The shift towards prevention or wellness has now been operated a few years ago in health policy. Particularly in the field of chronic diseases, which is the focus of our independent coverage in this issue and of a campaign orchestrated by the REIsearch project. This has led to a number of policy experiments over time. As yet, there is no magic bullet to entice people to try and take greater care of their health. It appears that a combination of voluntary actions by citizens, with prevention campaigns from interested groups, and regulations can help. But too much of any of these ingredients may affect the fragile dynamic between them. Read more […]
The Marie Curie Alumni Association, in collaboration with EuroScientist, will be hosting a round table about overcoming EU countries’ inequalities in science in the European Research Area. Please join this webinar and learn more about what needs to be done to counter the imbalance in the research system in Europe. The debate will be focused on the present differences in funding within European countries and within Europe. Read more […]
The drivers leading to responsible research and innovation are poorly understood. Now, empirical work done in the EU project “Governance of Responsible Innovation” (GREAT) has investigated the factors influencing the uptake of responsible research aspects in EU-funded research and innovation using an agent-based simulation approach to analyse the impact of responsibility measures. Results reveal, for example, that the involvement of civil society organisations does not necessarily tilt the balance towards greater responsibility in research as initially thought. Instead, what appears to be of vital importance is the capability of any research partner to perform research responsibly. Read more […]
Personal data is a vital resource for research, including studies in medicine, public health and social science. Over decades, researchers have developed approaches to use this data safely and securely to improve our understanding of society, health and disease. Reform of European data privacy laws is now threatening the way that data is used in research. In this article, Beth Thompson, policy adviser at the UK-based Wellcome Trust, explains why we need your help now, to ensure a positive outcome for research. Read more […]
The global professionalisation of science was initiated in the 20th century. It has resulted in the creation of the largest scientific community, the most widespread research facilities and in the widest dissemination of scientific knowledge to date. This may, at first sight, appear to be very positive news for science. Yet, the academic population grew extraordinary fast, in the past forty years. Read more […]
Responsible research and Innovation, or RRI, may not be well understood by some. Yet, what it means is: science policy should explicitly include society. It stems from the fact that resistance to technical progress has always existed, particularly when such new technology is disruptive. Those who, in the XIXth century, did not agree and contested the value of such progress were accused of adopting romantic attitudes, or of being irrational. Read more […]
The phenomenon of e-cigarette has caught regulators flat footed. The devices vaporise a solution, allowing vapers to inhale nicotine. Their popularity has surged and regulators are running to catch up. However, around the world countries are adopting different approaches as people begin to get into the vaping habit. What is certain is that they are proving controversial. And they have split tobacco-control community. Some see them as life savers, others as a pathway to normalisation and more tobacco use. Read more […]
Resilience—the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change—is a useful concept for understanding the dynamics of ecosystems. Indeed, all complex systems are evolutionary. They constantly co-evolve and interact in ways which are difficult—if not impossible—to predict with absolute certainty. This is also true of the European Innovation ecosystem. Unfortunately, the notion of resilience is not often used in policy making, according to the High Level Group on Innovation Policy Management. Read more […]
Researchers across France, Spain and Italy are orchestrating a wave of national protests, which will culminate on the 17th and 18th October 2014 in their respective capitals. Their objective is to highlight how Europe’s knowledge economy is being undermined by a lack of investment in research, amongst other factors. European national research systems are struggling; that much is beyond doubt. The question is how to balance national versus EU research support and how the EU can drive rehabilitation of national research systems. Another question is whether the increased focus on excellence-based funding is really necessary. This debate is now fully open. Read more […]
On 9th of February 2014, the people of Switzerland voted in a referendum for the limitation of immigration from the European Union. Within three years, the government has to fix annual quota for asylum seekers and EU citizens interested in living in the country. In response, the EU has now suspended negotiations about the association of Switzerland to the European funding scheme Horizon 2020. Switzerland is heavily implicated in European research projects, which makes the referendum’s decision potentially disastrous for Swiss scientists. Read more […]
The European Council, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, have all gone out of their way to stress that Europe can only find the path to recovery if it keeps investing in education, research and innovation. Read more […]
