In recent decades, some EU Member States, particularly the Nordic countries, have invested in high-quality data infrastructures to capture the outcomes attributable to research and innovation (R&I) grants to businesses. While quantitative methods have become more and more sophisticated, a simultaneous interest in studying more qualitative, behavioural aspects can be observed.
This is the second of five reports that will be produced as the main deliverables of the MLE on Alignment and Interoperability of Research Programmes. It is concerned with the role that National Preconditions play for a more efficient and effective participation in the Joint Programming Process (JPP)1 including Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) and other public-to-public partnerships (P2Ps).
The main objectives of the PSF Specific Support to Slovenia are to identify and recommend measures to further develop (1) The internationalisation of the Slovenian science base (through both cross-border researchers' mobility and cooperation), and (2) The cooperation between the science base and businesses. The final report will include an assessment of the current situation, an identification of the policy levers to be used and concrete recommendations to tackle the key barriers in relation to both focus areas.
Reflecting the priority subjects mentioned by the Member States at the call for interest of July 2016, this first MLE on Open Science will address the national policies and practices relating to the following two issues: (1) Altmetrics, understood as alternative (i.e. non-traditional) metrics that cover not just citation of articles but also various forms of social media shares, web-downloads or any other measure of the qualities and impact of research outcomes; and (2) Incentives and rewards for researchers to engage in Open Science activities.
The purpose of the MLE on innovation-enhancing procurement is to set up an EU knowledge-sharing service on innovation-enhancing procurement, encouraging mutual-learning, identifying good practices and providing advice in the field. The MLE aims to support Member States in designing, implementing and/or evaluating different policy instruments in relation to innovation-enhancing procurement.
Performance-based Research Funding Systems (PRFS) are one of the mechanisms through which countries try to increase the performance of their public sector research systems. The nature of these systems – based on peer reviews, metrics or a combination of both – varies considerably among countries. The MLE will provide a learning opportunity for countries willing to better understand the advantages and drawbacks of various options, improve ongoing PRFS and deepen the assessments of the impact of different systems.
The Modus Operandi defines the scope, the objectives, envisaged outcomes and the preliminary time schedule of the MLE. It also describes the working approach and methodology the group will follow as well as the distribution of work of all participants.
With a view to improve efficiency of public funding in research and addressing major societal challenges, Member States have identified the need to improve the alignment and interoperability of their national programmes. Building on the Lund Declaration, the ERAC Joint Programming Group (GPC) has launched an MLE to address the need to foster national coordination by looking at national preconditions for participation in JPP (Joint Programming Process) / JPI (Joint Programming Initiatives), national governance structures and communication flows and visibility.
