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Commission warned against reshuffle Research and innovation split would be ‘disastrous’ SCIENCE LOBBYISTS HAVE expressed fears that research and innovation could be split into separate portfolios under the next European Commission, with potentially severe consequences for EU research. Speculation about the reorganisation has surfaced in Brussels as plans unfold for the next set of com- missioners, due to take office in November. Research representatives say they are concerned that research and innovation could be placed in separate offices, affecting the implementation of Horizon 2020. “The separation between innovation and research would be bad news, because having them together has forced people to put themselves in a different state of mind,” Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, president of the European Research Council, told Research Europe. According to Peter Tindemans, secretary-general of EuroScience: “It’s a real threat, because it seems to be being seriously considered, and if it happens it will really backtrack on positive developments under Horizon 2020.” He says it would be a “disastrous devel- opment for both research and innovation”, and create a “crisis of confidence” within European research. The move may have been floated as a possible solution to a shortage of influential portfolios at the Commission, because of the requirement to host 28 national representatives. There has been much talk about rationalisation, including discussions about a two-tier system or thematic clusters of commissioners. The fact that the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation appears, at first glance, to cover two areas makes it an obvious candidate for separation. Robert-Jan Smits, the Commission’s director-gener- al of research and innovation, says researchers should not be unduly concerned as no decision has been made. “There are a lot of rumours about the restructur- ing, and at the moment these are just gossip,” he says. According to Smits, Jean-Claude Juncker, the pro- spective president of the Commission, is taking care of tasks such as appointing a successor to Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign affairs representative, and ensuring that there are enough female commis- sioners, before moving on to assigning individual portfolios. “There is a long way to go,” he says. The biggest concern is that separating research and innovation would cause a division between topics that rely heavily on each other. “In the Commission, a Directorate-General is a Directorate-General and a commissioner is a commissioner, and they always care about their own things,” says Bourguignon. Because of this, independent structures would lead to narrow- er thinking on both sides of the divide, he says. It would also cause practical issues for research administration, says Tindemans. “It would lead to enormous infighting at the level of civil servants and commissioners,” he says. “Horizon 2020 would have to be split up in impossible and arbitrary ways.” Smits points out that any change would mark a clear reversal of the combination of research and innovation in Horizon 2020. “We took a very deliberate decision to combine the two. I can hardly imagine people are going to separate it again,” he says. “It would go against the philosophy we’ve been working towards.” Kurt Deketelaere, secretary-general of the League of European Research Universities, agrees. “Over the past 5 years we have been doing everything to emphasise innovation and the link with research,” he says. “All the structures have been reorganised, and if the deci- sion were made to change all that again, and split it between two commissioners, it would be very strange.” Deketelaere says he would like to see DG Research and Innovation strengthened with the addition of higher education and parts of the economic port- folio—partly to make the brief more attractive to commissioners. “There must be 28 commissioners and 28 portfolios, which is not easy, but an effort must be made to keep policy fields that are literally supporting each other together,” he says. “Then, perhaps, we could hope that one of the big member states would look at research and innovation as an impor- tant portfolio.” 17 July 2014 Updated daily at www.ResearchResearch.com by Laura Greenhalgh [email protected] Every new opportunity for research funding from every sponsor in the EU, US & beyond Independent news Direct from Brussels Issue No. 391 Europe’s best should help close innovation divide – p6 Economics Data sharing is caring – p7 Horizon 2020 Rejected applicants angered by lack of feedback – p5

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Page 1: Commission warned against reshuffle¸e_Lars/OtherInformation/RE391.pdf · Commission warned against reshuffle Research and innovation split would be ‘disastrous’ Science lobbyiStS

Commission warned against reshuffleResearch and innovation split would be ‘disastrous’Science lobbyiStS have expressed fears that research and innovation could be split into separate portfolios under the next European Commission, with potentially severe consequences for EU research.

Speculation about the reorganisation has surfaced in Brussels as plans unfold for the next set of com-missioners, due to take office in November. Research representatives say they are concerned that research and innovation could be placed in separate offices, affecting the implementation of Horizon 2020.

“The separation between innovation and research would be bad news, because having them together has forced people to put themselves in a different state of mind,” Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, president of the European Research Council, told Research Europe.

According to Peter Tindemans, secretary-general of EuroScience: “It’s a real threat, because it seems to be being seriously considered, and if it happens it will really backtrack on positive developments under Horizon 2020.” He says it would be a “disastrous devel-opment for both research and innovation”, and create a “crisis of confidence” within European research.

The move may have been floated as a possible solution to a shortage of influential portfolios at the Commission, because of the requirement to host 28 national representatives. There has been much talk about rationalisation, including discussions about a two-tier system or thematic clusters of commissioners. The fact that the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation appears, at first glance, to cover two areas makes it an obvious candidate for separation.

Robert-Jan Smits, the Commission’s director-gener-al of research and innovation, says researchers should not be unduly concerned as no decision has been made. “There are a lot of rumours about the restructur-ing, and at the moment these are just gossip,” he says.

According to Smits, Jean-Claude Juncker, the pro-spective president of the Commission, is taking care of tasks such as appointing a successor to Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign affairs representative, and ensuring that there are enough female commis-sioners, before moving on to assigning individual

portfolios. “There is a long way to go,” he says. The biggest concern is that separating research

and innovation would cause a division between topics that rely heavily on each other. “In the Commission, a Directorate-General is a Directorate-General and a commissioner is a commissioner, and they always care about their own things,” says Bourguignon. Because of this, independent structures would lead to narrow-er thinking on both sides of the divide, he says.

It would also cause practical issues for research administration, says Tindemans. “It would lead to enormous infighting at the level of civil servants and commissioners,” he says. “Horizon 2020 would have to be split up in impossible and arbitrary ways.”

Smits points out that any change would mark a clear reversal of the combination of research and innovation in Horizon 2020. “We took a very deliberate decision to combine the two. I can hardly imagine people are going to separate it again,” he says. “It would go against the philosophy we’ve been working towards.”

Kurt Deketelaere, secretary-general of the League of European Research Universities, agrees. “Over the past 5 years we have been doing everything to emphasise innovation and the link with research,” he says. “All the structures have been reorganised, and if the deci-sion were made to change all that again, and split it between two commissioners, it would be very strange.”

Deketelaere says he would like to see DG Research and Innovation strengthened with the addition of higher education and parts of the economic port-folio—partly to make the brief more attractive to commissioners. “There must be 28 commissioners and 28 portfolios, which is not easy, but an effort must be made to keep policy fields that are literally supporting each other together,” he says. “Then, perhaps, we could hope that one of the big member states would look at research and innovation as an impor-tant portfolio.”

17 July 2014Updated daily at www.ResearchResearch.com

by Laura Greenhalgh [email protected]

Every new opportunity for research funding from every sponsor in the EU, US & beyond

Independent news

Direct from Brussels

Issue No. 391

Europe’s best should help close innovation divide – p6Economics Data sharing is caring – p7

Horizon 2020 Rejected applicants angered by lack of feedback – p5

Page 2: Commission warned against reshuffle¸e_Lars/OtherInformation/RE391.pdf · Commission warned against reshuffle Research and innovation split would be ‘disastrous’ Science lobbyiStS

Edited by Colin [email protected]: +44 20 7216 6500Fax: +44 20 7216 6501 Unit 111, 134-146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR

2 editorial Research Europe, 17 July 2014

It’s a Mooc trapThe consequences of massive open online courses are unknowable, but likely to be wide-ranging

What to do about Moocs? It’s a question dogging every university depart-ment in the world, and one the League of European Research Universities tried to address in a paper published last month (see Insider, page 13).

Nobody in university administration saw these freely available, online courses coming, and it is impossible at this stage to gauge what their eventual impact on higher education will be. But it is becoming increas-ingly clear that it will be a big impact, to the extent that Moocs may change the very nature of teaching-based universities in Europe.

A decade or so ago, many established universities and some newer, commercial institutions identified the development of internet-based distance learning as a potential cash cow. They would produce online courses at relatively low cost, they thought, and then sell them on, either through other institutions or directly to students, for profit.

That idea came to very little, as the initial online materials weren’t good enough to constitute any kind of replacement for real, live teaching.

But as technology continues to improve, online teaching materials are becoming more effective. The open-access movement has helped to cul-tivate the concept—which might once have seemed peculiar—that those who can create such courses should put them online for free. There’s also a realisation that such online materials should be available to the general public, not just to enrolled students.

University administrators and ageing department heads must now work out how to cope with this strange creature. Let’s hope they manage rather better than the likes of travel agencies and newspaper publishers, whose ways of working have been upended by the internet.

When internet access became widely available, newspapers felt obliged to put content online for free. But once it was free, far fewer people were willing to pay for it. The industry is now in crisis, with many local papers closing and readers and revenues migrating to a handful of central pro-viders such as The Guardian and The New York Times.

Universities have to take care not to follow the same path, especially given the growing tendency worldwide for advanced degrees to be taught in English, which is creating greater competition. Some smaller coun-tries, such as Norway, have already recognised this and put public money into the development of local-language Moocs to fend off competition from English-language Moocs [RE 3/7/14, p17].

Moocs present opportunities as well as dangers. Their arrival is forc-ing university leaders to think hard about how they teach now and how they’ll teach in the future. There’s a chance to strike up collaborations and to integrate research, and the new knowledge it creates, into teach-ing more rapidly and adroitly than before.

Leading research universities may seek shelter in the diversity of their activities, including research and postgraduate education. But the face-to-face teaching of large numbers of undergraduate students is the core function of the bulk of Europe’s universities. That function is heading for a major transformation, and we can only guess at the shape it will take.

e l s e w h e r e“There is really not a threat.”Henry Markram, director of the Human Brain Project, says cognitive scientists should not worry about money being taken away from them to be spent on the computing initia-tive. National Post, 8/7/14.

“It is a break from the past.”European Rail Research Advisory Council vice-chairman Andy Doherty explains why Shift2Rail’s level of Pan-European collaboration on railway technology makes the public-private partnership so innovative. Horizon Magazine, 4/7/14.

“I challenge the Commission to make its officials carry out long-term internships in companies devastated by its decisions.”A French socialist MP, Isabelle Bruneau, attacks EU competition policy for destroy-ing innovative companies and favouring big business. EurActiv, 10/7/14.

“The financial crisis has not helped the situation.”Giovanni Battista Migliori, secretary-general of the European Respiratory Society, says cuts to national funding have hindered potential progress in finding a cure to tuberculosis. The Parliament, 10/7/14.

“J-C Juncker has confirmed that the post of Chief Scientific Advisor will be contin-ued in his presidency.”European Conservatives and Reformists MEP Julie Girling tweets the news that the incoming European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will maintain the post of chief scientific adviser, introduced by his predecessor José Manuel Barroso. Science Business, 10/7/14.

“He is an enthusiastic gentleman profes-sor...the right person in the right moment at the right place.”Jerzy Langer, a former deputy science min-ister in Poland, describes his colleague Jerzy Buzek, former Polish prime minister and incoming head of Itre, the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy committee. Science, 10/7/14.

d e c a d e

“I wonder if research should be some kind of federal priority.”France’s research minister François d’Aubert says governments should put European science efforts ahead of national priorities, to make the conti-nent more competitive.

Research Europe, 15 July 2004

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014 news 3

w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n

Juncker said to back CSA positionA UK MEP has said that the European Commission’s president-designate Jean-Claude Juncker intends to maintain the post of chief scientific adviser during his presidency. On 8 July, European Conservatives and Reformists MEP Julie Girling announced on Twitter that Juncker had confirmed to her that he would retain the post during his presidency. The post was created by outgoing president José Manuel Barroso and has been held by Anne Glover since 2012.

Buzek to head Parliament’s research agendaJerzy Buzek, a former prime minister of Poland, has been named chairman of Itre, the European Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee. Buzek, a chemical engineer by training, has been a conservative MEP for the European People’s Party for more than a decade. He was also president of the Parliament from 2009 to 2011 and is a long-time champion of research issues.

No solutions yet for Swiss participationRobert-Jan Smits, the European Commission’s director-general for research and innovation, met Mauro Dell’Ambrogio, Switzerland’s state secretary for research, on 10 July to discuss how the country might resume its participation in Horizon 2020. The meeting, at which the pair discussed various technical issues related to Switzerland’s involvement, was classed as unofficial, with both sides agreeing not to disclose details of what was discussed.

Jet fusion funding securedThe European Commission has signed an agreement to fund the Joint European Torus fusion experiment in Oxfordshire in the UK until 2018. On 8 July, the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, which operates Jet, said the first instalments of the €283-million total had already been received. Funding for Jet was meant to run out in 2015 to make way for the Iter fusion project in France. But as Iter is not expected to produce fusion for another decade, concern had been raised that Jet’s on-time termination could damage the EU’s ability to perform fusion research.

Science 2.0 consultation opensThe European Commission’s Science 2.0 consultation on adapting Europe’s research to the future is open for comments. The consultation, launched on 3 July, is targeted at universities, research organisations, funders, libraries, academies and businesses involved in science. Its aim is to gather views on how science should be governed in the face of emerging digital technologies and changing ways of doing research.

Academics must get behind philanthropy, says LeruResearch-intensive universities should encourage philanthropic donations to protect rare disciplines and increase their funds, a report by the League of European Research Universities has said. In order to win more funding, senior staff such as rectors and vice-chancellors must get behind fundraising efforts and build long-term relationships with donors, the report says.

European researcher pension fund expected in 2015The European Commission is to host an event in October to explain how Resaver, its planned European researcher mobile pension scheme, will function. Before then, a consortium of interested employers will be created to draw up the Resaver contributions plan for research organisations and their employers. Resaver is expected to begin in 2015.

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Research Europe, 17 July 20144 news

Human Brain Project reaches out to criticsThe directors of the Human Brain Project have asked to talk to a group of cognitive neuroscientists who last week issued a damning indictment of the project’s goals.

The project’s management team, based at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, and the European Commission issued a statement on 11 July that contains an attempt at reconciliation, saying they want a “direct scientific exchange” on all aspects of the project. They said they wanted to address concerns voiced in an open letter that had been sent to the Commission on 7 July, but that the Commission itself would not be involved in the discussion.

The letter was signed by more than 650 scientists, most of whom are cognitive neuroscientists who object to the project’s heavy emphasis on computer simulation. It says that the project’s plan to build a computerised model of the brain is not possible with existing knowl-edge and without taking into account cognitive science that explains brain processes.

“We are spending a huge amount of money on a very narrow and wrong research approach,” says Ad Aertsen, a signatory and neurobiologist at the University of Freiburg. “This is being presented as a brain science project, but it is mainly for developing computing infra-structure. In the end not much will come of it, and this could be very damaging for the field of brain research.”

The Human Brain Project, established last year, is expected to receive more than €1 billion through

Horizon 2020 and participating institutions. The pro-ject has 13 sub-initiatives that address different parts of brain science and computing technologies.

Critics of the project say that at least one of these sub-areas should focus on cognitive science. They also want to see more scientific diversity on the project’s review panels.

The project managers, however, say that dividing funding even further would dilute the project’s mis-sion. “The individuals criticising the project want the allocation of funds to be thinly spread across many small projects,” says a spokesman. He adds that cognitive research is included in the project’s funding stream to construct its ICT structure.

Other critics worry that the Human Brain Project is as much a marketing push for European science as a genuine research effort. One scientist at Birkbeck, University of London, said the study of brain activity through computing was itself controversial and riddled with conflict, making communication between scien-tists complicated.

But Alexander Borst, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, says that it will be dif-ficult to address the project’s core goals and structure now, as it is already up and running. “All we can do is limit the damage,” he says.

by Inga Vesper [email protected]

Gender guidelines in Horizon 2020 must be made clearer and binding if they are to make a difference to how men and women are treated in EU research.

Participants at the Gender Summit 4 Europe, held in Brussels on 30 June and 1 July, were sceptical about whether the European Commission’s guidelines on gen-der balance in Horizon 2020 would have their intended impact. The guidelines, launched in February, were criti-cised for being too fuzzy and failing to include flagship programmes such as the European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

Applicants to these programmes are exempt from explaining how their projects will ensure that both male and female needs and perspectives are taken into account. “If applicants do not consider these issues then they don’t deserve to have the grant,” says Hans Borchgrevink, vice-chairman of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions advisory group. “It should not be an exception.”

The Commission’s guidelines tell applicants to incor-porate gender aspects in their proposals, for instance by ensuring that medical research uses both male and female test subjects. The guidelines also aim to increase

the number of female grant winners and the number of women on advisory panels.

To achieve these goals, a “gender expert group” will be recruited to assess how well each Horizon 2020 pro-posal takes gender into consideration. However, the Commission came under fire at the summit for its loose definition of what constitutes a gender expert. “Many people believe they have sufficient knowledge on gender but I think very few have,” Borchgrevink says. “You need to have a checklist and instructions for evaluators.”

Viviane Willis-Mazzichi, head of gender at the Commission’s research directorate, responded that the guidelines were not intended to be too prescriptive. “It’s far from a binding act for the moment,” she said.

The gender summit attracted about 300 participants from academia and EU institutions. The majority of par-ticipants were women, which caused some concerns. “As we know, we have deans and rectors who are predomi-nantly male, and many of them are not involved,” said one participant.

e u r o p e

Vague gender guidelines miss target, summit hearsby Jenny Maukola in Brussels

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014 news 5

Lack of Horizon 2020 feedback worries managersResearch managers are asking the European Commission for more feedback on Horizon 2020 proposals to help candidates tailor their applications.

According to the managers, more guidance is needed after the first round of evaluation to allow researchers to improve their proposals, as well as a clearer expla-nation when projects are not funded. A lack of such information is leaving managers in the dark about what the Commission is looking for, and risks discouraging researchers and businesses from reapplying, they say.

“It’s very worrying that they don’t give you feedback from first stage to second stage,” says Yulia Matskevich, research development manager at Brunel University in London. “In Framework 7, they gave feedback to allow researchers to refine their proposals.”

More information would help researchers to develop better proposals, she says, particularly in light of the Commission’s abandonment of post-evaluation nego-tiations, which means that projects will be funded as they are submitted.

Michael Browne, head of European research and inno-vation at University College London, says: “If someone has spent months preparing a bid, it’s important to make sure they understand why they’ve not been fund-

ed. Following the lack of feedback, participants such as small businesses may choose not to apply again.”

The changes may be explained by the decision to restructure DG Research and send work to the agencies. The Commission’s plan to shorten the time to grant to 8 months may also have contributed. But as well as result-ing in a lack of feedback, this will give researchers less time to complete essential project paperwork, says Matskevich.

The extension of the model grant agreement from a 15-page document to more than 600 pages for Horizon 2020 is a particular problem, says Browne, especially because parts of the agreement remain unclear. A func-tioning helpdesk would be a welcome addition to allow managers to get quick answers to queries, he says.

If the Commission is looking for ways to reduce time pressures, one option would be to take fewer propos-als through to the second stage, suggests Matskevich, because in calls such as personalising health, too many proposals have been kept in the running. “Not filtering enough proposals means they need more evaluators, which is a waste of resources,” she says. “It’s lots of extra work for both sides.”

by Laura Greenhalgh [email protected]

Teaming incentives for strong performers unclearHorizon 2020’s teaming initiative, aimed at reduc-ing R&D disparities between regions, may not provide enough incentives for “advanced” countries to create partnerships, an event has heard.

The Teaming for Excellence programme is intended to generate specialised research centres in low-performing EU countries, through partnerships with more advanced countries. But as most of the finances are set aside for the weaker partner, the advanced countries may not want to make the effort to establish long-term partnerships.

“The approach fits the beneficiaries in the low-per-forming countries, but I don’t see a lot of benefits for other countries,” says Klaus Schuch, a strategic research manager at the Centre for Social Innovation in Austria.

The initiative’s plan says that the advanced countries should benefit through the expansion of their networks. But at an information day for Horizon 2020’s Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation calls, held in Brussels on 3 July, one Finnish participant said her institution already had a long-term partner university in Portugal, and that the initiative was unlikely to encour-age her organisation to create further partnerships.

Jerzy Langer, a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, says, however, that teaming would still work if applied to established partnerships. “It simply means streamlining money and possibilities into something that has already been proven to work,” he says.

It is expected that the centres created through the €270-million teaming programme will be based on smart specialisation—through which EU countries with low economic performance are encouraged to spend on R&D fields in which their performance is already strong. Horizon 2020 money will pay for operational costs, train-ing and staff exchanges at the centres, but funding for infrastructure and research projects must come from national budgets and structural funds. “The project needs to have a substantial financial contribution from a nation-al authority,” said Greg Ambroziewicz, a call coordinator in the European Commission’s research directorate.

But Schuch says the lack of financial benefits for advanced countries would make it “more logical” to fully fund the programme through structural funds.

by Jenny Maukola [email protected]

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Research Europe, 17 July 20146 news

Reaching outLars Walløe, outgoing president of the Academia Europaea, talks to Penny Sarchet about his efforts to close the EU’s widening innovation gap.

When it was founded in 1988, the idea of the Academia Europaea was to give a voice to the best researchers, scholars and scientists across Europe. Lars Walløe’s pres-idency, however, which began 20 years later, was very much a product of its time: dominated by the financial crisis and a continued struggle to widen participation to eastern academics.

“Of course we had some problems,” says Walløe, a Norwegian physiologist. “The financial crisis hit us, and academic institutions wanted to keep their money for their own use because they had so little of it. It was not easy to get support for the Academia Europaea.”

The academy, which charges a voluntary annual sub-scription fee, was hit hard 3 years ago when budget cuts across Europe took their toll. Walløe weathered the storm by moving administration and personnel from a costly London office to Austria’s University of Graz and the academy’s regional hub in Wrocław, Poland. Further hubs have since been set up in Barcelona and Bergen, Norway.

Although the intention 26 years ago was to attract all of Europe’s excellent scientists to take part, the initia-tive has ended up with a large proportion of academics from Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK and, to a less-er extent, Germany. The creation of the three hubs is Walløe’s attempt to broaden its focus.

The Bergen hub was launched this spring and is intended to coordinate regional activity not only in the Nordics but also in the Baltic countries. Walløe says, with tongue in cheek, that this could even include Scotland if the nation chooses independence from the rest of the

UK this September. The Barcelona hub’s raison d’être, meanwhile, is to stick up for southern Europe at a time when the European Commission’s Innovation Union Scoreboard shows that the inno-vation gap between the north and south is widening.

Walløe chose Barcelona as a hub location based on his experiences as a European Research Council panel member. In the first two rounds of ERC calls, he was impressed by how much effort Barcelona’s academic institutions put into supporting their researchers. “That made me think that a Barcelona hub would

be ideal, because local people, not necessarily in formal positions, were interested in helping researchers.”

Widening participation is not the only issue weigh-ing heavy on Walløe’s mind—the loss of specialisms at universities troubles him too. “All European universities are now more market-driven,” he says. “Each individual university has to make economic considerations, which means that many disciplines and subjects that don’t have many students are closed down.”

He is concerned that unpopular but valuable subjects are being lost in Europe, and would like to see univer-sities collaborate in more esoteric fields, catering to students who, although less numerous, are also more mobile. If student numbers are lost because of market forces, the research in those fields will ultimately be lost too, says Walløe. He thinks the mind-set of European students needs to become more like that of their peers in the United States. In the US system, students are pre-pared to travel further for excellent education in their preferred subject area. If students were more willing to do this in Europe, it could help bolster research efforts in the south and the east, he says.

“If you look to the US, the best universities are on either the eastern or western coast, but every state has at least one topic or discipline that is excellent in its local university.” He believes European money should be provided for such specialisation, and that students should then travel across Europe to study their chosen subject wherever it is taught best. Walløe is adamant that poor countries in Europe cannot be expected to fund this development by themselves.

And European funders also have a role to play in improving excellence in Europe, Walløe says. Despite being an ERC panel member this year for the fifth time, he thinks the institution has taken attention away from the Commission’s quest to support struggling regions. To counteract the excellence focus of the ERC, other instru-ments, such as structural funding, are needed as well, he says. These should be used to build specialist expertise in poorer regions, to help prevent them from falling any further behind Europe’s innovation leaders.

Walløe’s successor was due to be elected at the acad-emy’s meeting in Barcelona on 16 July, after Research Europe went to print. Asked if there is any advice he would give to the next president, Walløe laughs and quips: “Of course, it is to continue the work I’ve tried to do.” More to say? Email [email protected]

i n t e r v i e w l a r s w a l l ø e

Lars Walløe

* 2 0 0 8 - 2 0 1 4 P r e s i d e n t , Academia Europaea

* 2 0 0 8 - p r e s e n t E m e r i t u s professor of physiology, University of Oslo

* 2001-2004 Member of the E u r o p e a n C o m m i s s i o n ’ s European Research Advisory Board

* 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 0 3 C h a i r m a n , Standing Committee for Life, Earth and Environmental Sciences, European Science Foundation

* 1 9 9 7 - 2 0 0 4 P r e s i d e n t , Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014 comment 7

Economists need incentives if sharing is to become the norm

a n d r e o l i - v e r s b a c h & m u e l l e r - l a n g e r v i e w

“Hardly anyone takes data analyses seriously. Or perhaps more accurately, hardly anyone takes anyone else’s data analyses seriously.” Since that 1983 remark by econo-mist Edward Leamer, much has been done to, in the words of one paper, take the con out of econometrics. Empirical studies are now better designed, and there is a more concerted search for causal relationships.

But although ‘good’ and ‘credible’ research design is necessary for empirical work in economics, it is not suf-ficient. Researchers’ limited willingness to share their data—we have found that only a small proportion make their data freely available and easy to find online—still threatens the credibility of empirical work.

Economic research has a pervasive effect on policy. Without the possibility of replication and self-correction, policy decisions might be based on inaccurate estimates.

A prominent example was the work of Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff, whose 2010 finding of a nega-tive relation between debt and growth was used by policymakers to justify austerity. Long after the results went public and the work had an effect on policy deci-sions, Reinhart and Rogoff provided some researchers with the working Excel spreadsheet from their analysis.

Last year, a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reanalysed Reinhart and Rogoff’s data and found that “coding errors, selective exclusion of avail-able data, and unconventional weighting of summary statistics” led to a wrong estimate of the relationship between growth and austerity, although the team’s results were not dramatically different.

Two aspects of the story are worth emphasising. First, although Reinhart and Rogoff did not release their research data at the time of publication, they did ulti-mately provide them, thereby facilitating the detection of their error. Second, the authors provided both the original data and the code to transform the data. Had they provided only the final data set, with the transfor-mations already done, the mistake would never have been found.

Unfortunately, this inability to replicate published results in economics was not an exception. A 1986 study found that only two of 54 published results in the

Journal of Money, Credit and Banking could be replicat-ed. A 2006 study managed to replicate 14 of 69 papers in the same journal, and a 2008 study found that only 19 of 117 papers with data entries published in the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis Review could be replicated.

To quote another economist, Daniel Hamermesh, from 2006: “Economists treat replication...as an ideal to be professed but not to be practised”.

We have analysed the state of data sharing in econom-ics, surveying a random sample of the academic web pages of 488 researchers at 100 leading university economics departments and 50 leading business schools. We found that only 2.46 per cent of the researchers surveyed shared data in a comprehensive and clear way, while another 16.8 per cent did so sporadically. Four out of five econo-mists, then, neither shared data on their academic sites nor indicated whether or where the data were available.

We also found that four factors correlated positive-ly with a researcher’s willingness to share data. These were: possession of academic tenure, research qual-ity measured in terms of citations, the share of articles published in journals with a mandatory data disclosure policy, and personal attitudes towards open science.

Our results suggest that, although most researchers seem to agree that data sharing should be a norm in academia, most do not practise it. At the heart of the debate about data availability is the trade-off between an academic’s incentive to keep data secret, to protect his or her future work from competing researchers, and the wider benefits of data availability, such as replicabil-ity and the detection of wrong results.

Technology has made data sharing easy. Websites such as RunMyCode allow researchers to create a companion page for their paper, where they can post their data in the cloud. Authors can also control whether the data can be downloaded or, if it is proprietary data, permit results to be tested in the cloud without downloading.

Changing the incentives for data sharing is a neces-sity. Such change requires institutional reform. Publishers should follow the exam-ple of the American Economic Association, which requires data and codes to be made available prior to publication in its jour-nals. In addition, universities should reward researchers who share data, and funding agencies should require all the data used in funded projects to be made available. Something to add? Email [email protected]

Patrick Andreoli-Versbach and Frank Mueller-Langer are at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. Andreoli-Versbach is also in the University of Munich’s economics department. Open Access to Data: An ideal professed but not practised is published in Research Policy. They write here in a personal capacity.

‘Most researchers

agree with data sharing

but do not practise it.’

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Research Europe, 17 July 20148 comment

Pick a numberContrasting figures abound on the state of America’s science and technology workforce. The result is evidence to support every policy, finds Rebecca Trager.

‘The most difficult aspect is working out whether supply meets demand.’

l e t t e r f r o m w a s h i n g t o n

It is often put across as common wisdom that the United States has a skills shortage in science and engineering that, without policy action, can only get worse.

In 2011, President Barack Obama called for 10,000 engineers to be trained annually and 100,000 addi-tional teachers to be brought into science, technology, engineering and mathematics by 2020. And in 2012, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology estimated that a million extra STEM gradu-ates would be needed in the next decade.

STEM skills also feature in the immigration debate. Obama, along with powerful figures in Congress and industry, advocates importing more workers with STEM degrees or expertise. Employer groups argue that increased immigration is needed to compensate for a lack of STEM graduates, and the tech industry is push-ing for the number of H-1B temporary visas available for highly skilled workers to be increased from 65,000 annu-ally to as many as 180,000.

Among the beneficiaries of the perceived national STEM shortage are universities, which can draw in more students—including those from abroad, who pay full tuition—with the promise of job opportunities. Hi-tech employers also benefit because wages are suppressed when there is a large pool of qualified job applicants.

And yet whether the US is truly short of STEM grad-uates remains unclear. This is because of, rather than despite, the plethora of statistics on the issue.

Counting graduates is the easy part. In a report released on 9 May, the congressional Government Accountability Office said the number of STEM degrees awarded in the US had grown by 55 per cent between 2002 and 2012: from 1.35 million to more than 2m. Trickier to determine is how many STEM jobs await these

graduates. The GAO reported that the num-ber of jobs in STEM fields jumped by 16 per cent between 2004 and 2012, from 14.2m to 16.5m, while the number of non-STEM jobs remained steady.

Different bodies have produced differ-ent figures, however, all using different criteria. In July 2011, the Department of Commerce concluded that 7.6m peo-ple had worked in STEM jobs in 2010, comprising about 5.5 per cent of the US workforce. In January 2013, the National Science Foundation put the figure for 2010

at 12.4m. The NSF’s count includes several professions excluded by the commerce department, such as health-care, psychology and social science.

There is no consensus among the various data sources about how to define a STEM worker: for example, must a STEM worker hold a degree in a STEM field or simply have a job that requires the use of a scientific or techni-cal discipline?

And most difficult of all is determining whether the supply of STEM graduates matches the demand for their skills. The GAO concluded that it could not determine whether workforce needs were being met—partly, it said, because demand for STEM workers can “fluctuate” with economic conditions.

Meanwhile, a May report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a not-for-profit research organi-sation that advocates immigration reduction in the US, concluded from census data that the country had more than twice as many workers with STEM degrees as there were STEM jobs. It found that there were more than 5m native-born Americans with STEM undergraduate degrees working in non-STEM occupations in 2012, and another 1.2m who were unemployed or out of the labour force.

None of the figures are definitive, says Robert Charette, president of ITABHI Corporation, a business and technology risk management consultancy based in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Charette believes that minor skills shortages in certain career fields have been used to create a “massive issue” about STEM graduates being-needed to save the US and help it regain its competitive edge. “It is a little over the top,” he says. “The stats that people use to claim there is a shortage are very squishy.”

Jeff Neal, senior vice-president of ICF International, a technology and policy consulting firm in Fairfax, Virginia, says there is a genuine skills shortage. He thinks that better data are needed about “that point where supply and demand meet”.

Neal notes that the Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers employment data on individual locations, identifying where particular talents are in short supply. Better analy-sis and presentation of these data, he says, could help employers work out why, for example, certain jobs remain vacant. “You can get a massive amount of data, but they have never been turned into information; just a bunch of data points with dots that haven’t been con-nected,” he says.More to say? Email [email protected]

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EU H2020 bio researchHorizon 2020: Societal Challenges and the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking invite proposals for their H2020-BBI-PPP-2014-1 Bio Based Industries call. The budget is €50 million [25].

EU H2020 hydrogen/fuelHorizon 2020: Societal Challenges and the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking invite proposals for their H2020-JTI-FCH-2014-1 FCH2 JU call. The budget is €93 million [26].

EU H2020 medicineHorizon 2020: Societal Challenges and the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking invite proposals for their H2020-JTI-IMI2-2014-01 IMI2 call. The budget is €49.26 million [27].

EU cooperationERA-Net ERANet-LAC invites proposals for its call on pilot coordination actions. Awards are worth up to €15,000 [31].

NWO social protectionThe Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research's Division of Science for Global Development invites proposals under its social protection programme. The budget is €2.1 million [40].

funding opportunitiesevery new opportunity every discipline

Research Europe 17 July 2014

Opportunities from previous issues of Research Europe, listed by closing date. European Commission and associated funders marked EU.

Each entry is followed by a Web id

July

d e a d l i n e sh i g h l i g h t s

N O t t O b Ep H O t O c O p i E D

For subscriptions call +44 20 7216 6500

e u r o p eEU fuel deployment The Directorate-General for Energy invites tenders for a study on mapping and analy-ses of the current and future heating or cooling fuel deployment. The tenderer will provide a comprehensive view of the European heating and cooling sector, both in terms of quantities, types and qualities of the fuels and in terms of the energy transformation technologies currently used. The contract is worth an estimated €1.3 million over 16 months. Web id: 1180320Email: [email protected]: 4 August 2014 [1]

EU smart citiesThe Directorate-General for Energy invites tenders for a study on analysing the potential for wide-scale roll-out of inte-grated smart cities and communities solutions. The tenderer will contribute to the European innovation partnership on smart cities and communities and its aim of conceiving and promoting scalable and transferable solutions to the EU's climate action goals of reducing high energy con-sumption, greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion as well as improving air quality. The maximum budget available is €800,000 over 15 months.Web id: 1180484Email: [email protected]: 7 August 2014 [2]

EU maritime cO2 emissionsThe Directorate-General for Climate Action invites tenders for a study on the potential impact of design choices for monitoring, reporting and verification of CO2 emissions from maritime transport. The tenderer will provide support to the Commission services during the prepara-tion of the proposals for technical legisla-tion to implement a monitoring, reporting and verification system for CO2 emissions from individual ships. The contract is worth up to €180,000 over 18 months. Web id: 1180426Email: [email protected]: 14 August 2014 [3]

EU construction observatoryThe Executive Agency for Small and Medi-um-sized Enterprises invites tenders for the competitiveness of the EU construc-tion sector observatory. The tenderer will provide European policymakers and stakeholders with regular analysis and comparative assessments of the mar-ket conditions and policy developments related to the construction sector in the 28 EU member states. The contract is worth up to €300,000 over 12 months. Web id: 1180587Email: [email protected]: 18 August 2014 [4]

EU transport studies The Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport invites tenders for the:

•preparation of EU guidelines on urban

25 UK British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Terry Hennessey microbiology fellowship 1177721

UK Lush prize 1173005

UK Wellcome Trust sustaining health 1174734

28 EU Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport study on differenti-ated port infrastructure charges to promote environmentally friendly maritime transport activities and sustainable transport 1179957

EU Joint Research Centre study for the composition of an inventory of critical raw materials used in the EU defence sector 1180234

29 EU Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy ex-post evaluation of the cohesion policy programme 2007-2013 financed by the Europe-an Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund: urban development and social infrastructure 1180053

30 EU Directorate-General for Employ-ment, Social Affairs & Inclusion social policy innovations supporting reforms in social services 1179695

EU Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport study on cruise ship security 1174172

EU Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport study on the collation and dissemination of information regarding piracy and armed robbery 1174148

31 UK Centre for Economic Policy Re-search exploratory grants 1165770

SE Club 300 Foundation bird protec-tion project grants 1165586

FR Danone Institute research grant - yoghurt in nutrition 1179299

UK European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology visiting scholarship 201519

AU International Education Asso-ciation of Australia research grants 1168891

FR International Union of Railways innovation awards 2014 1178850

Jp Univers Foundation research grants 1180351

August1 EU EUREKA call for joint technologi-

cal innovation projects 1179130 NL European Hematology Associa-

tion non-clinical advanced research fellowships 1179809

NL European Hematology As-sociation/International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis joint fellowship programme 1161545

DE European Molecular Biology Organisation workshops 212932

4 EU ERA-Net Plus NEWA call for proposals 1179989

5 NO University of Oslo environmental archaeological analysis 1180127

7 EU Directorate-General for the En-vironment efficient functioning of waste markets in the EU — legisla-tive and policy options 1180178

EU Directorate-General for the Environment service contract sup-porting the evaluation of the envi-ronmental noise directive 1180177

13 FR Human Frontier Science Programme long-term fellowships 204886

EU Joint Research Centre analysis of private R&D investments and patent data in different sectors, thematic areas and societal chal-lenges 1178643

14 EU Directore-General for Health and Consumers healthy diet: early years and ageing population 1179967

iN Wellcome Trust intermediate fellowships for researchers in India 210116

15 UK Cancer Research UK research bursaries for clinicians and profes-sions allied to medicine 213544

EU Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport study on the state of art of electronic tolling 1179882

DE European Society of Gastroin-testinal Endoscopy given imaging research grant 1165594

DE European Society of Gastroin-testinal Endoscopy research grants 1165590

NL Van Tienhoven Foundation for International Nature Protection grant 1173598

18 EU Directorate-General for Com-munications Networks, Content and Technology study on identification of the market radio equipment op-erating in licence-exempt frequency bands 1180221

EU European Centre for Disease Pre-vention and Control external quality assessment schemes for supporting the surveillance of Legionnaires' disease 1180347

Online Funding Search

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For full details of every funding opportunity, visit www.ResearchProfessional.com

Online subscribers can view full details of any funding opportunity by simply searching for the Web id number as free text in a funding search.

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10 funding opportunities Research Europe, 17 July 2014

membrane technology in water purifica-tion or sanitation; membrane bioreactor applications at domestic and industrial wastewater management; reuse of munic-ipal or industrial wastewater. Projects may have a duration of up to three years. Web id: 1180251Email: [email protected]: 15 October 2014 [28]

Diagnostics fellowshipsThe German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Roche Diagnostics invite applications for their postdoctoral pro-gramme. This offers scholarships for advanced research placements at the bio-technology centre in Penzberg, Germany. Awards include a monthly allowance of €2,250 and a supplementary family allowance. Travel costs, insurance and a German language course may be covered as well. Scholarships have a duration of up to 24 months. Web id: 1169711Email: [email protected] deadline [29]

interdisciplinary scienceThe European Molecular Biology Labo-ratory and Marie Curie Actions invite applications for their interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowships. These support projects that bring together overlapping but separate scientific fields and involve transferring techniques to a novel con-text. Funding will support around 20 fellows for a period of three years.Web id: 1160270Email: [email protected]: 11 September 2014 [30]

EU cooperation programmeERA-Net ERANet-LAC invites proposals for its call on pilot coordination actions. This offers technical and financial sup-port for strategic meetings to establish a long-lasting frame for coordination of programmes between EU and Latin America and the Caribbean countries. Awards are worth up to €15,000 and cover travel and meetings costs. Web id: 1180577Email: [email protected]: 1 October 2014 [31]

Research in GermanyThe Volkswagen Stiftung invites applica-tion for its freigeist fellowships. These support young researchers wishing to develop an individual research profile early in their career. Fellowships are available for five years and, depending on the field of research and experience of the candidate, are worth up to €1 mil-lion. Funding may be used for salaries, travel expenses and equipment. 10 to 15 fellowships will be awarded each year.Web id: 1180470Deadline: 15 October 2014 [32]

EU labour market informationCedefop invites tenders for labour mar-ket information in lifelong guidance. This supports the guidance and career education activities of employment ser-vices, training providers and schools as well as the design of self-help tools. The estimated budget is €190,000 over 15 months.Web id: 1180488Email: [email protected]: 15 September 2014 [34]

European works councils in the transport sector in order to assess their effective-ness in reaching their objectives and their compliance with the objectives of the EWC directives. The estimated value of the contract is €150,000 over nine months. Web id: 1180561Email: move-b-adviser-social@ec. europa.euDeadline: 16 September 2014 [22]

EU H2020 technology researchThe European Commission Horizon 2020: Industrial Leadership and the ECSEL Joint Undertaking invite proposals for the fol-lowing calls:

•ECSEL-2014-1 research and innova-tion actions call. The budget is €80 mil-lion. Web id: 1180686

•ECSEL-2014-2 innovation actions call. The budget is €190 million. Web id: 1180687Deadline: 17 September 2014 [24]

EU H2020 bio-based researchThe European Commission Horizon 2020: Societal Challenges and the Bio-based Industries Joint Undertaking invite pro-posals for their H2020-BBI-PPP-2014-1 Bio Based Industries call. Proposals may address a range of topics related to bio-based industries. The budget for this call is €50 million. Web id: 1180678Deadline: 15 October 2014 [25]

EU H2020 clean skyThe European Commission: Societal Challenges and the Clean Sky Joint Undertaking invite proposals for their H2020-CS2-CPW01-2014-01 clean sky 2 call for core partners. Proposals may address a range of topics within clean sky research. The budget is €206 million.Web id: 1180688Deadline: 15 October 2014 [25.1]

EU H2020 hydrogen and fuelThe European Commission Horizon 2020: Societal Challenges and the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking invites proposals for their H2020-JTI-FCH-2014-1 FCH2 JU call. Proposals may address a range of topics within transport, energy, overarching projects and cross-cutting activities related to hydrogen and fuel cells. The budget is €93 million. Web id: 1180666Deadline: 6 November 2014 [26]

EU H2020 medicine researchThe European Commission Horizon 2020: Societal Challenges and the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking invite proposals for their H2020-JTI-IMI2-2014-01 IMI2 call. Proposals may address the following two topics: IMI2-2014-01-01 translational approaches to disease modifying therapy of type 1 diabetes mellitus; IMI2-2014-01-02 dis-covery and validation of novel endpoints in dry age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. The budget is €49.26 million.Web id: 1180682Deadline: 12 November 2014 [27]

EU clean water and health ERA-Net INNO INDIGO invites proposals for its joint call on clean water and health. Proposals may address the following areas: development and applications of

logistics. The contract is worth an esti-mated €200,000 over two years. Web id: 1180691

•preparation of EU guidelines on urban vehicle access regulations. The contract is worth an estimated €200,000 over two years. Web id: 1180689Email: [email protected]: 25 August 2014 [6]

EU energy efficiency The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy invites tenders for an ex-post evaluation of cohesion policy programmes between 2007 and 2013 on energy efficiency in public and residen-tial buildings. The tenderer will assess the rationale for types of interventions and early evidence of effectiveness of investments in energy efficiency in public and residential buildings. The estimated value of the contract is €400,000 over nine months. Web id: 1180573E m a i l : r e g i o - b 2 - h e a d - o f - u n i t @ec.europa.euDeadline: 25 August 2014 [7]

EU hydraulic fracturingThe Directorate-General for the Envi-ronment invites tenders for a study on the application of the Commission rec-ommendation on minimum principles for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The tenderer will support the Commission in the monitoring of the implementation of the recommendation on minimum principles for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons using high volume hydraulic fracturing. The value of the contract ranges between €120,000 and €170,000. Web id: 1180592Email: [email protected]: 28 August 2014 [8]

EU career servicesThe Directorate-General for Education and Culture invites tenders for a study on the minimum quality requirements for dual career services. The tenderer will develop a set of minimum quality requirements at European level, which could function as a reference point for national dual career services and facilities, and provide a model of a quality framework. The esti-mated value of the contract is €200,000. Web id: 1180680Email: [email protected]: 29 August 2014 [9]

EU policy implementation The Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy invites tenders for an ex-post evaluation of cohesion policy programmes between 2007 and 2013. The tenderer will analyse the effective-ness and efficiency of the delivery system of cohesion policy for the 2007 to 2013 period and identify the main success fac-tors. The estimated value of the contract is €1.2 million over 15 months. Web id: 1180575Email: regio-b2-head-of-unit@ec. europa.euDeadline: 29 August 2014 [10]

EU river information serviceThe Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport invites tenders for provision of technical and administrative support to the river information service expert groups. The estimated value of the con-

tract is €150,000 over two years. Web id: 1180657Email: [email protected]: 1 September 2014 [11]

EU waste management The Directorate-General for the Environ-ment invites tenders for a comprehensive assessment of the current waste man-agement situation in south-east Europe and future perspectives for the sector including options for regional coopera-tion in recycling of electric and electronic waste. The estimated value of the contract ranges between €600,000 and €750,000 over two years.Web id: 1180676Email: [email protected]: 1 September 2014 [12]

EU trade regulation The Directorate-General for Trade invites tenders for an evaluation of council regu-lation EC 953/2003 to avoid trade diver-sion of certain key medicines into the EU. The tenderer will assess the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance of the regulation. The estimated value of the contract is €150,000 over nine months. Web id: 1180642Email: [email protected]: 5 September 2014 [13]

EU legal expertiseThe Directorate-General for Justice invites tenders for a European network of legal experts in gender equality and non-discrimination. This will establish and maintain a network of legal expertise in the fields of gender equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of race and ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation. The con-tract is worth an estimated €7.2 million. Web id: 1180614Email: [email protected]: 15 September 2014 [19]

EU sport qualificationsThe Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency invites tenders for a study on sport qualifications acquired through sport organisations and educa-tional institutes. The estimated value of the contract is €300,000 over one year. Web id: 1180619Email: [email protected]: 15 September 2014 [20]

EU coal and steel fundingThe European Commission's Research Fund for Coal and Steel invites proposals for research projects, pilot and dem-onstration projects, and accompany-ing measures. This supports innovative research in the coal and steel sectors. Research, pilot and demonstration pro-jects typically last 36 to 42 months, while accompanying measures typically last 18 months. The total budget is €47.7 million.Web id: 1162304Email: [email protected]: 15 September 2014 [21]

EU transportation researchThe Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport invites tenders for a study on the effectiveness of the European works councils in the transport sector. The tenderer will produce a report on the organisation and activities of the

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014 funding opportunities 11

funding limit for these grants. Web id: 1180438Email: [email protected] No deadline [49]

Humanitarian systemsThe Department for International Devel-opment invites tenders for its humani-tarian evidence systems mapping. The tenderer will address humanitarian research and evaluation systems in east Africa, with a focus on up to three coun-tries in the region. Web id: 1180601Email: [email protected]: 11 August 2014 [50]

coeliac disease grantsCoeliac UK invites applications for its research grants. These support research that aims to advance understanding of coeliac disease and improve the life of people with the condition. The budget is £200,000 (€251,500).Web id: 255029Email: [email protected]: 5 September 2014 [51]

Oxford visiting fellowshipsThe University of Oxford's All Souls Col-lege invites applications for its visiting fellowships. These enable scholars to spend one to three terms carrying out scholarly work in Oxford. The college pro-vides fellows with free meals, residential accommodation and a study.Web id: 202973Email: [email protected]: 5 September 2014 [52]

Meningitis and septicaemiaThe Meningitis Research Foundation invites applications for its research grants. These support research on preven-tion of meningitis and associated infec-tions, improving treatment and outlook for patients, and the speed and accuracy of diagnosis. Project grants are worth up to £150,000 (€188,600) per year for up to five years.Web id: 206637Email: [email protected]: 10 September 2014 [53]

MOD airborne chemicalsThe Ministry of Defence's Centre for Defence Enterprise invites applications for its detection of airborne chemical hazards. This aims to develop novel tech-nical approaches and breakthroughs to improve the information available to the UK armed forces about the presence and nature of chemical hazards. The total budget is £500,000. Web id: 1179457Email: [email protected]: 11 September 2014 [54]

StFc fellowshipsThe Science and Technology Facilities Council invites applications for the Ernest Rutherford fellowships. These enable early-career researchers with clear lead-ership potential to establish a strong, independent research programme within the remit of the STFC core science pro-gramme. Web id: 1163158Email: [email protected]: 25 September 2014 [55]

Energy systems fellowshipsUniversity College Dublin, via its Energy21 Programme, invites applications for the first call of its incoming fellowships:

•level one, worth €68,275 over two years. Web id: 1180582

•level two, worth €79,747 over two years. Web id: 1180583Email: [email protected]: 30 September 2014 [36]

EU machine learning The European Food Safety Authority invites tenders to evaluate machine learn-ing techniques applied in risk assessment related to food safety. The estimated value of the contract is €400,000. Web id: 1180683Email: [email protected]: 1 September 2014 [37]

EU food and health effects The European Food Safety Authority invites applications for its scientific sub-stantiation of health claims made on food call. The call aims at collecting, collating and critically analysing exist-ing information in relation to claimed effects, outcome variables and methods of measurement in the context of scien-tific substantiation of health claims. The cofinancing rate will equal up to 90 per cent of the project costs, provided these do not exceed €200,000.Web id: 1180685Email: [email protected]: 19 September 2014 [38]

NWO social protectionThe Netherlands Organisation for Scien-tific Research's Division of Science for Global Development invites proposals under its social protection programme. This aims to enhance insight in the cost-effectiveness of social protection inter-ventions in achieving inclusive growth in specified low- and middle-income countries, compared to other social poli-cies that aim to achieve the same objec-tive. The total budget for this call is €2.1 million. Grants are worth up to €300,000 per research proposal.Web id: 1180430Email: [email protected]: 1 September 2014 [40]

Heritage awardsEuropa Nostra, supported by the Euro-pean Commission, invites applications for the European Union prize for cultural heritage/Europa Nostra awards. These identify and promote best practices in the conservation of tangible cultural heritage, stimulate the trans-frontier exchanges of knowledge and experi-ence throughout Europe, enhance public awareness and appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage and encourage further initiatives through the power of example. Up to seven entries will be awarded a grand prix which include a monetary award of €10,000. Web id: 1173676Email: [email protected]: 15 October 2014 [41]

photonics grantsThe Institute of Photonic Sciences invites applications for its tenure-track group leader positions. These support young

scientists aiming to start and lead an independent research group. The pro-gramme offers a generous start-up pack-age, state of the art laboratories and engineering support.Web id: 1180442Email: [email protected] deadline [42]

photonic sciences programmeThe Institute of Photonic Sciences invites applications for its international postdoc-toral programme. This provides interna-tional researchers working in photonics with high-level training and support in the early stages of their careers. Funding will include competitive salary, research expenses and support from group leaders. The programme will award up to 25 fellow-ships of two years duration. Web id: 1162929Email: [email protected]: 30 September 2014 [43]

brief therapyThe European Brief Therapy Associa-tion invites proposals for its research grants. These support projects on solution focused brief therapy and its applications. Grants are worth up to €3,500.Web id: 1170211Email: [email protected]: 30 October 2014 [44]

Data preservationThe National Archives of Sweden invites tenders for its research project PREFORMA – preservation formats for culture infor-mation and e-archives. The project aims to address the challenges of implementing good quality standardised file formats for preserving data content in the long term, and give memory institutions full control of the process of the conformity tests to be ingested into archives. The budget is approximately €2.81 million.Web id: 1180447Email: [email protected]: 12 August 2014 [45]

Atherosclerosis prizeThe European Atherosclerosis Society invites nominations for the Anitschkow prize. This recognises outstanding research in the field of atherosclerosis and linked metabolic disturbances. The prize is worth €10,000. Web id: 188332Email: [email protected]: 22 August 2014 [46]

Rheumatology researchThe European League Against Rheuma-tism invites applications for its health professionals research grant. This sup-ports one project in the field of arthritis and rheumatism. The grant is worth up to €30,000.Web id: 196008Email: [email protected]: 13 November 2014 [48]

Accountancy funding The Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland invites applications for its pro-active funding. This provides researchers and institutions anywhere in the world with the opportunity to focus on specific topics of interest that will maximise the impact of the resultant research and be beneficial to the researchers, ICAS and policy makers. There is no upper or lower

Structural biologyInstruct invites proposals for utilis-ing Instruct-funded structural biology techniques. This offers access to any of Instruct's 16 centres in Europe and Israel, with a full range of advanced technologies for obtaining structural and dynamic information on systems in various dimensions, complexity and resolution. In addition to free access, the awards cover travel and consumables. Web id: 1177717Deadline: 26 September 2014 [56]

OrthodonticsThe European Orthodontic Society invites applications for the WJB Houston memo-rial research scholarship. This enables members to visit to a university or non-profit institution to perform orthodon-tics-related research. The award is worth up to £60,000 (€75,500).Web id: 1172184Email: [email protected]: 31 December 2014 [57]

chemistry prizesThe Royal Society of Chemistry invites nominations for the following prizes:

•centenary prizes, worth £5,000 (€6,300) each. Web id: 211181

•the Corday-Morgan prizes, worth £5,000 each. Web id: 206323

•creativity in industry prize, worth £5,000. Web id: 255965

•the De Gennes prize, worth £5,000.Web id: 255972•environment prize, worth £5,000.

Web id: 255975•the Nyholm prize for education, worth

£5,000. Web id: 1164977•the Perkin prize for organic chemistry,

worth £5,000. Web id: 256231Deadline: 15 January 2015 [64]

r e s t o f w o r l d

Science prizesThe Wolf Foundation invites nomina-tions for the Wolf prizes. These recognise achievements in the fields of agriculture, mathematics, medicine or physics. Each prize is worth US$100,000 (€73,500).Web id: 187315Email: [email protected]: 31 August 2014 [66]

pharmaceutical researchShionogi invites applications for its sci-ence programme. This call aims to develop research ideas for superior pharmaceuti-cals. Grants are worth between ¥5 million (€36,300) and ¥15m per year. Web id: 1163122Deadline: 31 October 2014 [67]

Astronomy project grantsThe International Astronomical Union's Office of Astronomy of Development invites proposals for projects relating to astronomy for universities and research. Proposals must address priorities within the IAU's 10-year strategic plan which aims to realise the global developmental benefits of astronomy, and have a specific focus on astronomy for universities and research. Projects must be implemented in 2015. Web id: 1174528Email: [email protected]: 31 August 2014 [68]

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12 funding opportunities Research Europe, 17 July 2014

p o l i c y d i a r yt e n d e r sAgency for International Development (DFID) Desal prizeWeb id: 1180613Deadline: 1 August 2014 [75]

US Department of Defense breast cancer research programme era of hope scholar awardWeb id: 1178920Deadline: 1 August 2014 [76]

National Vulvodynia Association medical research fund grantsWeb id: 202117Deadline: 15 August 2014 [77]

US Department of Defense prostate can-cer research programme collaborative undergraduate historically black col-leges and universities summer training awardWeb id: 1174193Deadline: 27 August 2014 [78]

US Department of Defense prostate cancer research programme: physician research training awardWeb id: 161871Deadline: 27 August 2014 [79]

Spencer Foundation areas of inquiry small research grantsWeb id: 191917Deadline: 28 August 2014 [80]

Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives/Puf-fin award for human rights activismWeb id: 1180061Deadline: 31 August 2014 [81]

US Department of Defense Gulf War ill-ness research programme: new investi-gator award Web id: 1179850Deadline: 11 September 2014 [82]

International Association for Dental Research basic research in biological mineralisation awardWeb id: 253504Deadline: 12 September 2014 [83]

International Association for Dental Research basic research in periodontal disease awardWeb id: 253514Deadline: 12 September 2014 [84]

International Association for Dental Research behavioural, epidemiologic and health services research awardWeb id: 253497Deadline: 12 September 2014 [85]

International Association for Dental Research H Trendley Dean memorial awardWeb id: 253508Deadline: 12 September 2014 [86]

International Association for Dental Research Isaac Schour memorial awardWeb id: 253494Deadline: 12 September 2014 [87]

International Association for Dental Research oral medicine and pathology research awardWeb id: 253511Deadline: 12 September 2014 [88]

International Association for Dental Research pharmacology, therapeutics and toxicology research awardWeb id: 253499Deadline: 12 September 2014 [89]

International Association for Dental Research pulp biology and regeneration awardWeb id: 253516Deadline: 12 September 2014 [90]

propellant tanks *ESAThe European Space Agency invites tenders for its chemical compatibility testing with demiseable materials and standard propellants - EXPRO+ call. This activity aims to identify potential alu-minium alloy candidates for use as a structural material for propellant tanks. Three different analyses are foreseen: visual inspection of the material before and after exposure to the propellant; chemical analysis of the propellant; measurement of corrosion rates between material and propellant pair. Funding is worth up to €500,000. Ref: 14.123.09. Deadline: 29 August 2014

Gravity gradiometer *ESAThe European Space Agency invites ten-ders for its study of a cold atom interfer-ometry gradiometer sensor and mission concept. The tenderer will perform an exhaustive error analysis of a CAI gravity gradiometer sensor concept, to precisely determine the performances of this sensor and the critical technical barriers. Funding is worth up to €500,000. Ref: 14.155.12. Deadline: 2 September 2014

communications *ESAThe European Space Agency invites tenders for general gallium nitride monolithic microwave integrated circuit based solide state amplidier for X band for long range high capacity commu-nication. The tenderer will develop an engineering model of an X band gal-lium nitride monolithic microwave inte-grated circuit based high power solid state power amplifier. Funding is worth a minimum of €500,000. Ref: 14.164.14. Deadline: 3 September 2014

Facility management *ESAThe European Space Agency invites ten-ders for its facility management, hard and soft, services at European space astrono-my centre call. The tenderer will perform facility management services, hard and soft, at ESAC in Spain. Funding is worth a minimum of €500,000. Ref: 14.111.01. Deadline: 12 September 2014

Non-linear effects *ESAThe European Space Agency invites tenders for its prototyping and test-ing of efficient multicarrier trans-mission for broadband satel l ite communications call. The tenderer will develop a prototype and test advanced compensation techniques to minimise non-linear effects in satellite systems employing multicarrier per high power amplifier transparent payloads. Funding is worth up to €500,000. Ref: 13.1TT.08. Deadline: 30 September 2014

in-orbit ageing *ESAThe European Space Agency invites tenders for its enhanced electrical conductivity of dielectrics for differential charging mitiga-tion call. The tenderer will develop a pro-cess that withstands in-orbit ageing and is able to enhance the overall electrical con-ductivity of widely used materials. Funding is worth up to €500,000. Ref: 13.1TT.09. Deadline: 8 October 2014--------------------------------------------- *ESA is at: http://emits.esa.intw

u s aAugust21 Alpbach Technology Forum,

Alpbach, Austria. To 23. http://rsrch.co/1mj5liz

September 3 European Conference on Gender

Equality in Higher Education, Vienna, Austria. To 5. http://rsrch.co/1eViFH1

4 European Universities’ Public Relations and Information Officers’ Association Annual Conference, Innsbruck, Austria. To 7. http://rsrch.co/1mkSf3b

9 Ambient Assisted Living Forum, Bucharest, Romania. To 12. http://rsrch.co/1uFKCW3

10 International Conference on Engineering, Science and Technology Innovation, Bali, Indonesia. To 13. http://rsrch.co/1nmks7Z

12 International Conference on Cultural Policy Research, Berlin, Germany. To 13. http://rsrch.co/1kRj0aT

22 RDA Fourth Plenary Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. To 24. http://rsrch.co/1pBEw6q

29 Leading Enabling Technolo-gies for Societal Challenges, Bologna, Italy. To 1. http://rsrch.co/1s1Lju9

• Good Practice Event on Entre-preneurial Universities, Madrid, Spain. To 1. http://rsrch.co/1rbuLhD

30 IMI2 Open day, Brussels, Bel-gium. http://rsrch.co/1pmisQm

October 3 International Conference on

Antimicrobial Research, Madrid, Spain. To 5. http://rsrch.co/1mRuBJA

6 The Future of Science, Lisbon, Portugal. To 7. http://rsrch.co/1xrxVRO

9 2nd EUA Funding Forum, Ber-gamo, Italy. To 10. http://rsrch.co/OAW6MA

15 Earto Autumn Policy Event and Innovation Prize, Brussels, Bel-gium. http://rsrch.co/RwIl2j

30 Standards - Your Innovation Bridge, Brussels, Belgium. http://rsrch.co/1oKrJ6Z

November13 9th European Quality Assurance

Forum: The Shift from Teaching to Learning, Barcelona, Spain. To 15. http://rsrch.co/S7KlhZ

15 OpenCon2014: Open Access, Education and Data. Washing-ton DC, United States. To 17. http://rsrch.co/1qZQKZ0

17 European Innovation Sum-mit, Brussels, Belgium. To 20. http://rsrch.co/1ge0rCl

i S S N 1 3 6 6 - 9 8 8 5Published every two weeks with breaks at Christmas, Easter and in summer. The next issue will be published on 31 July.L e t t e r s t oResearch EuropeUnit 111, 134-146 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AR, [email protected] n q u i r i e s t [email protected] +44 20 7216 6500Fax +44 20 7216 6501

Editor Colin Macilwaincomment and Analysis Editor John WhitfieldNews Editors Miriam Frankel, Research Fortnight John Bonner, acting, Research Fortnight Inga Vesper, Research EuropeSenior reporter Laura GreenhalghReporters Rebecca Hill, Helen Lock, Jenny Maukola, Tania Rabesandratana, Penny Sarchet, Adam Smith, Rebecca Tragerchief Sub Editor Kris PedderSub Editor Martyn JonesFunding content Manager Maya BergerDeputy Funding content Manager Yael MoscouFunding Editors Anne-Dorte Johannessen, Melinda SulkamaEditorial Researchers Laura Barclay, Rebecca Blease, Astrid Boehm, Demeter Chanter, Sophie Declerck, Abdo Hussein, Mikael Järvelin, Hanna Krantz, Jan Montwill, Tine Stausholm Christiansen, Sanja Vlaisavljevicproduction Manager Katherine LesterDeputy production Manager Laura Kipptechnical Director Steve PotterEditor, Research Fortnight Ehsan Masoodchairman and Founder William Cullerne Bownpublisher Thérèse ClaffeySales Director Nicky CooperSales Managers Alexander Nehm, Jon Thornton, Alison WarderS u b s c r i p t i o n [email protected] d v e r t i s i n g L o n d o [email protected]

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analysis 13Research Europe, 17 July 2014

Brave new worldResearch-intensive universities are being encouraged to join the online learning movement, but to do so strategically. Penny Sarchet asks what this really means.

‘One shouldn’t just do

something because

everybody else is doing it.’

i n s i d e r

Europe’s research universities should take the lead on policy, quality assurance and collaborations in online learning. That is the bottom line of an advisory paper published by the League of European Research Universities on 25 June. But the paper warns that insti-tutions must be “strategic” in their approach, if they and their students are to benefit.

The difficulty facing many European universities is that whatever they set out to achieve with podcasts, free lecture slides, online lectures and massive open online courses, there may be other institutions—primarily in the United States—that have been doing it for longer, with larger audiences and more financial resources.

And although universities may agree with Leru that it makes sense to stay calm and proceed strategically, many are struggling to define what a strategic approach to online learning should actually look like.

There is a bright side to this, some observers say: at a time when university administrators have become obsessed with research funding, the panic over what to do about Moocs has put teaching back on the agenda. Universities are being forced to question when, where and how their students want to learn.

Asked what universities stand to gain from offer-ing online learning, Pierre Dillenbourg, a professor of computer-human learning interactions at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, says his institution uses Moocs to increase its visibility globally. “We need to attract the best students and the best professors in the world,” he says. The university’s strategy centres on high-quality content, high production values and gaining experience in an ever-changing environment, he says.

William Hammonds, a policy researcher at the vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK, suggests that online learning platforms such as Coursera and FutureLearn can expose universities to different audiences, opening up further pathways for student recruitment. The editor of Leru’s paper, however, is not so sure. Sally Mapstone, a pro vice-chancellor at the University of Oxford, says she is “a bit dubious” about whether online learning can really function as a major recruitment tool.

Instead, Mapstone highlights the opportunities for collaboration with similar universities as being a particu-larly attractive outcome of offering online courses. Elmar Schultz, head of continuing education and knowledge transfer at the HRK, Germany’s association of rectors, says that universities could work together to save small, struggling disciplines by producing relevant Moocs.

But before taking the plunge, research universities must first articulate what online learning means for them and what they hope to get out of it. “I think plan-ning’s important, as opposed to just reacting in a slightly panicky way,” says Mapstone. “One shouldn’t just do something because everybody else is doing it.” She says that universities must ask themselves in how many and which subject areas they want to pursue online learning, and how they are going to support it without diverting resources away from home students.

Schultz agrees that universities must define their strategic aims. “You have to focus on your strategic fields—the ones you think are very central to the uni-versity’s goals.” Because of the resources required, he says that such strategic decisions must be made by the head of the university. “It doesn’t make sense for single professors to decide to do a high-end Mooc.”

For most European universities, language must also be a consideration. Dillenbourg explains that Lausanne offers high-visibility Moocs in English in its “unique sell-ing proposition” subjects, but produces French-language Moocs to improve internal teaching. “We have several thousand students taking physics first year. Our Mooc of physics 101 will not beat a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mooc,” he says, but such offerings free up professors for more constructive methods of face-to-face teaching. “Using the professor every year to repeat the same thing is not the best way to use the professor’s expertise, whereas discussing complex cases with the students really fully exploits it.”

Hammonds notes that Moocs are effectively being used as experimentation labs. “Once you start mediat-ing your learning online, you get a million and one data points. In some respects, this is online learning R&D.” If European universities are not involved in the experi-ment, they risk having little say in the future of teaching. “Moocs are changing the academic landscape, and we should not let the Americans design the future for us,” says Dillenbourg.

Mapstone encourages institutions to be radical in questioning their tradi-tional teaching methods. “People talk a lot about research, as that’s where all the funding is, and actually this has really made a lot of people think about how to make teaching more dynamic.”Something to add? Email [email protected]

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Research Europe, 17 July 201414 news

u k & i r e l a n d

AHRC aims to welcome artists into the foldThe UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council is con-sidering how to put research arising from the practice of arts on an equal footing with conventional research, its chief executive Rick Rylance has said.

At the annual forum of the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts—a scheme to increase collaboration between the arts, digital technology providers and researchers—Rylance said there was “dramatically” less resistance to practice-based research now than 10 years ago. He also said that it was difficult to use measures of quality for arts-based research that were of “equivalent value” to measures used for other research areas.

AHRC council member Deborah Bull, a former bal-let dancer and now director of cultural partnerships at King’s College London, will be investigating how the council could become more welcoming to the arts. She says that this could involve a report or inquiry, and that she is hoping to start work soon. One aspect to study is the extent of institutional links between research insti-tutes and arts organisations. Bull argues that, although artists and academics work together, there are rarely formal agreements in place between organisations. “Personal links are good but if you want sustainability you need institutional links,” she says.

The council already funds collaborative research by academics working with archivists and museum and gallery staff. But there is less AHRC-funded research in the performing arts, partly because researchers and artists work towards different outputs and at a different pace. Art is mostly about the experience of the moment, whereas most research is about recording or analysing something after an event.

Rylance said there was an increasing need for research to occur in real time. “This is an extraordinarily febrile, full-of-potential moment to define a new field,” he said, adding that he wanted the definition of research to become more “elastic” and research itself “more flexible”.

For this to work, peer review may need to be reformed, according to Karen Cham, director of Digital Media Kingston, a cross-faculty studio producing research and art at Kingston University. “The clue is in the title: you’re either in the peer group or not. But innovation is never part of the peer group; you’re always on the periphery.” Rylance sympathises with Cham’s view: “Peer review tends to be conservative rather than adventurous, so we’re looking at that.”

by Adam Smith [email protected]

HEFCE to replace indicatorsThe Higher Education Funding Council for England plans to change the indicators it uses to

measure the research performance of an institution. The four indicators in use—number of PhDs awarded, research grant income, research contracts obtained and amount of quality-related research funding awarded—will be phased out in July 2015, but no decision has been made yet on the content or timing of their replacement.

‘Systemic approach’ needed in science fundingThe UK needs an approach to science funding that pro-tects the capital and resource budgets and includes money for the continued operation of infrastructure, four national academies have said. In a statement sub-mitted to the government’s consultation on capital spending, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society called for a more systemic and strategic commitment to science investment.

NHS plans neglect basic science, say fundersThe Wellcome Trust and the Association of Medical Research Charities have raised concerns about Health Education England’s draft strategy for embedding research and innovation across the NHS. Responding to a consultation, they said that the draft strategy was too

focused on innovation and failed to provide enough sup-port for early-stage research.

£52m fund launched to improve technical trainingScience minister David Willetts has announced a £52-million (€65m) initiative to broaden opportunities for people seeking scientific and technical jobs. The ini-tiative will provide more than 7,800 opportunities over 2 years, including apprenticeships, traineeships, indus-try degrees and masters modules.

Better use of assets would boost roboticsThe UK should develop existing assets such as unused farms, factories and deep mines to use as robotics test beds if it wants to be a leader in the field, according to the government’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems 2020 strategy. The strategy estimates that the market for robotics and autonomous systems products and technology, in non-military sectors, will be worth about £70 billion (€88bn) by 2025.

Independent Scotland ‘would stay in ERA’Anne Glover, scientific adviser to the European Commission’s president, has said that a vote for inde-pendence in Scotland would not change the country’s scientific standing in Europe. Glover told Holyrood mag-azine that continued access to the European Research Area would be possible.

u k & i i n b r i e f

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014

n a t i o n s

Germany joins ESS after shock exit from SKAGermany has agreed to commit €200 million to the European Spallation Source neutron facility in Sweden, only a month after withdrawing from the Square Kilometre Array project for financial reasons.

The German research ministry announced on 4 July that it would join the project to build a neutron-based particle accelerator in Lund, and contribute 11 per cent of the total construction costs of €1.84 billion. This has provoked mixed feelings among Germany’s scientists, following the earlier decision to pull out of the SKA radio telescope project based in Australia and South Africa.

The government said the SKA exit was necessary because of financial difficulties in meeting the €3m needed to secure participation until 2018. But its sub-sequent commitment to the ESS indicates a decision to concentrate funding on infrastructure located in or near Germany, as outlined in a roadmap issued in April 2013.

“Because of the high costs connected to research infrastructure, we have to set priorities,” a spokeswom-an from the research ministry says. “Germany can only contribute to such extensive and large projects if they have made it on to the ministry’s roadmap.”

The decision may disappoint SKA members and German astronomers, but it has come as a relief to Sweden and Denmark, the main ESS partners, as con-struction of the facility can now begin this autumn. Jan Björklund, Sweden’s research minister, said this was good news after a period of uncertainty. “It has been a long process since the government decided in 2007 to try to get this prestigious project to Sweden,” he said.

A total of 18 countries have signed up to the ESS, 13 of which have committed funding. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are covering half the costs, and the UK has committed 10 per cent, France 8 per cent and Italy 6 per cent. Other contributions have been secured from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. The final 2.5 per cent is still to be confirmed.

Construction was originally due to commence in sum-mer 2013 but a lack of financing, and archaeological finds at the dig site, pushed it back by more than a year. Sweden’s government says the project should now meet its original planned completion date in 2019.

French research ‘too rigid’Excessive red tape and a lack of collaboration are prevent-ing the competitive evolution

of research in France, according to an OECD report. The country is held back by inflexible policy-making, and universities are being forced into marginal positions by public laboratories and institutions, the report says.

STEM problems need diverse approachesEducation in science, technology, engineering and maths in Germany continues to make little progress because of the government’s failure to address specific problems, the Stifterverband, Germany’s association of research funders, has said. The government should dif-ferentiate between subjects when assessing problems in STEM education, the funders said, and universities should be encouraged to work with relevant industry partners to improve the performance of specific courses.

French scientists must reach out, says senateScientists in France should get “back to reality” and interact more with businesses and citizens to stay competitive, a report from the French senate has said. Science in France is too heavily dominated by ideolo-gies and dogmatic approaches, and is out of touch with real-life problems, the senate said. The report urged the government to spend more on applied science and researcher exchange, and to encourage scientists to reach out to their local communities.

Rectors dispute kindergarten plansLower Saxony must urgently revise its decision to divert extra money for higher education towards kindergartens and childcare, according to the HRK, Germany’s nation-al association of rectors. The state’s planned use of the extra funds, freed up by the centralisation of financial support for students from poor backgrounds, would be a mistake, the HRK said, as it would set a precedent for the misuse of education funds and cement the underfunding of universities.

Portugal joins ElixirThe government of Portugal has ratified an agreement for the country to become the 10th member of Elixir, a European database of biological information. Miguel Seabra, head of the Portuguese funding agency for sci-ence, technology and innovation, said the move was in line with the government’s plans to improve cohesion and efficiency between Portuguese facilities and their European counterparts.

Tackle security concerns upfront, says DFGResearch with implications for security should be pre-ceded by a detailed risk analysis and abandoned if found to be too risky, according to Germany’s largest public research funder, the DFG. In its recommendations about life science research with both civilian and military uses, the DFG said that researchers should take into account the consequences of misuse of their research findings, and either postpone or cancel their work if necessary.

by Inga Vesper [email protected]

n a t i o n s i n b r i e f

news 15

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014

n o r d i c

16 news

University-business cooperation boosts innovation in Denmark Denmark has improved its performance in research and innovation by increasing the level of university-industry collaboration in the country, according to a report by Universities Denmark.

The report, published on 2 July, says that Danish uni-versities publish more scientific research in conjunction with companies than those in many other EU countries do. This is partly because bureaucratic and financial bar-riers to cooperation are very low in Denmark, it says.

The document analyses how Danish universities cooperate with other institutions, such as government agencies and companies, nationally and internationally. It links this cooperation to the country’s performance in innovation on an international scale, measured through initiatives such as the European Commission’s Innovation Union Scoreboard.

According to the report, there was a steady increase in university cooperation with the government and indus-try from 2007 to 2013, corresponding to an increase in government funding available for research and coop-eration programmes. As a result, universities and companies have both started to see the financial ben-efits of cooperation, the report says.

In 2007, total research grant money won by Danish universities amounted to just over 4 billion Danish kroner (€500 million). By 2013, this had risen to kr6.5bn. Of this, about kr4bn was public funding and kr1.4bn from industry. The rest came from external sources, including Framework 7, the report says.

Universities Denmark says that the prevalence of cooperation with small businesses highlighted in the report is in line with a “political wish” of the govern-ment. There are many start-ups in the country, and their cooperation with universities can improve Denmark’s competitiveness, according to a government strategy.

The report, however, warns that universities still have to put a lot of effort into cooperating with small businesses because of the companies’ limited research capacity and resources, shorter project time frames and inability to commit. Søren Frandsen, head of Universities Denmark’s working group for innovation and technology transfer, said that the next step would be to look into how existing partnerships could be improved.

by Jenny Maukola [email protected]

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Research Europe, 17 July 2014

There are two ways to rip off a plaster: slowly and care-fully, or with a quick yank. When it comes to the oner-ous task of peeling back traditional publishing models in favour of open access, Denmark has taken the latter approach, opt-ing to just get it over with as quickly as possible.

The country’s government hopes to avoid the usual transition period during which publishers charge authors for open publishing while also charging journal subscription fees. It is aiming for the swift establishment of a system that pleases everyone.

On 23 June, the government published a national strategy for open access, which aims to make 80 per cent of all peer-reviewed articles published by Danish institutions available through digital repositories by 2017. By 2022, the goal is 100 per cent open access.

“The plan is ambitious, but not unattainable,” says Johnny Mogensen, head of the research policy office at the research ministry. He explains that 50 per cent of peer-reviewed articles in Denmark are eligible to be published open access, but that only one-third of these are publicly available—an issue that must be addressed urgently if the 2017 goal is to be met.

Mogensen proposes to do so by making it easier for authors to place their work in repositories.

Costs are another obstacle, as the question of who should pay for the publishing process when traditional publishers lose income from subscription is not yet fully answered. Denmark’s government has set up a national steering committee, made up of universities, research libraries and research foundations, to look at creating a network of Danish repositories that are easily accessible to the public. By 2022, all publica-tions should be available in these repositories after an embargo period, but the committee will also look at the long-term costs of full, immediate open access.

Mogens Sandfær, library director at the Technical University of Denmark and a member of the steer-ing committee, says the committee will soon launch a ranking of open-access publishing at the country’s eight universities. On top of this, publishers are work-ing with universities and the government to find a way of limiting the pain involved in the old business model being ripped away. “We’re past the phase of resistance and now everyone is in the spirit of finding a reason-able solution,” he says.

A short, sharp transition to open accessn o r d i c

o u t l o o k

by Jenny Maukola [email protected]

analysis 17

Fundraising reform progressesFinland’s ministry of the interior has announced that proposed changes to the laws on fund-

raising, intended to make it easier for universities to increase their budgets, will be presented to the govern-ment in August. The changes would allow universities to actively seek funding from the public.

Innovation Fund to support industrial PhDsDenmark’s Innovation Fund is to launch its first call for grants to support industrial PhD projects. Ten grants will be made available, to support students who are enrolled at a university while employed by a firm. The call will be similar to those launched by the Innovation Fund’s pre-decessors, but the field of research will now be used as a criterion and each applicant must explain how his or her university will make the most of the project.

Health programme launchedTwo public-private partnerships in Finland have created a programme to make it easier for hospitalised patients to return to work. The Speedy Recovery programme, set up by the SalWe health partnership and the Digile partnership on digital technologies, aims to speed up patient recovery and reintegration into society.

Norway needs CSA, says committeeA national geosciences committee has recommended that Norway’s government employ a chief scientific adviser to help strengthen the role of evidence in policy-making. According to the group, a chief scientist would improve strategic and operational advice on science in politics.

First Sino-Danish students graduateThe Sino-Danish Center for Education and Research in Beijing has produced its first 29 masters graduates. The students each studied one of four programmes: neuroscience, innovation management, water and environment, and social development. Of the 29 gradu-ates, 17 are from China and 12 from Denmark. A further 65 students are set to complete their studies at the cen-tre this summer.

Life science industry wants assistanceSweden’s life science companies have demanded more support, saying that they contribute significantly to the economy. A report by Lif, an association of pharmaceu-tical companies, says that the life science industry has declined in the past decade after growing throughout the 1980s and the 1990s. This is partly because of large global companies buying out Swedish businesses, which need more funding to counter this trend, Lif says.

n o r d i c i n b r i e f

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18 news

Pot researcher helping veterans claims ‘wrongful termination’ The first researcher to gain approval from the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase marijuana for a study of the medical benefits of smoking it, rather than using isolated and synthetic cannabinoids or a non-smoking method, has been fired by her university.

On 6 July, Suzanne Sisley announced that her con-tract had been “wrongfully terminated by the University of Arizona” because she had attempted “to conduct mar-ijuana research to aid military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder”.

In an email to colleagues and associates on 30 June, Sisley said: “They’ve stripped all of my salary support and academic and staff appointments. Even my fully funded 3-year grant, which I secured from the Arizona Department of Health Services in January 2014, will be terminated at the end of September.”

The aim of the project for which Sisley received approval to purchase marijuana was to investigate the drug’s impact on the symptoms of post-traumatic stress in military veterans. According to Sisley, she can no longer perform any of the planned academic pursuits, most importantly the marijuana research with veterans.

Sisley is now formally represented by Jason Flores-Williams, a lawyer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who says he and Sisley are appealing to the university’s president and provost, and have requested a hearing with the school’s Committee on Academic Freedom. “We are also trying to figure out the exact justification and grounds for the effective termination,” Flores-Williams told Research USA. “We are moving forward with the goal of reinstat-ing Dr Sisley...and we hope that the university does that without requiring the aid of litigation,” he said.

Sisley attracted attention earlier this year after argu-ing that federal regulatory hurdles had made it “almost impossible for investigators to conduct marijuana research in a robust way”. She and others had argued that as the National Institute on Drug Abuse was the only source of research-grade marijuana in the United States and its mission was to curb drug abuse, wider research into marijuana’s therapeutic potential was being stifled.

The university would not comment on the case. A spokesman said he could not discuss personnel matters.

Pentagon told to look outwardsThe Department of Defense needs a strategy to keep abreast of sci-entific developments around

the world and identify opportunities for collabora-tion, according to a report from the National Research Council. Ruth David, co-chairwoman of the committee that wrote the report, said: “As the US share of global scientific and technological output shrinks, the depart-ment needs to re-examine its strategy for maintaining awareness of science and technology developments emerging around the world.”

Senator aims to increase NIH fundingTom Harkin, who leads the Senate subcommittee that funds the National Institutes of Health, is to propose a way of increasing the agency’s budget. The Iowa Democrat is expected to introduce legislation this month that would allow the budget to be topped up by adjusting the discretionary budget caps mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

Manned space flight plan neededNASA does not have a credible plan for human space exploration and is wasting its time and resources on “costly distractions” such as a mission to retrieve an asteroid, lawmakers on the House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space and Technology have

said. The representatives were speaking at a hearing on a National Research Council report that said NASA was lacking a plan for human space flight.

General Motors in fuel cells dealThe Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has formed a partnership with General Motors to carry out research to lower the cost of automotive fuel cells. The work will focus on major issues in the develop-ment and commercial deployment of hydrogen fuel cells, such as reducing platinum loading, achieving high power densities and understanding the effects of contaminants.

Sugar industry under fireThe sugar industry obscures the negative health effects of eating too much sugar when working to influence nutrition policy, according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Gretchen Goldman, the report’s author, said: “They question the science, hire their own experts, and try to hide the simple fact that eating too much sugar is bad for our health.”

Chimps find sanctuaryAll 110 federally owned chimpanzees to be retired from research have now been transferred to the national sanc-tuary called Chimp Haven in Keithville, Louisiana. “We are thrilled that this great day has finally arrived,” said Cathy Willis Spraetz, president of Chimp Haven.

by Rebecca Trager [email protected]

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Emirates sets up mentorships for budding scientistsThe United Arab Emirates has created a mentoring programme

to attract more students to careers in science and tech-nology. The Youth Mentoring Programme, funded by the Emirates Foundation in Abu Dhabi, aims to address the country’s lack of professionals. Mentors will be assigned to work with young people in and outside academia to encourage them into careers in innovative industries.

Arctic infrastructure in China’s sightsChina should focus on developing facilities in the Arctic as part of its growing role in the region, according to Zhang Xia, head of strategic research at the country’s Polar Research Institute. Zhang said that focusing on infrastructure would help China become a leading force in the region, where opportunities for industry and research are increasing as the polar ice melts.

Innovation exchange increasedBrazil and France have signed deals on collaboration in student exchange and innovation financing. The Finep innovation fund of Brazil agreed this month to set up a joint fund with the BPIfrance government bank to finance innovative collaboration. The two partners have previ-ously supplied joint funding for small businesses.

Degree numbers up in New ZealandThe number of New Zealand citizens completing bach-elors degrees increased by 24 per cent between 2008 and 2013, the government has announced. In 2013 the figure was 25,800, up by nearly 2 per cent from the pre-vious year.

Chinese academies rising in influence, report findsChina is home to 200 academic societies that represent more than 4 million researchers and professors, accord-ing to a report by the China Association for Science and Technology. The country’s societies have increased their membership rates and participation in international con-ferences in the past 3 years, Cast said, and altogether they represent 4.37m people and run 56,000 topical groups.

Russian projects to run in MongoliaMongolia is to create more favourable conditions for the launch of Russian satellite institutions, according to the country’s science minister Luvsannyam Gantumur. The creation of more Russian campuses and research opportunities for Russian scientists in Mongolia would strengthen collaboration between the two countries, Gantumur said at a meeting with Dmitry Livanov, his Russian counterpart. The two ministers said they were keen to step up collaboration on what they called “megaprojects”.

‘Unnecessary’ science spending can buy weapons instead, says Ukraine presidentUkraine is to reduce funding for scientific research as it focuses on strengthening its army, according to the country’s president.

In a statement on 7 July, Petro Poroshenko said the government would cease spending on “unnecessary” sci-ence programmes, and instead ensure that the army of Ukraine was fully equipped to fight “efficiently, flexibly and professionally”.

Poroshenko described scientific programmes as “just an element of embezzlement”, referring to issues of cor-ruption within universities and scientific organisations. Emphasising the change of focus, he said: “Ukrainian production will be loaded with precision weapons systems and everything necessary for the Ukrainian army—from body armour to thermal surveillance devices.”

The plans are to be enacted by amendments to the state defence order, following talks with defence ministers and the Ukrainian defence industry, said Poroshenko. The decision to deflect funds to military upgrades reflects the troubles in the country, at a time when the Ukrainian army is trying to oust rebels from strongholds in Slaviansk and Donetsk, as well as from Luhansk on the Russian border.

However, the move is a significant blow to the coun-try’s researchers. Ukraine has already lost scientists and facilities because of the political crisis, and the loss of research funding will reduce its capabilities further.

Ukraine lost 1,291 scientists when Russia annexed Crimea in March. The remaining institutions have been forced to restructure or abandon certain research programmes. Anatoly Zagorodny, vice-president of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, says this has had a severe impact. “It’s caused the loss of important and expensive laboratory and technical equipment, buildings and telescopes,” he says.

Meanwhile Russia, which backs the Crimean sepa-ratists, has said it wants to maintain good scientific relations. Ludmila Ogorodova, Russia’s deputy minister of education and science, said the country wanted more collaboration with Europe on nuclear energy and phys-ics. Her comments were made in the wake of a decision by the United States to freeze some funding for col-laboration with Russia, mainly in aerospace research, in response to the Ukrainian crisis.

by Laura Greenhalgh [email protected]

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open confuSion In November, a conference on open access and open data for early-career researchers will be taking place in Washington, DC, under the title of OpenCon2014. But it transpires that, one month ear-lier, there will be another event with the same name, this time in Dorset in the United Kingdom. According to its website, this particular OpenCon2014 is an “uncon-ference talking about ethical non-monogamy”. Could make for some interesting Twitter conversations at #OpenCon2014.

Star-Struck In theory, science should always be non-political. But in practice this is not always so, and political, cultural and linguistic issues intrude into sci-entific work. Last week, for example, a team of Ukrainian scientists adopted a star through a fundraising effort for astronomy research, and named it Putin-Huilo. The phrase, also often heard at Ukrainian football match-es, can be loosely translated as: “Putin is an asshole.” Certainly catchier than the star’s previous moniker: object KIC 9696939.

MiSSing the point A gender summit held in Brussels ear-lier this month was all about increasing gender equality in research and eliminating stereotypes. However, the organisers could have worked a bit harder at practising what they were preaching: the 2-day meeting opened

with two male speakers addressing a sea of women in the hall. Although spirits were briefly lifted when a female speaker appeared to take the microphone, they sunk again when she proceeded to tell the audience about “housekeeping issues”.

guardian angel Research managers gathered in Tallinn, Estonia, for last month’s annual meeting of the European Association of Research Managers and Administrators, Earma, were much inclined to gripe about the European Commission’s alleged tendency to stonewall their various queries. But at least one had had a positive experience. Having accidentally submitted a proposal to the wrong Horizon 2020 call, he received an email ask-ing if he’d like it shifted to the right one. “So there are humans in the Commission,” joked the manager. “Well, one, at least.”

Spreading boredoM At an information day on “Spreading excellence and widening participation in Horizon 2020” held in Brussels on 3 July, one participant within eye-shot of our correspondent was eager to take notes on all the important things that were being said. But unfor-tunately the result did not say much for the meeting. After the first two talks the visible summaries were as inauspicious as they were succinct: “No new information —general talk,” and “Waste of time”.

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