1 Expertise in Policy Making Policy formulation, implementation and evaluation relies more than ever on scientific knowledge and the different kinds of.

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Expertise in Policy Making

• Policy formulation, implementation and

evaluation relies more than ever on scientific

knowledge and the different kinds of expertise.

• This growing importance of science in public

affairs is not an isolated phenomenon and only

reflects the fundamental role of science in our

modern society.

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• Citizens have ambiguous feelings about science and

scientists. Science is seen as a potential solution to all

challenges but also as a source of threat.

• Eurobarometer 2005 on Europeans, Science and

Technology evidenced the ambivalent attitude and its

negative elements: Decline in young people’s interest in science Strong/Violent public opposition to certain scientific

developments (GMOs,..) Fears that research could undermine personal integrity. Feelings that research and scientific development may be

harmful to the planet.

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• In this context, reflections have been undertaken on

more appropriate ways to produce and channel

relevant scientific advice to decision-makers and

ensure its optimal use.

• This led to the creation of new scientific advisory

bodies at national and European level and adoption

of new body of legislation or guidelines.

• The main key words are transparency,

independence, and credibility.

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• The wider debate on new forms of governance

asking for clearer responsibility along the decision

making chain and greater involvement of the

public/stakeholders, is also a driving force.

• A high priority is to guarantee the democratic

nature and political acceptance of the process. The

degree of the public trust in the consultation

process matters as much as the quality and

diversity of the expertise.

Cooperationmio € 32,365Cooperationmio € 32,365

Ideasmio € 7460

Ideasmio € 7460

Peoplemio € 4728

Peoplemio € 4728

Capacitiesmio € 4217Capacitiesmio € 4217

EC RTD PolicyEC RTD PolicyFramework ProgrammeFramework Programme

FP7 2007-2013FP7 2007-2013

EC RTD PolicyEC RTD PolicyFramework ProgrammeFramework Programme

FP7 2007-2013FP7 2007-2013

+ JRC (nuclear & non-nuclear) + Euratom

Infrastructure

s mio € 1700

SME mio € 1336

Regions mio € 126

Potential mio € 370

Science in Society

mio € 330International

mio € 185

•Gender and research

1 -More dynamic governance of the

science and society relationship

1 -More dynamic governance of the

science and society relationship

2 - Strengthening potential, broadening

horizons

2 - Strengthening potential, broadening

horizons

3 - Science and society communicate

3 - Science and society communicate

•Place of science and technology in

society

•Society’s engagement on science issues

•Our science system, its

professional codes, expertise

•Role of the universities - modernisation

•Young people between science education and

research careers

•Two-way communication of science and the public; the

role of the media

Science in Society 3 action lines

Action line 1: A more dynamic governance of the S&S

relationship

Overall objective: contribute to a better understanding of the governance of science and to support the development of an open governance of scientific research which encompasses societal concerns and involves civil society and its organisations in research policy.

•Activity 1.1 Better understanding of the place of science and technology (S&T) in society •1.1.1 Relationships between science, democracy and law•1.1.2 Research on ethics in science and technology•1.1.3 The reciprocal influence of science and culture•1.1.4 The role and the image of scientists•1.1.5 Public understanding of science and promotion of public debate

•Activity 1.2 Developing governance to anticipate and clarify political, societal and ethical issues•1.2.1 Broader engagement on science-related questions •1.2.2 Conditions for an informed debate on ethics and science

Action line 1: A more dynamic governance of the S&S relationship

•Activity 1.3 Strengthening and improving the European science system •1.3.1 Encouraging the debate on information dissemination, including

access to scientific results and the future of scientific publications, taking also into account measures to improve access by the public.•1.3.2 Promoting trust and self-regulation in the scientific community•1.3.3 Improving the use, and monitoring the impact, of scientific advice and expertise for policy-making in Europe (including risk management), and developing practical tools and schemes (e.g. electronic networks),

•Activity 1.4 The evolving role of universities

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The use of ICT can support the networking of actors

involved in advisory processes and enable the

development of new cooperation/communication

schemes which should progressively promote:

• A reduction of unnecessary redundancy of efforts (e.g.

National/regional advice can be used as a basis in other contexts

and adapted )

• An improved reaction time (in case of urgency or to get a first

quick assessment)

ICT to help enriching the Advisory processes

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• A Better understanding of the different (good)

practices/methodologies and whenever relevant the

development of common practices.

• Mobilise more easily a large number of organisations/experts

and enrich further the knowledge base by involving experts with

different cultures and coming from several disciplines (to cope

with the multi-disciplinarity and ever more complex nature of the

issues at stake)

• Create positive synergies among advisory bodies in the same

and related policy fields (e.g. for health: agriculture,

environment,etc.)

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• Possibility to inform and consult widely at different stages:

– to better define the questions and understand their context,

– to collect/access a wider range of opinions and expertise

when formulating the advice (with a potential higher degree

of interactivity)

– and ultimately to get feedback once the advice is published

and promote its dissemination and impact (interaction with

decisions makers and final users/impacted actors/population)

– monitor the implementation, draw lessons and undertake

corrective actions whenever appropriate and possible.

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ICT can offer more flexibility, and enable more adaptive and inclusive advisory processes

Actors/Stakeholders Citizens

Experts in Topic A

Experts in Topic A

Experts in Topic A

Experts in Topic B

Experts in Topic C

Advisory bodyTopic A

Advisory body

Topic A

Decision Makers

Need/request for advice Follow-upAdvice

issued t

Advisory bodyTopic B

Advisory bodyTopic AAdvisory body

Topic A

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SINAPSEScientific information and expertise

for policy support in Europe

http://europa.eu/sinapse

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WHAT IS SINAPSE

• An electronic network accessible via the

Internet.

• A communication channel between the

expert community and the policy makers,

including the European institutions.

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• Better mobilise expertise / scientific knowledge in

support to policy making (one of the two key

objectives of the EU RTD policy).

• SINAPSE is a practical tool to support the EU efforts to develop new forms of governance. It will facilitate the involvement of actors/stakeholders that at present can't be easily consulted or encounter difficulties to share their knowledge and viewpoint.

MAIN OBJECTIVES

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The membership• More than 1200 organisations and 5500 members are currently registered. • As regards the scientific community, this includes some of the largest European/international organisations :

– ESF (European Science Foundation)– ICSU (International Council for Science)– ALLEA (All European Academies)– FEAM (Federation of the European Academies of Medecine)– UNICA (Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe)– EUA (European University Association)– EURO-CASE (European Council of Applied Sciences)– EARMA (European Association of Research Managers and

Administrators)

– EUROHORCS (European Union Research Organisations Head of Research Councils)

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The membership

– EIRMA (European Industrial Research Management Association) – EARTO (European Association of Research and Technology Organisations)

– EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation)– EASAC (European Academies Scientific Advisory Council)– Academia Europaea– European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)  – European Mathematical Society (EMS)  – European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)  – COST– As well as several national research/health/ethics councils, research

organisations, science academies, various advisory bodies covering different policy areas, and other organisations interested by the use of expertise in policy making etc.

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SINAPSE MAIN TOOLS

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In brief SINAPSE will offer the following communication tools:

A “Yellow Pages” section to quickly identify and

contact experts or organisations with specific

expertise;

• An EC consultation module which will allow the Commission services to support existing consultation mechanisms, such as committee meetings;

• A library of expert advice aiming at increasing the dissemination, use and impact of issued advice;

SINAPSE TOOLS

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• Modules to set-up “e-Communities” of members sharing a common interest (within communities: libraries of documents and links, “message board”, thematic discussions/surveys etc);

• An early warning system that the members can use as a channel for sending early-warning signals and raising awareness on issues were expertise plays a significant role;

• A Web Search service which will, once operational , allow focused and thematic searches in the web sources of the members.

SINAPSE TOOLS (II)

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SINAPSE e-CommunitiesEasy exchange and share of information

in a group of members with a common interest

LIBRARY OFLINKS

LIBRARY OFDOCUMENTS

e-DEBATES(DISCUSSIONS/ SURVEYS)

MESSAGEBOARD

CALENDAR

WWW ?

DOCUMENTS

CONTRIBUTIONS

WITHIN A DISCUSSION / SURVEY

PRINCIPAL MODULES

NOTIFICATION SYSTEM ENABLING

MEMBERS TO BE INFORMED OF

ACTIVITIES CORRESPONDING TO THEIR PREFERENCES

POSSIBILITY TO CREATE SPECIFIC THEMES AND FOR

MEMBERS TO ASSOCIATE

THEMSELVES WITH SOME OF THEM. WWW

LINKS

Public SurveysPublic Library Public

CalendarPublic Library

WEB SEARCH(in development)

COMMUNITY ADMINISTRATION- ONE OR MORE ADMINISTRATORS- AUTOMATIC OR MANUAL VALIDATION OF ITEMS POSTED- MANAGEMENT OF FOLDER STRUCTURES- MEMBER MANAGEMENT , ETC.There is a specific management module for each discussion/survey

PERSONALISATIONe-communities can be graphically personalised and easy two way navigation established between the community and a website

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SINAPSE e-Communities

• The Community is a private space offering also a communication with the outside via the « public elements ».

• The members are independent and have full autonomy in the management of the community (launch of new activities, upload of documents, changes in the membership, etc.)

• The basic use is simple but the tool offers enhanced functionalities whenever the needs emerge.

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SINAPSE Communities• Beyond the internal communication possibilities, one advantage of setting up a community in SINAPSE is the capacity to establish links with other networks/ organisations and to enlarge, if appropriate, the community to new relevant members who join the network and have compatible interest with the Community. (invite contacts and network).

• The members of the organisations already in the community have automatic access to the community if they register in SINAPSE.• Beyond the community: the members can benefit and use the other SINAPSE tools and create for example specific communities with other organisations.

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SINAPSE Communities - EXAMPLES• European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

• Group of Custom Laboratories (GCL – DG TAXUD)

• European Scientific Advice Network on Health (EUSANH).

• Networking of the National Ethics Council (NEC Forum)

• EC FP7: Ethical Review – ERA Expert Groups

• EURAXESS Links USA-Japan-China (network of European researchers)

• Network of the Universities from the Capital of Europe (UNICA).

• EU Commission – Justice Forum / Measure of administrative burden & Impact Assessment.

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Community direct WEB access and password protected

The community home page has its own address.Direct links also available for public elements (e.g. public library of

documents or public surveys or public calendar)

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Example / COMMUNITY OF THE FORUM OF NATIONAL ETHICS COUNCILS (NEC FORUM)

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LIBRARY OF DOCUMENTS

• A library of documents organised in folders

Access the documents from anywhere. The tree of folders offers an intuitive display and targeted notifications

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LIBRARY OF DOCUMENTS

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SEARCH (Example: EuSANH Public Library)

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Easy link between public elements and initiator’s website

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The community tools as extensions of initiator’s website

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CALENDAR

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PUBLIC/PRIVATE CONSULTATION with Direct WEB Access

/

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PUBLIC/PRIVATE CONSULTATION

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PUBLIC/PRIVATE DEBATES with Direct WEB Access

/

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NOTIFICATION SETTINGS

Can be restricted to specific Folders and Themes. Frequency of notification chosen by the users for each community module By default, notifications are set to once a day for all folders.

PERSONALISE THE DESIGN OF THE COMMUNITY

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SINAPSEScientific information and expertise

for policy support in Europe

http://europa.eu/sinapse