About the European Science Foundation 1

2 Setting Science Agendas for Europe The European Science Foundation provides a common platform for its Member Organisations in order to: ●advance European research ●explore new directions for research at the European level Through its activities, the ESF serves the needs of the European research community in a global context. Its mandate is underpinned by the values of excellence, openness, responsiveness, pan-European, ethical awareness and human values. It coordinates the programmes that are funded directly by national organisations. About the European Science Foundation

3 ESF Member Organisations ESF is an independent association of 78 Member Organisations ● research funding organisations ● research performing organisations ● academies and learned societies in 30 countries About the European Science Foundation

4 ESF covers all scientific domains About the European Science Foundation Humanities (SCH) Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences (LESC) Marine Science Medical Sciences (EMRC) Physical and Engineering Sciences (PESC) Polar Sciences Social Sciences (SCSS) Nuclear Physics (NuPECC) Space Sciences (ESSEC)

5 Standing Committee domains ● Humanities ● Life, Earth & Environmental Sciences ● Medical Sciences ● Physical and Engineering Sciences ● Social Sciences Expert Board/Committee domains ●Marine Sciences ●Materials Science and Engineering ●Nuclear Physics ●Polar Sciences ●Radio Astronomy ●Space Sciences About the European Science Foundation ESF covers all scientific domains

6 About the European Science Foundation LESC Life, Earth & Environmental Sciences  to better understand biological, environmental and Earth systems across time and space LifeEnvironmentalEarth Sciences

7 About the European Science Foundation LESC Life, Earth & Environmental Sciences From life sciences (e.g., molecular biology or physiology) over environmental sciences (e.g., biodiversity) to geosciences (e.g. atmospheric sciences, solid earth, oceans) and Earth system sciences (e.g., sustainable development) 35 Members + 5 Permanent Observers Meets twice a year; Core Group meets four times a year Annual meeting with LESC Member Organisations and with the relevant COST Domain Committees

8 Exploratory Workshops Member Organisation Fora Science Policy Briefings Research Conferences Research Networking Programmes Forward Looks Coordination of EC projects Peer Review support Coordination of EUROHORCs projects EUROCORES Research Programmes ESF Activities SCIENCE STRATEGY SCIENCE SYNERGY SCIENCE MANAGEMENT About the European Science Foundation Implementing agent for COST through EC contract

Range of Instruments Funding to researchers direct or indirect from ESF 9 Exploratory Workshops Conferences RNPs EUROCORES Funding level Number of researchers per instrument k€ 100 k€ 1 m€ About the European Science Foundation

10 Forward Looks ●Medium to long-term scientific perspectives ●Multidisciplinary topics viewed at a European level ●Connecting scientists with policy makers ●Wide consultation of stakeholders ●Producing major reports and action plans About the European Science Foundation  Science Strategy

11 ●Addressing science policy issues of key concern to Member Organisations and the scientific community ●Drawing on the advice and expertise of top-level European researchers ●Providing evidence-based strategy recommendations to policy makers Science Policy Briefings About the European Science Foundation  Science Strategy

12 ●One-off specialist meetings ●Spearheading ‘Bottom-up’ topics based on open calls ●Aiming to catalyse significant and strategic activities ●25-30 scientists per workshop ●Funding per event: 15 k€ Exploratory Workshops About the European Science Foundation  Science Strategy

13 ●Output-oriented discussion platforms for Member Organisations to develop joint actions on specific issues, involving others as appropriate ●To contribute to strategy development and/or lead to the development of o Good practice e.g. peer review o Common procedures o Joint activities ●Duration: typically two years ●Recent results: European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity ● European Peer Review Guide ● Research Careers in Europe Landscape and Horizons ESF Member Organisation Fora About the European Science Foundation 

14 ●Unique investigator-driven collaborative research scheme covering all scientific disciplines ●Opportunity for scientists to submit themes for collaborative research programmes ●International and joint peer review ●Research funding remains national, coordination and networking funded through ESF ●One programme includes about 30 individual projects from several countries ●Channels 5-10 M€ over 3 years ●Currently,1500 researchers funded by 66 funding organisations with M€ 150 ●In anticipation of decisions on the future of ESF, no call for themes will be launched in 2011 EUROCORES (European Collaborative Research Programmes) About the European Science Foundation  Science Synergy

15 ●Enable scientific endeavours over a 4-5 year period ●Supported by Member Organisations and other research and academic institutions ●Include workshops, conferences, exchange visits, summer schools, dissemination ●Can link to other initiatives, including the EC programmes ●Funding of k€ per year per programme ●On average participants per year in programmes ●In anticipation of decisions on the future of ESF, the 2010 call for proposals was cancelled Research Networking Programmes About the European Science Foundation  Science Synergy

16 Research Conferences ●Interdisciplinary scheme in collaboration with institutional partners ●Stimulate dialogue between early-stage researchers and scientific leaders worldwide ●Cover topics proposed by the scientific community ●Grants of k€ per conference, including specific support for early-stage researchers ●Organisation by ESF conference unit About the European Science Foundation  Science Synergy

17 Science Management ESF serves the academic community by creating synergies between funding agencies and by assisting cross-border cooperation. ●Peer Review support for funding organisations ●Coordination of ERA-NETs and other EC projects ●Implementing agent for COST through a European Commission contract About the European Science Foundation

18 About the European Science Foundation Co European Cooperation in Science and Technology 

19 About the European Science Foundation History  Oldest running European intergovernmental network for cooperation in research in Europe Established by Ministerial Conference of 19 European States in 1971, Brussels, as a Framework for coordinating nationally funded research in Europe 1974: European Science Foundation 1983 First Framework Programme From 19 countries in 1971 to currently 36 COST countries with 1 cooperating state & participation from international organizations and non-COST countries From 7 Actions in 1971 to over 270 Actions running in 2010, networked research projects From 7 Domains in 1971 to 9 Domains plus a trans-domain

20 About the European Science Foundation COST Structure  EC Contract

●Meetings, workshops, conferences, short term scientific visits, training schools. ●Between 65 and 300 k€ per year over 4 years ●Continuous open call all with collection dates in March and September ●Approximately 9-month decision period 21 About the European Science Foundation Co European Cooperation in Science and Technology 

22 About the European Science Foundation COST Domains  Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences (BMBS) Chemistry and Molecular Sciences & Technologies (CMST) Earth System Science & Environmental Management (ESSEM) Food & Agriculture (FA) Forests, their Products and Services (FPS) Individuals, Society, Culture & Health (ISCH) Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) Materials, Physics & Nanosciences (MPNS) Transport & Urban Development (TUD) + Trans-Disciplinary

23 About the European Science Foundation ESSEM Domain  Actions launched since 1992 Some key areas: Sun-Earth Interactions Meteorology, Atmospheric Chemistry Hydrology, Marine Sciences Remote Sensing and Observing Technologies Geology, Soil sciences Climate System and Global Changes Natural Resources Management 25 Actions (Jan 2012)

24 About the European Science Foundation A time of change At the moment ESF is in a period of transition and is currently developing a multiannual plan which will be presented in It is continuing discussions with its Member Organisations and the recently launched Science Europe to define future roles and activities. In the meantime, ESF’s existing commitments will be unaffected by these developments. Updated information regarding ESF activities is available on our website:

NATURAL HAZARDS The problem of Natural Hazards can be addressed more efficiently by realizing a network of experts in different disciplines (e.g. geosciences, engineering sciences and social sciences) aiming to target this issue in a comprehensive manner, through synergies. The ESF LESC Unit is currently exploring the possibility of promoting some action on Natural Hazards in In this framework, ESF LESC is looking at realizing synergies with International Organizations and the relevant scientific community  OPEN FOR DISCUSSION 25 About the European Science Foundation

26 Thank you About the European Science Foundation