EU Green Paper on a Common Strategic Framework for Research and Innovation
EuroScience, as a grassroots organisation, recently responded to the EU Green Paper on a Common Strategic Framework for Research and Innovation. Read more [...]
Tag Archives: Science policy
Framework 8 named “Horizon 2020”
Following an online naming competition, the next round of EC Framework funding is going to be called "Horizon 2020". Three names were shortlisted. Horizon 2020 received 3,055 votes against, 2,785 for Imagine 2020, and 2,478 for Discover 2020. In total, 8,318 votes were received. The full name being put forward this year as part of the legislative proposal for the new programme is "Horizon 2020 - the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation". Read more [...]
When two (try to) become one
The vote to establish a new organisation uniting the European Heads of Research Councils (EUROHORCs) and the European Science Foundation (ESF) fell short. Read more [...]
Political will closes our eyes
A child has fallen down the well, but it is not our well – and not our child. This attitude represents the relationship between the EU and the proposal of a Mediterranean tsunami early warning system following the devastating tragedy in Japan. At Read more [...]
Dark times ahead for Spanish solar power
Spain had one of the most ambitious strategies for solar power that saw it pushing ahead the rest of Europe in honing the ability to capture energy from the sun. However that plan has faultered as the Spanish government have cut the level of subsidies for all new and existing photovoltaic projects. Read more [...]
Energy efficiency success stories
This week, our writer Alaina Levine reports for EuroScientist from the AAAS conference in Washington DC, USA. Read more [...]
Impact of the Census of Marine Life
The Census of Marine Life (CoML) programme addresses three major questions: What lived in the oceans? What lives in the oceans now? What will live in the oceans? This 10-year programme (2000–2010) is a unique global effort to develop the first comprehensive assessment of life in the oceans, from bacteria to large animals, from coastal and shallow waters to the poorly known habitats in the deep sea, through more than 500 expeditions. It has resulted in partnerships and an international network of over 2700 scientists from 80 countries. Through 14 field studies in distinct ocean realms, ranging from analysing historical documents to modeling future ecosystems, the Census enables scientists to describe the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans, to compare what once lived in the oceans to what lives there now, and to postulate what will live there in the future. Read more [...]
‘Natural’ Science Communication
About ten years ago the regional director of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) asked to meet with National Association for Interpretation (NAI) executive staff to discuss the application of interpretive services to his organization. He explained that the Republican Contract for America removed USGS funding from the United States budget in 1994 because many in Congress and the American public did not understand that this agency of scientists were responsible for much more than making maps. Fortunately, the funding was restored. USGS monitors vital resources all over the U.S. The USGS regional director expressed concern that being skilled scientists was not enough. They needed to become more skilled at helping Congress and citizens understand their diverse scientific roles and findings. Read more [...]
Save our seeds
The scientific community have mobilised to save the threatened Pavlovks Experimental Station, which hosts a gene bank in the outskirts of St Petersburg. The facility holds genetic plant material - 90% of their plant seeds can not be found anywhere else in the world. Read more [...]
