frontiers of existing
science. These long-term programmes, subject to selection through an open call and an international
peer review process, must deal with high-quality science and demonstrate the added value of being
carried out at the European level.
a. Guidelines for Management of ESF Research Networking Programmes IntroductionESF Research Networking Programmes (formerly "Scientific Programmes") are self-coordinating
activities and the decision-making process is based on the principle of self-management.
Responsibility for managing a Programme rests with its Steering Committee, to which each
contributing organisation can nominate a member.
The Steering Committee typically meets once per year, and more frequently if necessary.
The Steering Committee selects a Chair from within its membership; normally this person is one of the
proposers and must come from a country of one of the contributing ESF Member Organisations. The
Chair represents the Programme, and is responsible for its scientific and operational coordination andfor reporting to ESF. He/she is expected to dedicate, on an honorary basis, a reasonable amount of
time and effort to the management of the Programme. Programme related travel other than
participation in meetings of the Programme and external administrative costs can be reimbursed.
The Programmes budget may cover the costs of an external Programme Coordinator to assist the
Chair in managing and coordinating Programme activities.
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An ESF team, including the liaison officer (administrative contact person) and the scientific secretary,
under the supervision of the relevant ESF Head of Unit, will be responsible for working with the
Programme Steering Committee.
ESF Research Networking Programmes are "open" activities. Principal participants within a
Programme, e.g. Steering Committee members, are expected to network with colleagues in other
research groups to ensure that opportunities in a Programmes activities are known and are open to alleligible participants. New participants to a Programme from participating countries can be co-opted
during the lifetime of the Programme upon decision of the Steering Committee. In the case of
participants from countries which do not contribute to the Programme, the decision lies with the
relevant Head of Unit.
ESF evaluates Programmes at the mid and final term and may, at any time, recommend to the funding
Member Organisations termination or redirection. ESF, on behalf of the contributing organisations,
retains ultimate financial and management authority. ESFs responsibility is to ensure that the budget
is allocated and spent in an appropriate and effective manner within its financial rules.
b. Guidelines for Management of ESF Research Networking Programmes -Management Structure
Steering Committee
Composition
Each organisation contributing funds to the Programme (otherwise referred to as contributing
organisation) is eligible to nominate a member for the duration of its contribution. However, it is
usual for there to be only one member per country, but flexibility may be shown if there are two or
more contributing organisations from the same country.
The usual practice is for organisations to nominate the scientist from their country suggested as a
Steering Committee member in the proposal.
Gender and age balance should be taken into account in forming the Steering Committee.
Chair
The Chair is elected by the Steering Committee from among its membership and he/she should be
from an ESF member country. In addition to the specific responsibilities of this position, the Chair will
also act as the member for his/her contributing organisation.
Advisory experts
A very limited number of experts whose presence is essential on scientific grounds may be invited to
attend meetings of the Steering Committee. The basis for this will be decided at the first SteeringCommittee meeting and is subject to approval by ESF. The expenses of such persons may be paid out
of the Programme funds. These advisory experts are not members of the Steering Committee, and are
not entitled to vote.
ESF staff, assistants to the Chair, Programme Coordinators
These may attend meetings but are not members of the Steering Committee.
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recommendations to the Steering Committee, or in dealing with funding applications. Ad hoc
working groups may be set up to carry out the detailed planning of Programme activities such
as conferences and workshops.
7) The Programme Steering Committee Chair is responsible for the production of all Programmereports.
8) Intellectual Property Rights must be discussed and agreed at the first meeting of the SteeringCommittee.
9) At the first Steering Committee meeting, ESF staff will inform members of data protectionissues including personal information kept in the ESF database and data protection regulations
concerning external web sites.
Meeting expenses
The travel and associated costs of Steering Committee members and ESF staff for attendance at
Steering Committee meetings or sub-meetings will be covered by the funds of the Programme in
accordance with ESF rules for reimbursement of expenses (see ESF Travel Claim Form - PDF 189
KB)
.To economise on resources, a Committee meeting should be scheduled, if possible, in conjunctionwith a Programme workshop or conference and held at a convenient European location or at the home
institute of a member of the Committee. It is expected for meetings to be scheduled around weekends
so that cheaper air tickets can be purchased (Advance Purchase Excursion Fare / APEX).
This budget heading also covers:
y limited and justified costs of travel other than participation in meetings of the Programmeincurred by the Chair and approved by the Steering Committee;
y costs of travel of the External Programme Coordinator to Programme meetings (see below);y any costs of ESF mid-term or final review meetings on the Programme.
External Administrative Costs
This heading covers administrative costs incurred by the Chairs and/or Programme Coordinators
organisation in managing the various activities related to the Programme. The main items eligible are
secretarial costs, postage, fax, telephone facilities and other office running expenses. This heading is
intended as a contribution to the costs of an existing office. New computers, printers, fax machines or
other equipment, rental of space or subscription to a network provider are not covered. Charges under
this heading will normally be reimbursed against claims made by the Chairs or Coordinators
institution. Claims made by an individual must be supported by all original vouchers, etc.
External Programme Coordinator (outside ESF)
The Programmes budget may cover the costs of an external Programme Coordinator to assist theChair in managing and coordinating Programme activities.
The Coordinator is not a member of the Steering Committee.
Role
y The role of the Programme Coordinator is to assist the Chair and the Steering Committee inachieving the Programme aims and objectives and includes all or part of the f
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y Provide assistance to the Chair and the Co-Chair in organisation of Steering Committeemeetings, including preparation of an agenda and documents and writing minutes;
y Organise scientific activities (e.g. workshops, conferences, schools, short and exchange visits)in collaboration with the specific convenors responsible for each event and in liaison with ESF
staff;
y Assist with the publication and dissemination of working papers, publication of books,preparation and distribution of a Programme newsletter;
y Assist with the preparation of reports and other documentation and take general responsibilityfor the full documentation of the Programme;
y Develop and maintain the content of an external website in order to provide a clear and up-to-date source of information about the Programmes activities and output;
y Act as the day-to-day contact point for researchers and for the ESF office concerning theProgramme.
The proposal for the use of a Programme Coordinator should be included and justified in the
Programme proposal. The Programme proposal should contain the costs foreseen and their
justification, this being subject to approval in the assessment of the proposal by the Standing
Committee. The detail of the costs and the duration of the position of Coordinator should be agreed bythe first meeting of the Programme Steering Committee within the bounds set by ESFs approval.
Requirements
In general, the person appointed should be a researcher at post-doctoral level (or post-graduate) with a
good knowledge of the field of the Programme. He/she should preferably be part of the Chairs
research group. ESF has to be consulted regarding his/her appointment.
Appointment details
The appointment is usually for a maximum of a half-time position.
The Coordinator will be an employee of a university or institute to which ESF will make financial
contributions on an agreed basis towards the costs of the Coordinators salary related to the ESF
activity.
ESF will send a letter that will assure the institution that all relevant payments will be covered during
the period of employment. This letter should be signed by the ESF Director of Finance and
Administration and the relevant ESF Head of Unit. No contracts between ESF and the employing
institution will be made.
This budget heading covers only contributions to the salary. Costs of travel to Programme meetings of
the External Programme Coordinator shall be covered from the Steering Committee meetings budget
line.
An audited report on this budget line is required.
c. Guidelines for Management of ESF Research Networking Programmes -Management of Programme Activities
To achieve its objectives, a Programme can include the following:
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y Science meetings (workshops, conferences or schools) organised either by Programmeparticipants or following an open call for proposals;
y Travel grants for short and exchange visits awarded following an open call for applications;y Publication of information brochures, leaflets, scientific books and meeting proceedings etc;
creation of websites;
y Creation of scientific databases at the European level.All activities must be in the interests of the Programme and not necessarily limited geographically to
contributing countries. The decision on funding lies with the Steering Committee. Having assessed
scientific merit and relevance to the Programme, preference should normally be given to activities in
the following order:
1. between contributing countries;
2. between a contributing country and a non-contributing ESF member country;
3. between a contributing country and a non-ESF member country in Europe;
4. between a contributing country and any country not covered by 1-3.
If agencies from countries with ESF Observer status are not contributing to a given Programme, their
scientists should be classed as non-ESF. In the case of doubt, decisions on eligibility will be taken by
the ESF Head of Unit.
Science Meetings
Science Meetings are organised either by Programme participants or on the basis of an open call for
proposals.
Decisions on the funding of Science Meetings are taken by the Programme Steering Committee using
Guidelines for Assessment of Applications for Funding. Appendix 1 (PDF 206 KB).
A workshop may bring together between 10 and 50 participants for two to four days to focus on a
specific issue.
A conference a scientific meeting with a broader impact brings together a larger number of
participants (> 50) for two to four days and consists of lectures, exchange of information and
discussion on developments in a specific scientific area.
A school is directed towards graduate students who have completed a masters degree, doctoral
students or the equivalent. It may bring together between 30 to 150 participants to focus on a specific
issue with a clear training element. The duration of a school would normally be one to two weeks.
Schools might take place in connection with other activities or as an independent activity.
d. Guidelines for Management of ESF Research Networking Programmes - FinancialManagement, Reporting, Duration and Extensions
Financial Management
All costs for the Programme must be included and justified in the proposal; they will be revised and
approved by the relevant Standing Committee(s) during the assessment and selection procedure.
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ESF issues an annual call for contributions to those agencies participating in ESF Programmes. Funds
are received and managed by ESF on a Programme-by-Programme basis. ESF Programme accounts
are audited annually and the auditors report is presented to the ESF General Assembly. The fiscal
year of ESF is the calendar year.
Reporting
Halfway through the Programme, a Mid-term Report will normally be requested to form the basis for
evaluation by the ESF Standing Committee(s), whose evaluation report will be sent to organisations
contributing to the Programme with a recommendation to continue or terminate funding.
At the end of the Programme, a Final Report will be requested so that the Standing Committee(s) can
evaluate the results. Failure to submit a report will proscribe the applicant(s) from submitting further
proposals for ESF activities, and may result in the retention of funds.
Final Reports will be sent to the contributing organisations and published on the ESF website.
In the case of Programmes of shorter duration than five years, the mid-term report requirement may be
waived.
Reporting guidelines are:
y Mid-term Reportsy Final Reports
Travel costs related to the evaluation have to be covered by the Programme and included under the
budget line for Steering Committee meetings.
All documents relating to Steering Committee meetings, selection and decisions on funding for travel
grants and scientific meetings, other financial commitments, etc., must be provided to the ESF Office.
The ESF Office will retain these and financial documents relating to the programme in accordance
with its audit requirements
Duration and Extensions
The month of the first meeting of the Steering Committee marks the launch of the Programme. A
Programme ends on the last day of the final month of the funding period stated in the Letter of
Approval forLaunching sent by ESF to the proponent.
Some editorial or publishing activities may take place after the official completion date provided funds
have been committed prior to this date.
Limited extensions, up to six months, may be granted in exceptional circumstances, and with no
additional funding. Extensions should be considered only in order not to miss a major scientificopportunity, and must not be considered if the principal objective of the extension is to use unspent
funds. Decisions on extension are the responsibility of the ESF Heads of Units.
Programmes requiring extra funds or longer extensions (e.g. a new Programme) may, according to
Standing Committee policy, be allowed to submit a follow-up Programme proposal for consideration
in the normal, competitive, peer-reviewed manner.
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e. ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation of Funding Schemes and ResearchProgrammes
Background
Getting the evaluation of funding schemes and research programmes right for improving both the
internal operations and the external accountability of funding agencies and research organisations isgaining importance. However, the procedures and organisational integration of evaluation activities
are rather different across Europe. The ESF Member Organisation Forum onEvaluation of Funding
Schemes and Research Programmes brought together more than 40 evaluation officers from ESF
Member Organisations to exchange experiences and gather best practice. From October 2007 to
November 2009, the Forum convened in five workshops, focused on the following topics:
1. 1st Workshop (hosted by DFG German Research Foundation): Evaluation of FundingSchemes and Research Programmes: Expectations, Practices and Experiences
2. 2nd Workshop (hosted by the INFN - Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics):Quantitative Indicators in ex-post Evaluation of Funding Schemes and Research Programmes
3. 3rd Workshop (hosted by FWF Austrian Science Fund): Best practices in Qualityassurance
4. 4th Workshop (hosted by OTKA Hungarian Scientific Research Fund): Socio-economicimpact assessment
5. 5th Workshop (hosted by SFI - Science Foundation Ireland and HRB - Health ResearchBoard) in November 2009 was the Final Forum workshop.
Aims & Objectives
y to facilitate networking of science officers engaged in evaluation,y
to exchange and document experiences with current practices,y to explore needs and possibilities for collaboration in future evaluation exercises.
ESF Member Organisation Forum on Peer Review
Background
Public and private research funding organisations at the national and international level face the
challenge of assessing the quality and potential of research proposals taking into consideration their
own scientific individuality and research cultures. To this end there is a need to develop systems
profitable for all funding agencies involved, minimising the burden on the peers themselves andmaximising the assessment of scientific excellence. Achieving this goal demands defining common
pan-European quality criteria for peer review. Peer review criteria developed at the European level
according to international standards and adopted at the national level could play a powerful role in
enabling European scientists to operate in a global context. The ESF Member Organisation Forum on
Peer Review that forms the basis for the EUROHORCs-ESF Road Map Action on Peer Review has
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been extended until October 2011 to discuss the main characteristics of a successful pan-European
Peer Review system.
Aims
The ESF Member Organisation Forum on Peer Review has created an output-oriented network that
debates, exchanges and promotes good practices across Europe. The Forum has already established an
Action Plan to develop a Peer Review Guide by the end of 2010.
Objectives
y Exchange and document experiences with current practicesy Identification of good practicesy Working towards peer review coordination to enable benchmarking of national peer review
processes.
y Standardisation of peer review processes to make outcomes of nationally conducted peerreview comparable.
y International peer review and sharing of resources.Action
Develop a Peer Review Guide .
The different meetings discussions have led to the necessity of writing a Peer Review Guide for
practitioners:
y The Guide will be directed at European research funding agencies and councils, privatefoundations and charities.
y Its objective is to increase the quality and effectiveness of grant peer review processes.y It will include the mapping of current peer review practices, highlighting exemplars and
developing good or better practice guidelines and recommendations.
y It will have the form of a tool box where for each issue one will find core principles andrecommendations as well as references to good practices (exemplars).
y The Guide will aim at establishing common terminology for peer review: common definitionsof terms used will be described and synonyms in use will be collected.
y The guide will be published on the ESF website and maintained by ESF staff.ESF Member Organisation Forum on Research Infrastructures
Research excellence requires excellent Research Infrastructures (RI) which not only support research
but also lead its development into new directions and create an attractive environment for world-class
researchers. Operating at a different level from the EU Member States European Strategy Forum for
Research Infrastructure (ESFRI), many ESF Member Organisations fund, operate and access research
infrastructures of national and European importance. As these are not the focus of ESFRI, ESF
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Member Organisations have identified the need to establish a network of stakeholders complementary
to ESFRI for discussing and sharing best practice in funding and operating the transnational research
infrastructures. To this end the decision was made at ESF Governing Council in April 2008 to launch a
Member Organisation (MO) Forum on this important topic. The MO Forum was launched on 11-12
January 2010 in Strasbourg and it attracted delegates from more than 23 Member Organisations and
convened observers from the European Commission, ERC, ERF, ESFRI and ALLEA.
Aim
The ESF Member Organisation Forum on Research Infrastructures is created as a platform for
discussing joint investments in the creation of, networking, and access to research infrastructures, as
well as evaluation and benchmarking.
Objectives
The Forum will develop comprehensive tools for the adequate treatment of research infrastructure
related topics (funding procedures, access rules, running costs, personnel, replacement, etc.). The
Forum will analyse the impact of the approaches developed by ESF Expert Committees and Boards.
The aim is to gradually evolve the Forum into a network through stakeholder workshops, by initiating
research infrastructure specific user-meetings and interaction with scientists and instrument suppliers
to identify new developments. The Forum will develop recommendations on requirements for research
infrastructures and study the merits and applicability of the European legal framework for research
infrastructures proposed by the European Commission.
The Forum is looking forward to updating and upgrading the inventory of national researchinfrastructures with European significance which was initiated by the EUROHORCs, the European
Commission and the ESF.
Actions
A first set of four important actions relating to Research Infrastructures was identified:
1. Access and Standards
y Collect current existing information on standardsy Produce a new definition of the minimum requirements on how RIs should organise external
access
y Elaborate an extended definition containing additional criteria for each specific research discipline2. Funding and Evaluation
y Issue recommendations for joint cross border funding of the operating costs (by transnationalusers)
y Encourage external access to RIs
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3. Mobility and Networks
y Develop support and sustainability mechanism for networks (development of funding schemesand/or incentives)
y Enable networking of RIs (by offering opportunities for RI specific workshops, user-meetings,interaction with external scientists/industry to exchange expertise, identify new developments)
4. Mapping
y Develop a mapping/landscape/overview of the existing RIs in Europe.
ESF Member Organisation Forum on Science in Society Relationships
About
Proposing Member Organisations
y Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Francey Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Bulgariay The Danish Council for Independent Research, Denmarky Danish National Research Foundation (DG), Denmarky Academy of Finland, Finlandy l'Institut national de la sant et de la recherche mdicale, Inserm, Francey Union of the German Academies of Science and Humanities, Germanyy Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Italyy Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC), Spainy Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, SwedenRationale
Science in Society Relationships is a new strategic question in science policy as expressed in the ESF-
EUROHORCs Road Map. CNRS and the ESF Office organised a road mapping event in July 2009,
where the representatives of 24 ESF Member Organisations as well as further stakeholders and experts
of science-society relationships discussed the specific steps ESF should take to help the scientific
community improve its relations with the different publics in society, outlining this MO Forum.
Aims, Objectives & Actions
The MO Forum may consist of four to six workshops that may be organised partly according to the
different publics science has to deal with and partly according to the overarching aspects ofrelationship management.
y Early 2010: Overarching Workshop on the situation of science-society relationships.y Autumn 2010: Workshop on science-citizens and science-education relationships: with NGOs,
teachers, students, administrators, education policy makers.
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y Early 2011: Workshop on science-media relationships: with journalists from electronic, print andweb media, from quality and tabloid media.
y Autumn 2011: Workshop on science-industry and science-politics relationships: with politiciansfrom national and European politics, the representatives of industry and further users of scientific
results.
y Early 2012: Overarching Workshop on the specific issues and best practices of relationshipmanagement.
y Autumn 2010: Final Conference on Science-Society RelationshipsStrategic Alignment
y With Chapter 1 of the EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and theirRoad Map for Actions
Expected Outputs
y Guidelines for MOs to improve their relationships with their publics and their stakeholders,y Practical examples to be disseminated among members,y Network of MO representatives aware of science interaction with society,y Network of stakeholders having experience with dialogues between scientists and society.
ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation of Publicly Funded Research
About
Proposing Member Organisations
y German Research Foundation (DFG), Germanyy Health Research Board (HRB), Irelandy Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), Netherlandsy Austrian Science Fund (FWF), Austriay National Research Fund (FNR), Luxembourgy Research Council of Norway, Norwayy Swedish Research Council (VR), Swedeny Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), HungaryRationale
The ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation of Funding Schemes and Research Programmes
had been successful in exchanging practices and facilitating the networking of sciences officers
engaged in evaluation. The feedback on this MO Forum has been very positive. In course of its work,
new questions were raised, which were not answered yet but deemed to be worthwhile exploring in
this new ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation of Publicly Funded Research.
There is a need for the continuous exchange of information on evaluation practices and practical
approaches. The ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation of Publicly Funded Research is the
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sole dedicated platform for European research organisations that provides a continuous forum to
exchange information and work together on common projects. The EUROHORCs and ESF Road Map
acknowledges the work of the ESF MO Forum. The ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation
of Publicly Funded Research can help to implement activities within the Action 6 of the Road Map
(Develop common approaches to ex post evaluation of funding schemes and research programmes).
Aims, Objectives & Actions
y To exchange and document experiences with current practices,y To facilitate networking,y To regularly update, elaborate and disseminate the report on evaluation,y To explore possibilities for collaboration in future evaluation exercises,y To identify best practice examples in research evaluation that could possibly lead to a Guideline
for Evaluation Processes
Strategic Alignment
y With Chapter 6 of the EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and theirRoad Map for Actions
Expected Outputs
y A collection of recent evaluation studies, e.g. an web-based repository,y A final report on the activities and results of the MO Forum,y If possible: coordination of common activities, e.g. comparative evaluative study.
ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation: Indicators of Internationalisation
About
Proposing Member Organisations
y National Research Council (CNR), Italyy National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), Italyy Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), The Netherlandsy National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), Francey Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), SwedenRationale
During the ESF Member Organisation Forum on Ex-Post Evaluation of Funding Schemes and
Research Programmes, whose purpose was to identify the main topics that are encompassed within the
issue of ex-post evaluation, the topic of indicators has been strongly noted as a major one. At the
same time, the EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and their Road Map
for Actions acknowledges the work of the Forum which can help to implement activities within Action
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6 of the Road Map (Develop common approaches to ex-post evaluation of funding schemes and
research programmes).
Aims, Objectives & Actions
The pilot study aims to design and to produce a set of indicators that could account for the
internationalisation of European research activities and programmes and be useful for Member
Organisations themselves and in their relationships with the European Commission as well as their
governments (for benchmarking and policy evaluation).
y STEP A: A review of current policies and practices in the MOs with respect to theinternationalisation in view of the ERA ambitions.
y STEP B: A review (best practices) on indicators.y STEP C: Selection of a set of possible indicators and operational recommendations to develop
and maintain them.
y STEP D: Test phase. One or more indicators will be tested in a number of selected MemberOrganisations and at the European level.
Strategic Alignment
y With Chapter 6 of the EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and theirRoad Map for Actions
Expected Outputs
y STEP A: A document with an overview of existing policy developments in view ofinternationalisation in the light of the ERA (green paper, Ljubjana agreement) and practices to
assess internationalisation in MOs.
y STEP B: Report to the ESF / MO Forum in September/October 2010. The report shouldsummarise the results of Steps A and B and present a set of indicators and a review of the
available data.
y STEP C: Report including a set of indicators ready for testing, to be presented at a smallconference of the ESF MO Forum.
y STEP D: Final report including test results and a vision on internationalisation in view of the ERA/ Ljubljana ambitions.
ESF Member Organisation Forum on Evaluation of Funding Schemes and Research Programmes
About
Background
Getting the evaluation of funding schemes and research programmes right for improving both the
internal operations and the external accountability of funding agencies and research organisations is
gaining importance. However, the procedures and organisational integration of evaluation activities
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be regularly updated, further elaborated and disseminated. At the same time, the participants of the
Forum are going to continue to exchange their experiences.
ESF Member Organisation Forum on ESF Member Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe
Promoting Internationalisation of Social Sciences in CEE
Background
The Member Forum ESF Member Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe (MOCEE) brought
together ESF member organisations in CEE countries : Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia to develop a catching up
strategy for the social sciences in Central and Eastern Europe.
Aims
The aims of the Forum were:
y to study the research needs of CEE countries in the social sciences,y to promote the dialogue between CEE and other European scientific communities,y and to develop a catching up strategy, including effective use of the instruments of ESF, the EU
and others.
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