European Academies’ Science Advisory Council

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European Academies' Science Advisory Council

Abbreviation	EASAC
Type	Regional Association of National Academies of Science
Area served	The European Union, Norway, Switzerland and the UK
Membership	28 National Academies of Science, Academia Europaea, ALLEA
President	Christina Moberg (SE)
Vice presidents	Wim van Saarloos (NL), Olivier Pironneau (FR), Julian Revalski (BG)
Website	https://easac.eu

The European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) is a regional association of National Academies of science. Its members are 25 National Science Academies of Member States of the European Union (EU), and the National Science Academies of Norway, Switzerland and the UK. A pan-European Academy (ALLEA) and a network of all Academies from across the continent of Europe also have membership (Academia Europaea). EASAC was founded in June 2001 and is currently headquartered at the German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina, in Halle (Saale).

EASAC was set up as a mechanism of ongoing collaboration for its member Academies, in particular for providing “science-for-policy” advice to the institutions of the EU. This means that through EASAC scientific advice is offered jointly by the Academies to the European Commission and the European Parliament EASAC’s work also aims to help inform national policy-making across Europe, and engage European media and societies. EASAC aims to provide science-based analysis and recommendations on questions that are of relevance to EU policy thinking and development, e.g. on plastics in the circular economy, genetically modified crops, climate change and health, forest biomass for energy, or decarbonisation of transport.

The association is funded by EASAC member Academies. Since 2012 the IAP - The InterAcademy Partnership has also provided funds to EASAC as part of its affiliated regional network.

Mission and Strategy

EASAC describes its mission as “Science Advice for the Benefit of Europe” and sees itself as “the voice of independent science advice mobilising Europe’s leading scientists to guide EU policy for the benefit of society”. It wants to provide a pan-European scientific consensus on issues that are of relevance to European policy-making, primarily in the fields of Biosciences (including Public Health), Energy and Environment. There are the five core objectives of the association according to the current EASAC Strategy (2017-2021):

1. To influence EU policy development and implementation, and also national policy within EU Member States;
2. To inform EU contributions to global policy-making;
3. To provide an independent platform for debate and for convening scientists, policy-makers and publics;
4. To build the science policy capacity of EU academies and scientists, and mobilise the European science community to engage on regional policy agendas;
5. To build a progressive and more resilient National Science Academies’ network.

Member Academies

This is a list of all EASAC members. In addition, the Federation of European Medical Academies (FEAM) has been granted observer status in EASAC.

• The Austrian Academy of Sciences
• The Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium
• The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
• The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts
• The Cyprus Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts
• The Czech Academy of Sciences
• The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters
• The Estonian Academy of Sciences
• The Council of Finnish Academies
• Académie des sciences (France)
• The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• The Academy of Athens (Greece)
• The Hungarian Academy of Sciences
• The Royal Irish Academy
• Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Italy)
• The Latvian Academy of Sciences
• The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
• The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
• The Polish Academy of Sciences
• The Academy of Sciences of Lisbon (Portugal)
• The Romanian Academy
• The Slovak Academy of Sciences
• The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
• The Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
• The Royal Society
• Academia Europaea
• ALLEA

EASAC core Programmes and “Science-Policy Dialogue”

The three core Programmes of EASAC are Biosciences (including Public Health), Energy and Environment. They explore areas where scientific evidence can help to inform the development of policy-making in the European institutions and, when relevant, also global policy-making. Project remits require both consideration of the implications of the scientific evidence for policy formulation and the evaluation of the adequacy of the relevant science base. Each core Programme is run by a Programme Director and a Steering Panel consisting of scientists nominated by EASAC member Academies. Members of the three EASAC Steering Panels are chosen for their experience in the respective field and together they advise EASAC on specific projects and help build relations with key scientists in the EU.

Biosciences

The aim of the Biosciences Programme is to inform policy-makers through scientific analysis on topics such as health, agriculture and the progression of novel technologies with potentially multiple applications. The scope of the programme includes e.g. biotechnology, nanotechnology, synthetic biology, personalised medicine and biosecurity. The Steering Panel is chaired by Professor Volker ter Meulen. The Biosciences Programme Director Dr Robin Fears is responsible for the programme’s general organisation, project management, delivery and quality control, and day-to-day business.

Energy

The Energy Programme provides scientific assessments and advice to EU policy-makers in the areas of energy and climate change related topics. The programme covers a wide range of issues of prime concern to the EU, including energy resources, energy systems integration, renewable energies, energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, electricity grid management, and key aspects of energy security. The Energy Steering Panel is chaired by Professor Wim van Saarloos. Energy Programme Director Dr William Gillet is responsible for the programme’s general organisation, project management, delivery and quality control, and day-to-day business.

Environment

The Environment Programme provides scientific assessments and advice to EU environment policy communities on topics including climate change, air and water quality, wastes and resources, biodiversity, ecosystems and sustainability. The Steering Panel is chaired by Professor Lars Walløe. Environment Programme Director Professor Mike Norton is responsible for the programme’s general organisation, project management, delivery and quality control, and day-to-day business.

Science-Policy Dialogue

Since 2012 EASAC has engaged with its member Academies in a number of activities under the headline of "Science-Policy Dialogue”. These have generally focused on sharing of good practice of member Academies on questions such as the management of working groups and engagement with policy-makers and the media. As a result of the first such activity, a document on Good Practice Guidance for Managing Dialogue Between Academies of Science and Policy Communities was published in 2013. In 2017-2018, EASAC’s members reflected on the Sustainable Development Goals and how the European and global networks of Science Academies could contribute to the SDG process. Since 2020, EASAC has organised a series of virtual ‘Science Communications Webinars’, focusing on the contribution of the European Science Academies to the efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

Organisational Structure

EASAC Org Structure

Council

The Council is EASAC's full assembly and governing body. It is composed of 30 scientists, nominated by, and representing, EASAC members. Council members are expected to regularly consult with their Academies about EASAC business, and be empowered by their Academies to make decisions on their behalf at Council meetings. Council sets EASAC's direction, agrees the initiation of projects, monitors their progress and reviews and approves reports and other types of documents for publication. It meets every six months, usually in May and November, at the Academy of the EU Member State which will take over the EU Presidency about one month later.

Bureau

The operating arm of EASAC is the Bureau, comprising the President, Vice-Presidents, and the past and incoming Presidents (for one year after and before tenure, respectively). Since 2012, Bureau has co-opted the Chairs of EASAC’s Steering Panels as members. EASAC Bureau normally meets at least four times per year and in an extended format. Bureau is accountable to Council: it is responsible for implementing Council’s decisions and ensuring EASAC business runs smoothly. It is supported by the EASAC Secretariat, which is managed by the Executive Director and also comprises the Programme Directors, Secretariat Coordinator, Head of Communications and others.

Secretariat

Originally managed and hosted by the British Royal Society, the Secretariat is now hosted by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in Halle. EASAC’s Brussels Office at the Royal Academies for Science and the Arts of Belgium is also part of the Secretariat.

The Secretariat is responsible for maintaining the working process of EASAC's groups, including the organisation of meetings of Council, Bureau, Programme Steering Panels and working groups. It oversees project management of EASAC working groups' outputs towards publication, launch and dissemination of EASAC reports, statements and commentaries. It liaises with EU policy-makers, EU institutions and other EU and national agencies of relevance to EASAC's work. The Secretariat maintains contact with EASAC member Academies and liaises with other Academy networks. The Secretariat also manages EASAC's communication activities, such as press releases, newsletter, website and social media pages.

Cooperations

EASAC cooperates with a number of other organisations and networks, the most notably IAP and SAPEA.

IAP

EASAC is the affiliated network for Europe of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP). The IAP is the global network of more than 140 National Academies of science, medicine and engineering.

A part of IAP’s work is done through its four regional networks in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. Through IAP, EASAC is connected to National Science academies around the globe. EASAC has collaborated with all the three other regional networks of IAP: the Association of Academies and Societies of Sciences in Asia (AASSA), the InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences (IANAS) and the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), in particular on the project “Food and Nutrition Security and Agriculture” (2017-18). EASAC research also provided the basis for IAP projects such as the recent “Climate Change and Health” project, which aims to produce regional assessments similar to the EASAC report and a global synthesis in late 2021.

SAPEA

EASAC is a member of the project consortium for SAPEA – ‘Science Advice for Policy by European Academies’. SAPEA is part of the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM), which provides scientific advice to the College of European Commissioners to inform their decision-making.

The project consortium of SAPEA consists of the five European academy networks: Academia Europaea, ALLEA, EASAC, the European Council of Applied Sciences and Engineering (Euro-CASE), and the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM).

Funding

As stated on its website, EASAC has no commercial or business sponsors. Most of EASAC’s funding is provided by its members, the European National Academies of Science. Scientists on all of EASAC’s groups, in particular the Steering Panels, working groups and peer reviewers give their time and expertise free of charge. However, some contribution is also made by IAP, the global network of Science Academies, to support EASAC in its role as IAP’s affiliated regional network for Europe.

External Links

• Official website

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