ISE promotes plans for ERC

The founding meeting of the Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE), a new lobbying group of European science organisations, was held in Paris this week alongside its inaugural conference (from October 25 to 26) discussing the plans to set up a European Research Council (ERC).Prior to this formal launch, the ISE had already published a strong statement in Science magazine promoting the need for an ERC.The meeting in Paris comes shortly after the Italian government added controversy to the debate with a submission to the European Commission (EC) containing trenchant criticism of the proposed ERC. It said the concept "raises strong perplexity," arguing that distributing research funding solely on the basis of excellence would reduce the proportion of EU funds that is spent on collaborative EU-wide projects. "I think this has come as a shock in most European capitals," ISE Secretary Luc van Dyck told The Scientist. "It was a surprise for me that the Italian input was so overtly negative," added Frank Gannon, Executive Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), speaking to The Scientist.Gannon characterized the Italian contribution as "arguing for the status quo, [but] with research in the US, China, and India gathering speed, while in Europe it is not, something new needs to be tried." Gannon added: "We have now moved to the stage where we [the scientists] have spoken about this enough. Everybody is working on the presumption that the ERC will happen."ISE Chair José Mariano Gago told The Scientist that delegates at the conference, especially from the new EU member states, also voiced concerns that the pursuit of excellence might leave some countries sidelined. But Gago emphasized that examples already exist of initiatives combining excellence with inclusive measures, such as advanced training. "CERN [European Centre for Nuclear Research] is the best example we can find of a worldwide leader created in Europe," said Gago, citing its successful model of competition working alongside cooperation, scientific excellence, international peer review of all projects, and the absence of quotas.Achilleas Mitsos, director general of the Research Directorate-General at the EC, reported that the debate about the ERC at the level of ministers of research was proceeding smoothly, with a preliminary decision expected in November. But he cautioned that the debate among the ministers of finance was not going so well.The commission has requested a doubling of the EC research budget to include funds for the ERC, but a lively discussion among the national finance ministers is assured.Whatever happens, funding from the EC will still account for only a small percentage of the total research budget in the European Union, with 95% currently distributed at national level.Reflecting on the wider role of the ISE in European science, Luc van Dyck commented: "We want to organize the input from the scientific community on key issues, but we will avoid bureaucracy and will work the way scientists work, just coming together when we need to." In a press release, the ISE said it will "provide a common forum to advocate independent scientific advice in European policymaking and stimulate the involvement of European scientists in the design and implementation of European science and technology policy."ISE membership is open to all European scientific organizations. The 35 current members include EMBO, the European Life Sciences Forum, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the European Science Foundation, the European University Association, and EuroScience.

ISE promotes plans for ERC

Will a European Research Council do more harm than good? New lobby group thinks not

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