1. Promoting Truth-Seeking and Trust-Building
Purposes and Benefits of the Network

2. 1. Why? 2. What For? 3. Who are we?
4. What do we do? 5. Summary: Successes, Challenges, Opportunities
6. Key Questions

3. Why? Founding Motivations
Urgency: the voice of universities, research and education needs to be enhanced at the national and supranational levels across Europe.
Social Sciences and Humanities: success/impact measurement systems put SSH at funding disadvantage.
Research funding disparities in Europe: politically unsustainable.
‘Raid’ on H2020 by the Juncker Commission: European Fund for Strategic Investment (2015).
Need to stand up for our principles: Turkey, BREXIT, populism, CEU.
Strategy: Space for another organisation of elite research-intensive universities comprising up to 25 members.
University organisations focus on lobbying/influencing or on capacity-building: but not really on both.
Ensure that the organisation represents all parts of Europe.

4. 2. What For? Core Aims and Principles
Foster the pursuit of knowledge, and be a strong voice in defense of Academic Freedom and the Integrity of the Researcher by:
becoming a leading voice in EU policy debates;
developing new forms of collaboration;
supporting inclusivity and equality;
sharing best practices;
creating opportunities for innovation;
Enhancing research excellence throughout Europe;
playing a leading role in wider, global discussions on research and education (e.g. Open Science, Open Innovation).

5. 3. Who are we?
Membership – eighteen universities in thirteen countries:
Truly European
Top 200 global rankings
Top 10 per cent national rankings
Horizon2020/ERC grant recipients
Actions:
Four Vice-Presidents’ meetings since 2016, General Assemblies 2x per year
Board Meetings c. every six weeks.
Legal Foundation, 1 June 2016
Public Launch Symposium with 18 members, 21 November 2016
Creation of an office in Brussels: 98, rue du Trône
Guild Office composed of Sec-Gen, Head of Policy, Senior Policy Officer, Policy and Comms Officer, Head of Office, and 2-3 Junior Policy Officers (interns)

6. 4. What do we do? Guild Activities in Brussels…. 4a. Lobbying
Policy Papers: H2020 mid-term evaluation, Modernization of Higher Education; FP9 Vision
Meetings with Cabinet members from DGs RTD, EAC, EMPL
Meetings relevant Heads of Units
Relevant MEPs
Breakfast meetings in European Parliament
ERC 10-year anniversary and horizon-scanning events
Invited to Stakeholder Meetings, but....
...not yet represented in Working/Expert Groups (Open Science Policy Platform, ERA Stakeholder Platform) – this will take c. 5 years

7. 4b. Guild Events (March-June):
Policy Labs: “A Vision for Europe? Research, Innovation and the Democratic Deficit”: Mission of Norway;
“‘The long tail of science’? Humanities, Social Sciences, and Open Science and Innovation”: Representation of Lower Saxony ;
“Big Data: Risks and Scientific Opportunities”; Scotland Europa
Upcoming: “Guild Forum: Universities, Research and the Future of Europe”: Solvay Library

8. 4c. Expert Groups Widening (expert group led by Guild Office)
Innovation Task Force (led by Guild Office)
FP9 Oversight Group (led by Guild Office)
Education (led by Guild Office)
Quality Assurance in Research (expert group led by Vienna)
BREXIT scenario-planning (expert group led by KCL)
Careers (expert group to be lead by Ljubljana)

9. 4d. Current Policy Priorities
Framework Programme 9 (2021- …), Public Consultation July-Sept 2017
Lamy Group Report end of June 2017
Public Consultation on FP9, July-Sept 2017
Education and Erasmus Plus Consultations (current)
Discussions during Estonia Presidency: budget, science and innovation
Spring 2018 Commission will present budget (Multiannual Financial Framework)
Possibility of current budget extension by 1 year

10. From Policy to Wider Collaboration:
Research Excellence the core of collaboration on:
Policy
Research
Education
Innovation
Collaboration needs to be bottom-up;
Guild offers ability to go beyond ‘old girls and boys’ networks’

11. How can Radboud benefit from the Guild?
Opportunities to present concrete ideas about Horizon 2020, FP9, Erasmus, and for them to be heard
Learn about other university contexts and priorities
Engage in wider policy debates about Research and Innovation in Europe (Open Science, vision for Research and Innovation)
Ideas for collaboration through new networks

12. How can Radboud benefit from the Guild? (ctd)
5. Reputation:
individual: Expert Groups, Guild Publications
Institutional: enhance mutual visibility, communications, develop new ways of showcasing research-led excellence
6. International Influence (e.g. Open Access)
7. Ability to contribute to Wider European Debates
8. A better sense of what is going on in Brussels

13. 5. Summary
Success:
Early indicators of success: we are being noticed (e.g. Policy Events, COM, Parliament, ERC)
Distinctiveness: Widening Participation, engagement
Fresh Perspectives: Truth-Seeking, SDGs
Guild now the second qualitative network of comprehensive universities in Europe
USPs: EU13/15 membership, fresh approaches, quality, collaboration

14. Challenges:
Guild Office still in process of development, comparatively small
Members and the Office need to grow together further, members to lead on certain issues on behalf of all?
MUCH further to go to enhance reputation
Members to develop more qualitative links together
Start with ‘quick wins’, careful prioritization to maintain momentum

15. Opportunities: Youth: each member can still shape the Guild
Influence: As we develop as a member organisation, how do we develop communication with non-members?
Experience: learning from other networks, past and present
Leading by example: policy work only successful if we practice what we preach
Optimising what is possible for a network of members

16. Key Questions:
Europe is outstanding in the density of research-intensive universities, in small spaces: are we doing enough to realise its potential for collaboration amongst students (BA; MA; PHD) and staff?
We are quite used to talking about ‘Open Science’ as we have engaged in new ways of sharing knowledge openly, and dealing with the consequences (Open Access etc) for a number of years now; But there is an openness about education too: students produce Apps, they publish, they learn through podcasts: students and tutors engage with wider society quite regularly: how do we engage with this idea around ‘Open Education’, its challenges and opportunities?
The EU is at a crossroads (BREXIT…), and five options for the future of Europe have been proposed by the Commission: how do we link up these existential questions with a vision for Research, Innovation and Education? Can we be agenda-setting for the future of Europe?