David Cameron's increasingly forlorn efforts to block Jean-Claude Juncker continue to generate the heat in European politics, but today sees the launch of a welcome effort to bring light to the sometimes murky recesses of EU policymaking. This afternoon, at the Euroscience Open Forum in Copenhagen, a new pan-EU network of government science advisers will hold its first meeting. Senior scientific representatives from twelve member states, including the UK's Sir Mark Walport, will discuss how to strengthen the use of evidence in EU policymaking, and improve coordination between national systems, particularly during emergencies, such as when clouds of volcanic ash from Iceland grounded flights across Europe in 2011.
The network has been established by Anne Glover, chief scientific adviser to the outgoing President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. Speaking last night at the Euroscience opening ceremony, Barroso paid tribute to Anne Glover's dedication, and announced that he has asked her to produce a report on science and technology foresight across Europe, for publication in October.
Today's meeting is indeed the product of dedication: a painstaking 18-month effort by Glover to persuade member states of the benefits of such a network. One of the challenges she has faced is the sheer diversity of models for scientific advice across Europe: while the UK, Ireland and (until recently) Czech Republic have a government chief scientist, several countries - including Portugal, Denmark, Finland and Greece - prefer to use an advisory committee. In another handful of member states, including Italy, Spain and Sweden, science advice is provided by civil servants. Others, such as Austria, Hungary and the Netherlands, look to the president of the national academy of science to perform the role. The rest, including France and Germany, use a hybrid of these models, or none at all.
The new network intends to respect this diversity, and not advance one approach as preferable to the others. (Indeed, it could be particularly counter-productive to promote the UK model in the current EU climate.) At the same time, as Glover has consistently argued, there's much to be gained from a stronger and more cohesive network of high-level science policy contacts across Europe. And the Copenhagen meeting comes just weeks before a larger international summit in Auckland, hosted by ICSU and New Zealand's chief scientist, which aims to strengthen science advice worldwide.
Yet despite Anne Glover's success in creating this new network, the future of her own role is far from secure. She is the first person to occupy the post of chief scientific adviser, as a direct appointment of the Commission president. When Barroso's term ends in the autumn, so will Glover's.
With limited time left to influence the Brussels machine, Glover has been increasingly outspoken in recent weeks about the need for reform. In a speech last month, ahead of the European elections, Glover argued that the incoming Commission must find better ways of separating evidence-gathering processes from the 'political imperative'. And she called for the creation of a central 'evidence service' within the Commission, able to work with the chief scientific adviser to assess policy proposals in light of the best available science.
Whether or not this proposal is adopted, it would be a significant blow for evidence-based policy across Europe if the role of chief scientific adviser ends up being scrapped after just two years. The research community, through the EU network of science academies, has started to mobilize in support of maintaining the role, and the lobby group Business Europe has also offered its backing.
Assuming the post of chief scientific adviser survives, and a successor to Anne Glover is chosen later this year by Jean-Claude Juncker (or whoever ends up as president after the current round of horse-trading), it would make sense to revisit the institutional arrangements for scientific advice in Brussels.
Currently Anne Glover sits close to the centre of power, as part of the president's Bureau of European Policy Advisers, but with a staff of only four and a tiny budget. Meanwhile, under DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD), there are the considerable resources of the Joint Research Centre, which describes itself as the Commission's 'in-house science service' and has around 3,000 staff spread across seven research institutes, with a central policy team of around 200 people in Brussels. Closer integration of the chief scientist with the JRC would make a lot of sense, and could move some way towards the model of a Commission 'evidence service' that Glover has argued for. This will require the support not only of the incoming president, but also Máire Geoghegan-Quinn's successor as commissioner for research and innovation, who has been lukewarm in her support for a chief scientist so far.
In just two years, Anne Glover has established herself as a thoughtful and persuasive ambassador for science and evidence within the Brussels system. Today's announcement of the new network is a tangible achievement with which to mark her last few months in office. It is in the interests of all those who want to see greater reform, transparency and use of evidence in European policymaking that her role survives into 2015 and well beyond.
James Wilsdon is professor of science and democracy in the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex (@jameswilsdon) Entities 0 Name: Anne Glover Count: 7 1 Name: Glover Count: 6 2 Name: Commission Count: 5 3 Name: Europe Count: 5 4 Name: EU Count: 5 5 Name: Brussels Count: 4 6 Name: UK Count: 3 7 Name: Jean-Claude Juncker Count: 2 8 Name: European Commission Count: 2 9 Name: European Count: 2 10 Name: Barroso Count: 2 11 Name: Copenhagen Count: 2 12 Name: ICSU Count: 1 13 Name: Italy Count: 1 14 Name: Czech Republic Count: 1 15 Name: Auckland Count: 1 16 Name: Bureau of European Policy Advisers Count: 1 17 Name: France Count: 1 18 Name: DG Research and Innovation Count: 1 19 Name: Ireland Count: 1 20 Name: Joint Research Centre Count: 1 21 Name: José Manuel Barroso Count: 1 22 Name: Máire Geoghegan-Quinn Count: 1 23 Name: Iceland Count: 1 24 Name: Business Europe Count: 1 25 Name: Germany Count: 1 26 Name: DG RTD Count: 1 27 Name: Spain Count: 1 28 Name: Netherlands Count: 1 29 Name: New Zealand Count: 1 30 Name: Denmark Count: 1 31 Name: Finland Count: 1 32 Name: Sweden Count: 1 33 Name: David Cameron Count: 1 34 Name: Mark Walport Count: 1 35 Name: James Wilsdon Count: 1 36 Name: JRC Count: 1 37 Name: Portugal Count: 1 38 Name: Austria Count: 1 39 Name: Science Policy Research Unit Count: 1 40 Name: Greece Count: 1 41 Name: Hungary Count: 1 42 Name: University of Sussex Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1uWkJS6 Title: Glover & Stanning win World Cup gold Description: Last updated at 13:22 Britain's Olympic champions Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won the women's pair at the second World Cup meet in Aiguebelette, France. They won in seven minutes 2.91 seconds to beat two American boats. Stanning, 29, was competing at an international meet for the first time since she won gold with Glover, 28, at London 2012.
Post a Comment for "Evidence"