We are doing science for policy
The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's science and knowledge service which employs scientists to carry out research in order to provide independent scientific advice and support to EU policy.
The JRC has selected 23 event proposals across the EU regions and Member States, in the framework of the 'Science meets Parliaments/ Science meets Regions' pilot project, funded by the European Parliament.
Informing policy makers with the best scientific advice possible is at the core of the JRC activities.
The objective of the "Science meets Parliaments and Regions" initiative is to promote this concept not only at EU level, but also at national, regional and local levels.
The project will bring together scientists, policymakers and citizens to explore locally relevant issues with the help of scientific evidence.
The events, organised at the initiative of local stakeholders, are meant to show what science can do for policy, also at a very local and concrete level, with impact on people's everyday lives.
The JRC will facilitate the events and provide scientific expertise where needed.
Public authorities representing cities, regions, national parliaments and ministries have put forward topics relevant for their particular constituencies / audiences. They range from:
through
to
All events will have science for policy as a core and leading topic. The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of Slovenia and the Estonian Parliament will specifically look into the challenges of evidence-informed policy making.
The first event to take place in the frame of the pilot project will be in Poland on 12 December 2018, organised by the Wielkopolska region.
The region is covered by a pilot initiative of the European coal regions in transition, and experts together with policy makers and regional stakeholders will analyse the possibility of a transition to a hydrogen-based energy system.
The rest of events will take place throughout 2019.
The full list of selected events, together with the interactive map is available here.
The pilot project will be officially launched on 6-7 February 2019, in Brussels, during the annual "Science meets Parliament" conference, co-organised by the JRC and the European Parliament's Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel (STOA) and the Committee of the Regions
The "Science meets Parliaments" project was launched in 2015 by the JRC together with the European Parliament.
In line with the JRC's overall mission, the project aimed to foster evidence-informed policymaking by building closer links and regular dialogue between scientists and policymakers.
Regions and cities are key partners in implementing European legislation, policies and financial instruments.
They also have the power to catalyse change and enable citizens' involvement.
About 70% of EU law and 80% of EU funds are implemented at subnational level. "Science meets Regions" was launched in collaboration with the Committee of the Regions in 2016.
The success of these projects prompted the European Parliament to fund the pilot "Science meets Parliaments/ Science meets Regions" project in 2018/2019, expanding the scope of the initiative to more European countries and regions.