A new renaissance (key points at the bottom of this page)
Invitation to the PressBrussels, 28 September 2009
European Research: A new Renaissance? A strategic view of the European Research Area
Who? Janez Potočnik, Commissioner for Science and Research
Prof. John Wood, the Chair of ERAB
What? VIP Corner for the Launch event of the first European Research Area Board (ERAB) annual report "Preparing Europe for a New Renaissance - A Strategic View of the European Research Area
When? 6 October 2009 starting at 15:00 pm
Where? Berlaymont building – VIP Corner (Ground floor)
Journalists who wish to register for the press point should send an email to: Sophie.andersson@ec.europa.eu
The news:
On the 6 October the first recommendations from the European Research Area Board (ERAB), a high-level advisory group on research policy, will be presented by Commissioner Janez Potočnik and the Chair of ERAB, Prof. John Wood.
The first annual report of ERAB, "Preparing Europe for a New Renaissance – A Strategic View of the European Research Area", outlines the role of the European Research Area Board in shaping a “New Renaissance” in Europe. The report describes where the European Research Area needs to be by 2030 and proposes ways to get there.
The background:
The role of the European Research Area Board is to advise the European Commission on the realisation of a European Research Area, the single market for research in Europe.
For instance, ERAB highlights the need for an independent voice of research ultimately linked into the political process, and which, among other, provides independent advice. This recommendation was recently echoed by Commission President Barroso who announced the creation of a new Chief Scientific Officer.
In its first annual report, ERAB lays out a broad view of what is needed to accomplish a new "Renaissance" in European research.
The event:
Press point, 6 October at 15.00 at the VIP corner in the Berlaymont building, with Commissioner Potočnik and Prof. John Wood, Chair of ERAB
The press point will be followed by the launch event at 16.00 at the Residence Palace, in the International Press Centre (Polak room), on rue de la Loi 155.
The report will be presented by the ERAB members.
This VIP corner will be followed by the Launch event which will take place at 16.00 at the Residence Palace - International Press Center (Polak room) - Rue de la Loi 155 - 1040 Brussels. The report will be presented by the ERAB members.
The sources:
For additional information on ERAB: http://ec.europa.eu/research/erab/
Previous IP: ERAB nomination:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/565&type=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Information on ERA:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/era/index_en.html
Commissioner Potočnik's website:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/potocnik/indexfl_en.htm
Contact:
Catherine Ray +32 2 296 99 21 catherine.ray@ec.europa.eu
Sophie Andersson +32 2 295 02 08 sophie.andersson@ec.europa.eu
Nathalie Perault +32 2 295 74 14 nathalie.perault@ec.europa.eu
Key points
In its first Annual Report, the European Research Area Board (ERAB) declares that we need a ‘New Renaissance’ in order to cope with the societal challenges ahead. This will be a paradigm shift in how we think, live and interact together, as well as a paradigm shift in what the role and place of society should be.
The ‘New Renaissance’ needs a thriving and open European Research Area (ERA) by 2030. The Report proposes that "bold leadership along six policy themes is needed to achieve a fully functional European Research Area by 2030":
1. A united ERA to permit ideas and people to move freely across a dynamic and open society.
2. An ERA driven by societal needs to address the ‘Grand Challenges’, such as climate change, energy supply, water resources, ageing societies, healthcare and sustainable prosperity for all.
3. An ERA based on a shared responsibility between science, policy and society, where public policy is based on evidence and underpinned by a ‘new social contract’ between science and society that emphasizes responsibility for action as well as freedom of thought.
4. An ERA of open innovation between all public and private stakeholders so as to strengthen our research base and our economy.
5. An ERA to deliver excellence where risk-taking in research, regardless of its public or private origin, will be the guiding principle for the ERA policy.
6. An ERA of cohesion across the continent to allow all European research actors to take part in the knowledge-based society.
For each of these policy themes, a number of milestones are defined which will indicate the rate of progress to achieving a fully-functioning ERA by 2030, including for example:
- The EU's share of ERA-wide public, non-military research funding doubles to 10%
- A third of public non-military research is geared to grand societal challenges, with a multi-disciplinary approach.
- The EU has a fully functioning independent Chief Scientific Advisor, supporting its decision-making with the best available evidence, horizon scanning and future scenario-planning.
- The EU spends up to three times as much as in 2005 on its higher education, or 3.3% of GDP (EU research universities, though often prestigious, are underfunded: in 2002 the EU spent 1.1% of GDP on higher education compared with 2.6% in the US).
- A pan-European 'Open Innovation' charter is signed by all major stakeholders.
- Overall R&D funding rises to 5% of GDP, of which industrial R&D accounts for two-thirds (the EU currently spends 1% of GDP on research compared with 1.69% in the US and 2.62% in Japan).
- 50% of EC research funding is going to frontier, high-risk research and development.
- Europe increases its share of top-ranked universities up to 40% of the top-20 and top-100 rankings and increases its most-cited research worldwide by a third (according to one ranking system, Europe has 33 universities in the world's top 100 but just two in the top 20).
- The share of the EU budget devoted to research triples to 12%.