European Research Policy Research Articles

English as a lingua franca discourse in European Union higher education and research policy

The use of English as lingua franca in mainland Europe’s higher education and research sectors has rapidly expanded over the past several decades. Despite these expansions, critics claim that there is a conspicuous absence of European Union (EU) language policy concerned with the use of English as a “contact” language in education and research contexts. This study attempts to assess these claims by conducting a comparative analysis of English as a lingua franca discourse in the policy declarations and communications of two EU actors with remits for higher education and research – the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the European Research Area (ERA). Using methods that draw on critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics, I compiled specialised corpora consisting of the policy documents published by the EHEA and the ERA over the past twenty years. I then used the corpus analysis tool Sketch Engine and a reference corpus of general EU discourse to assess how often and in what ways language policy was considered. The analysis reveals intra-institutional conflicts in how language is conceptualised between policy actors and across policy portfolios in the EU. The findings also confirm the absence of explicit discourse on the use of English in academic and research contexts over the institutional lifetimes of two actors with remits for these sectors. The study highlights the persistence of a “top-down/bottom-up” conceptual gap at the heart of EU language policymaking regarding English as a lingua franca in European higher education and research.

How do partner selection strategies affect the amount of funding in collaborative research projects? Evidence using the dual-projection approach

The selection of partners plays a crucial role in determining the success of collaborative projects. This study makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature on collaborative research and development by examining the impact of different partner selection strategies on the funding received in collaborative research projects. Previous studies have not shown sufficiently how collaborating with new partners as opposed to existing ones influences the amount of funding received. To bridge this gap, we use the innovative dual-projection approach from Social Network Analysis. Specifically, we analyze the network structure of projects funded by Horizon 2020, the eighth European Framework Programme. Our findings show that compared to collaborating with established partners, collaborating with new ones increases the likelihood of securing more funding when entering a new project. Moreover, projects coordinated by private or public organizations rather than research centers and higher education institutions have a higher probability of obtaining greater funding. However, the significance of partner connections diminishes with decreasing proximity to the focal organization. Ultimately, our results offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of the European Research and Technological Development Policy in fostering excellent science through cross-collaboration among a diverse group of actors.

A ‘heavy hammer to crack a small nut'? The creation of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), 1963–1970

ABSTRACT This article reconstructs the complex diplomatic negotiations that led to the peculiar organization of molecular biology at the European level, by focusing in particular on the establishment of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC), the intergovernmental structure founded in 1969–70 to support the scientific program of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). By combining the analysis of the informal decision-making kept in the Nobel Prize laureate John C. Kendrew’s personal papers (Oxford) with the in-depth exploration of the institutional documentation available in the EMBO and CERN archives (Heidelberg and Geneva) and the Swiss Federal Archives (Bern), the article sheds light on the importance of the EMBC not only for the construction of molecular biology as a scientific, social, and political field in the European context, but also for the broader process of definition of the European research policy. Far from being just a mere replica of CERN, the EMBO/EMBC inaugurated in fact an alternative and flexible ‘bottom-up’ model of science policy in the European context, based on competition, networking, and scientific excellence, which paved the way to the establishment of the European Research Council (ERC) in the early 2000s.

Attitudes towards Technology: Insights on Rarely Discussed Influences on Older Adults’ Willingness to Adopt Active Assisted Living (AAL)

Background: European research policy promotes active assisted living (AAL) to alleviate costs and reach new markets. The main argument for massive investments in AAL is its potential to raise older adults’ Quality of Life and enhance their freedom, autonomy, mobility, social integration, and communication. However, AAL is less widely spread in older adults’ households than expected. Research Aim: We investigate how the variable “technology acceptance” is connected to socio-economic-, social, health, “personal attitude towards ageing”, and “Quality of life” variables. Method: We conducted a study in Vienna between 2018 and 2020, questioning 245 older adults (M = 74, SD = 6.654) living in private homes. We calculated multivariate models regressing technology acceptance on the various exploratory and confounding variables. Results: Experiencing an event that made the person perceive their age differently changed the attitude towards using an assistive technological system. Participants perceived technology that is directly associated with another human being (e.g., the use of technology to communicate with a physician) more positively. Conclusion: Older adults’ attitudes towards technology may change throughout their lives. Using major events in life as potential entry points for technology requires awareness to avoid reducing the lives of older adults to these events. Secondly, a certain human preference for “human technology” may facilitate abuse if technology is given a white coat, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth that may falsely be associated with a natural person. This aspect raises the ethical issue of accurate information as a significant precondition for informed consent.

Национальные научные исследования в контексте общеевропейских приоритетов научного развития: опыт Норвегии

The author examines to what extent national scientific research in Norway meets the pan-European principles and priorities of scientific development. The success of the interaction between European and national research efforts is a key condition for improving the competitiveness and efficiency of research in Europe. As an associated country, Norway does not have much influence on the allocation of funds from the European budget for research, nevertheless, the country is involved in all projects implemented within the framework of the European Research Area, financing and receiving funding from the EU Framework Programs. The article examines the structure of the scientific research complex, paying special attention to the main documents and institutions that determine science policy. In addition, the author studies budget formation in the scientific field in Norway, as well as the country’s participation in the international scientific cooperation. Norway’s experience is useful for understanding how nation states organize and coordinate their participation in European programs, especially in terms of addressing current and future “great challenges”. As a result of the analysis of the scientific policy carried out in Norway, the author comes to the conclusion that R&D institutions are directly adapted to the priorities of the European level, while national authorities have limited influence on the country’s European research portfolio. The purpose of the study is to analyze the interaction of the European research policy with the national research system of Norway. Research objectives: to analyze the formation of the structure and goals of European programs; to identify changes in the instruments and goals of national scientific policy; to determine the consequences of changes in scientific policy for the Norwegian research complex; to assess the level of coincidence of the interests and practices of the national scientific community with the interests and practices of the European scientific community, which is being formed at the supranational level.

Legal regulation of researchers’ labor in Ukraine and the European Union regarding the development of research infrastructures

Problem setting. The world recognizes the impact of science and innovation on the socio-economic and political development of the state and society, and therefore pays attention to researchers as subjects of scientific and scientific and technical activities. Despite numerous international documents adopted in the field of science, the development of European research policies and programs in the European Union, the issue of regulating the labor relations of scientists with research infrastructures in the European Union remains relevant. Analyses of recent researches and publications. Certain aspects of legal support of labor relations of scientists in Ukraine were considered by Barabash H.O. (peculiarities of legal regulation of labor of scientists and its improvement), Yushko A.M. (peculiarities of organization of labor of scientific workers and its remuneration in the context of reforming the legislation on scientific and scientific and technical activities), Yaroshenko O.M., Vapnyarchuk N.M. (ensuring decent work of scientists, decent and fair remuneration of scientists). With regard to the principles of regulation of the work of scientists in the European Union and the world, we note the publications of V. Kokhan (issues of legal support for the mobility of researchers in the EU, features of employment of researchers in the EU). Purpose of research is to provide an overview of the legal regulation of research activities of scientists in the European Union and Ukraine, and to identify and compare the levels of legal regulation of labor relations of European researchers between them and research infrastructures and labor relations of researchers in Ukraine Article’s main body. The legal regulation of labor relations of researchers in Ukraine can be divided into: the international level of legal regulation, national level of legal regulation general and special legislation that regulates the work of researchers and its peculiarities; local level of legal regulation local acts of scientific institutions adopted on the basis of current legislation within their competence/ The legal regulation of labor relations of researchers with research infrastructures in Europe should also be studied by the level of legal support and can be divided into several levels of regulatory support: international, European, national and local. It seems that the labor relations of scientists with research infrastructures at the local level have proper legal regulation, and perhaps the most detailed among other levels of legal support. Conclusions and prospects for the development. We can conclude, that legal regulation of labor relations of scientists with research infrastructures in the European Union is highly detailed at several levels of regulatory support: international, European, national and local. In Ukraine, a multi-level structure of regulatory support for the labor of scientists is also traced, in which international, national and local elements of legal regulation are distinguished. It is noted that the international level of legal regulation of researchers’ work in the European Union and Ukraine is the same, since international standards in the field of research are mandatory for Member States. At the same time, local legal support for research activities is more developed in the European Union than in Ukraine, as local rulemaking by Ukrainian research institutions is limited by law, and local acts cannot change the norms of higher-level acts. In the European Union, research infrastructures can independently regulate relations with employees, including scientists, without reference to national legislation, due to the international nature of research infrastructures created by several member states and operating in several countries, respectively.

SCIENTIFIC TRENDS IN PERINATAL MEDICINE AND NEONATOLOGY AT BUKOVINIAN STATE MEDICAL UNIVERSITY: ADVANCES AND PROSPECTS

Bukovinian State Medical University (BSMU) of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (Chernivtsi, Ukraine), according to theranking criteria of the SciVerse Scopus database in 2023, is among the 10 best higher state educational institutions in Ukraine.In 2023, BSMU was ranked 2nd according to the Webometrics system. BSMU supports the implementation of the main provisions of Open Science in Ukraine, which is a priority for European research policy. BSMU started fi lling information data on the areas of open science in the National Electronic Research and Information System of Ukraine “URIS”, which is commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine in accordance with the main provisions of the unifi ed national program “On the Implementation of the National Action Plan for Open Science in Ukraine”. Unfortunately, unfavorable demographic trends have recently persisted in Ukraine with a projected decline in the birth rate, an increase in mortality and forced migration as a result of military operations. aggression and genocide of the Ukrainian people. One of the key research areas is maternity and childhood, which has been the basis of scientifi c research at the Department of Paediatrics, Neonatology and Perinatal Medicine for many years. The aim of this research area is to improve the effi ciency of medical care for newborns, including full-term and premature infants born with various forms of perinatal pathology and intrauterine developmental disorders, by improving algorithms for predicting, diagnosing and treating organ system disorders under conditions of birth stress.

Steps towards the Integration of the Gender and Sex Dimension in R&I: The Case of a Public University

Gender equality has been placed at the centre of European research policy recently. The inclusion of gender and sex considerations into research and innovation (R&I) is an essential factor for scientific excellence and a key requirement for producing knowledge that can benefit society as a whole. However, the adoption of a gender/sex dimension is still a problematic issue in several Research Performance Organisations (RPOs) of European Union (EU) countries. Through the experience of implementing a gender equality plan (GEP) within the scope of a Horizon 2020 (H2020) project at a public Portuguese university (PPU), this study aims to explore the EU policies’ impact on the integration of the gender dimension in research, considering both institutional policies and scientific outputs. To achieve the purpose of the study, a mixed approach that combines a qualitative analysis of institutional documents and data collected through interviews with a quantitative analysis of secondary data is used. The implementation of the H2020 project brought the issue of gender inequality to the institutional agenda of the PPU under study and the formalisation of the GEP marked a transition point towards an integrated and intersectional approach that embraces gender dimension concerns in R&I. This transition coincided with a period characterised by an increase in the scientific outputs incorporating the ‘gender/sex dimension’, which may highlight the importance of European policies in stimulating and accelerating the introduction of the gender dimension in scientific practices in RPOs.

A Critical Reassessment: The European Cloud University Platform and New Challenges of the Quartet Helix Collaboration in the European University System

The European Commission has presented how it intends to give Europe a lead in the data-driven economy by enabling cloud-based services and world-class infrastructures for industry, scientists, and public services. In 2011 we discussed and proposed the cloud university platform for the European Union in the European Integration Studies. The purpose of the study is to deliver a critical reassessment of the European Cloud University Platform. Today a new European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) will offer Europe's 1.7 million researchers and 70 million science and technology professionals a virtual environment to store, share and re-use the large volumes of information generated by the big data revolution. The EOSC will be underpinned by the European Data Infrastructure, deploying the high-bandwidth networks and super-computer capacity necessary to effectively access and process large datasets stored in the cloud. There is also a target to build a single market for the Internet of Things: with the right standards for interoperability, and open cross-sector platforms for IoT devices and services to connect seamlessly, and scale-up, up anywhere in the EU. Our assessment is focused on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and its operational functioning and implementation process. The study is based on conventional assessment methods and tools. The methodology is a mostly mixed methodology (with both qualitative and quantitative data analytics) and it pays attention to argumentation logic and actual policy planning process and operational implementation of the EOSC. The role of Research Infrastructures (RIs), as well as cross-border innovation management approach are emphasized in recent transnational European research and innovation policy. Support for RIs form important pillars in the Horizon 2020-framework, as well as in the Horizon Europe-framework based on the idea that modern science requires unique global competitive capabilities, which individual institutions, or even individual European countries, often cannot provide by themselves. There are very good reasons to perform a critical assessment, because according to the European Cloud Initiative, over the coming 5 years, the European Commission will put forward proposals to meet the €4.7 billion investment need to integrate and consolidate data infrastructure. These vital proposals will bring together the EU and other sources, including Member States and private investments. By 2017, all scientific data produced by projects under the €77 billion within the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme will become open by default to ensure that the scientific community can re-use the enormous amount of data they generate. This change is not marginal and needs more reflective discussions. The primary database of reassessment is the documents of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and (1) associated European Commission work programme (overview of institution-wide deliverables), (2) the strategic plan (department strategy, objectives for 2016-2020) and (3) other EU management plans and scientific discussion associated with platform economy research. These EU documents were published after our original EIS article. The key results of critical reassessment are: (1) There are concrete needs to strengthen links between the European Open Science Cloud, Industry 4.0 strategy and Industry 4.0 Curriculum in Europe, (2) the concept of platform needs more discussion in the future developments of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), (3) country-level university and research community participation in the EOSC requires more discussion and more updated operational implementation plans and programs, and (4) there is need to plan symbiotic digitalized innovation eco-system policy and economic growth policy framework for the European Union. We summarise our critical reassessment with a critical note that there are big integration challenges of the European Open Science Cloud. Keywords: European Open Science Cloud, Big Data, Industry 4.0, Higher education, European integration, Digitalization, Platform economy, Open science policy, Open innovation paradigm, Collaboration framework of European universities, Data governance, Digital platforms, Data infrastructure, European data politics, Data policy

The promise and the future of research data sharing

The promise and the future of research data sharing

Energy Research Infrastructures in Europe and Beyond: Mapping an Unmapped Landscape

European research and innovation policy highlights the importance of transnational scientific collaboration, International collaborations in science concentrates and magnifies resources for conducting research and foster innovation. Often, individual institutions, or even individual European countries, cannot provide the right capabilities by themselves. Joint facilities and Research Infrastructures (RIs) are therefore of high importance, and through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe nearly €5 bn EU funding is set aside for these institutions. Considering the large-scale funding and the perceived importance of RIs, a better understanding of their roles, functions, and usefulness is highly relevant to of European integration studies. While ‘Research Infrastructures’ has become a fixed terminology of EU-policy, conceptually defining RIs remain a matter of academic debate. We contribute to the “what is an RI?”-discussion by synthesizing existing literature and presenting novel empirical data from the energy domain mapping of the Horizon 2020-project Research Infrastructures in the International Landscape (RISCAPE). We provide insights into the process of mapping an hitherto largely unknown landscape of global Energy RIs. These insights touch upon both definitional issues relevant to the RI-field and methodological concerns for future landscape analyses. Finally, the article suggests that when it comes to energy research, RI-terminology might be misplaced as a catchall modern synonym for “gold standard world-class science”.

Evaluation of the influence of filter medium composition on treatment performances in an open-air green wall fed with greywater

According to the European Research and Innovation Policy Agenda, nature-based solutions (NBSs) are key technologies to improve the sustainability of urban areas. Among NBSs, green walls have been recently studied for several applications, among the others the treatment of lowly polluted wastewater flows as greywater (GW, e.g. domestic wastewater excluding toilet flushes). This work is aimed at the evaluation of the influence of four additives (compost, biochar, granular activated carbon, polyacrylate) mixed with a base filter medium made of coconut fibre and perlite, on the performances of a green wall fed in batch mode with synthetic GW. The green wall was operated with a high hydraulic loading rate of GW (740.8 L/m2/day) in open-air winter conditions (3.5–15 °C measured for GW) between January and April. The performances of the green wall have been assessed though the monitoring every 1–2 weeks of physicochemical and biological parameters (pH, electric conductivity, total suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, BOD5 and COD, nitrogen and phosporus compounds, chlorides and sulphates, anionic surfactants and E. coli). Removal performances were excellent for BOD5 (>95%) and E.coli (>98%) for all additives; compared to the base medium, biochar was the best performing additive over the highest number of parameters, achieving removals equal to 51% for COD, 47% for TKN and nitric nitrogen and 71% for anionic surfactants. Compost also achieved high removal performances, but the frequent clogging events occurred during the monitoring period do not make its use recommendable. Granular activated carbon and the combination of biochar and polyacrylate performed better than the base medium, but only about the removal of nitric nitrogen. These results demonstrated that, in the considered experimental boundaries, biochar could improve the overall treatment performances of a green wall fed by GW and operated in challenging conditions.

Technological diversity in collaborative projects: insights into European research policy

ABSTRACT Technology diversity is defined as the ability to perform research and development in different technological domains. We investigate the degree of technological diversity in the European regions, focusing on two main drivers: the regional capacity to obtain funding from the 7th Framework Programme, and the degree of regional network centrality in collaborative research. Our results support the hypothesis that regional capacity to access European funding and obtain a central position in collaborative networks fosters technological diversity in European regions. We also find that the high network centrality in a research collaboration network is correlated to a reduced FP7 effect on technological diversity.

Getting Cozy, or How the European Commission Produces Legitimacy in the EU

Abstract International organizations increasingly resort to strategies of legitimation in order to justify their authority and policies. This article explores one such strategy of the European Commission that targets organized interest groups with the aim to build a legitimating constituency. The members of this constituency not only contribute expertise to a policy, but also benefit from that policy and, therefore, participate in the development and confirmation of a claim to the policy's legitimacy that is put forward by EU officials. As a consequence, the agents seeking legitimacy and the addressees granting it become closely associated and “get cozy” with each other. EU officials address their claim to legitimacy to a community of co-opted elites who are likely to confirm this claim and in whose own interests it is to do so. The result is legitimation as a collaborative activity with preordained outcomes. Taking the case of the European Commission's research and innovation policy, and building in part on an ethnographic practitioner's account, the article provides an original insight into how this legitimation strategy works in everyday EU policymaking.

THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES (ALLEA)

The history of creation, development, and activity of the European Federation of Acade­mies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) is given in the review. The initial main goal of this organization was to promote cooperation in research between Eastern and Western Europe after the end of the Cold War, to create a legal basis for cooperation between scientists for cross-border cooperation between European academies, which eventually became a powerful system that changes world science. During its existence since 1992, the European Federation of Academies of Natural Sciences and Humanities has become a powerful scientific, social, and economic force that impacts not only the development of European science but also the processes in society. The shift of the ideo­logy of the organization in the humanitarian field strengthening such impact, and provides for full interaction with society. Recent projects by ALLEA, one of the four European scientific associations, are closely linked to legislative action, the development of public confidence in science, and scientific experience. Recently, the confrontation of misinformation, which is the main factor in the violation of basic democra­tic values, to which the federation pays special attention. ALLEA’s current strategic priorities focus on ethical values, which are the basis for building a common European research policy. And the SAPEA project has established ano­ther mechanism to combat violations of Euro­pean values and democratic principles not only in science but also in politics.

Consolidating RRI and Open Science: understanding the potential for transformative change

In European research and innovation policy, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and Open Science (OS) encompass two co-existing sets of ambitions concerning systemic change in the practice of research and innovation. This paper is an exploratory attempt to uncover synergies and differences between RRI and OS, by interrogating what motivates their respective transformative agendas. We offer two storylines that account for the specific contexts and dynamics from which RRI and OS have emerged, which in turn offer entrance points to further unpacking what ‘opening up’ to society means with respect to the transformative change agendas that are implicit in the two agendas. We compare differences regarding the ‘how’ of opening up in light of the ‘why’ to explore common areas of emphasis in both OS and RRI. We argue that while both agendas align with mission-oriented narratives around grand societal challenges, OS tends to emphasize efficiency and technical optimisation over RRI’s emphasis on normative concerns and democracy deficits, and that the two agendas thus contrast in their relative legitimate emphasis on doable outcomes versus desirable outcomes. In our conclusion, we reflect on the future outlook for RRI and OS’ co-existence and uptake, and on what their respective ambitions for transformation might mean for science-society scholars and scholarship.

Whose European bioeconomy? Relations of forces in the shaping of an updated EU bioeconomy strategy

The Bioeconomy has become an increasingly important issue on the agendas of European research, energy and agricultural policies. With the development of a bioeconomy strategy in 2012, a distinct policy field has been established. In this strategy, the EU-Commission defined guiding principles for the bioeconomy in Europe, with major emphasis on research and innovation. In the course of 2017 and 2018, the strategy was reviewed leading to the publication of an updated document. During the review process, political actors from different sectors of society expressed their views on the future of the bioeconomy in Europe. Their positions varied considerably from those advocating a continuation of existing policy to those calling for a fundamental reassessment of European bioeconomy. However, the range of positions has not led to a fundamental debate on the aims and the substance of the strategy. In this article, this is explained based on the insights of neo-Gramscian international political economy (IPE) about the character of European integration. Hegemonic ideas and the broader relations of forces in European capitalism shape a field of action that is not neutral to the actors involved in bioeconomy politics.

Are Agri-Food Systems Really Switching to a Circular Economy Model? Implications for European Research and Innovation Policy

The shift from a linear model to a circular model can significantly reduce the negative pressures on the environment and contribute to restoring biodiversity and natural capital in Europe. In this view, research and innovation (R&I) play a relevant role in setting the modalities of this transition. Therefore, the European Commission (EC) recently promoted dedicated research activity instruments in this vital area of the economy and in society as a whole. This paper aims to shed light on current public efforts on R&I supporting the transition to the CE (circular economy) model, opening a critical debate on the actual relevance of the CE in current R&I policy with its major research policy schemes in the recent programming periods of 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. Looking at the most significant EC programs sponsoring R&I, it seems that the will to increase the sustainability of the agri-food system and to foster the socio-technical transition towards circularity is evident but not very relevant. The data presented leaves some open questions concerning the effective commitment of European countries to promoting resource efficiency via R&I.

Knowing when knowledge performs its power in ecological economics

Scientific knowledge is performative, as it not only represents but also constitutes reality. In politically charged fields such as ecological economics and environmental policy, science-policy interactions are often integrated into the scientific process. It is therefore important to articulate the details of the context in which knowledge performs its power. The articulation should be sensitive to the self-reflexive character of knowledge: it makes a difference whether those who engage in science-policy interaction know when knowledge is performative. I develop an account of the process of science-policy interaction that recognizes the self-reflexive nature of human knowledge. I identify analogical relationships between science-policy interactions on one hand and the workings of distributed cognition in Shakespearean theatre on the other. I illustrate the account by explaining the outcomes of science-policy interaction in European research policy and Finnish energy policy. The typology of knowledge performativity enables transdisciplinary actors at the science-policy interface to pay attention to their epistemological and ethical responsibilities.

Responsible Innovation for Life: Five Challenges Agriculture Offers for Responsible Innovation in Agriculture and Food, and the Necessity of an Ethics of Innovation

In this special issue we will investigate, from the perspective of agricultural ethics (e.g. animal welfare, agricultural and food ethics, environmental ethics etc.) the potential to develop a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) approach to agriculture, and the limitations to such an enterprise. RRI is an emerging field in the European research and innovation (R&I) policy context that aims to balance economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspects in innovation processes. Because technological innovations can contribute significantly to the solution of societal challenges like climate change or food security, but can also have negative societal consequences, it is assumed that social and ethical aspects should be considered during the R&I process. For this reason, the emerging concept of RRI calls for ethical reflection on the nature, scope and applicability of responsibility and innovation in innovation practices in general, and the way social–ethical issues can be applied and addressed in agriculture.