2011/10/21
EUROHORCs dissolved
On 20 October 2011 the last General Assembly meeting of EUROHORCs was held in Berlin, Germany. The members present took an unanimous decision to dissolve EUROHORCs. All activities, especially the work on the Road Map towards a Globally Competitive ERA, will be taken over by its successor organisation Science Europe. Information on Science Europe can be found at: www.scienceeurope.org/
2011/08/30
EUROHORCs Vision for a European Research Area
In the context of the development of an ERA Framework, EUROHORCs has formulated its vision of what the European Research Area should become. It contains several elements: a single open market for researchers, easier collaboration of researchers in different countries, co-ordination of research strategies, scientific excellence and the appropriate institutional support of it, development of a unified voice and the collaboration in order to communicate the insights and benefits of scientific research.
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23/06/2011
Letter to Members of EUROHORCs-Update Pilot Board Science Europe
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to briefly inform you about the discussions at the last Science Europe Pilot Board meeting on Monday, 20 June, and our next steps. The Pilot Board currently has the following members: Jos Engelen, André Syrota, Toivo Maimets, Arvid Hallén, Elisabeth Monard, Franci Demsar, Paul Boyle, Matthias Kleiner, Roderick Floud (as representative of the Scientific Committees) and Dieter Imboden (chair).
The Pilot Office, hosted by FWO in Brussels, has successfully taken up its work. Currently, Craig Bardsley, who is seconded from RCUK, and Stephan Kuster, seconded from SNSF, are working in the office. On 1 July, Christoph Bärenreuter from FWF will take up his work there as well. The current tasks of the Pilot Office include the preparation of a detailed work plan and budget of the first years of Science Europe, based on the activities outlined in the working group paper. Also, among other things, the Pilot Office prepares the legal foundation of Science Europe, is ready to support the working group on the ERA Framework Directive and, together with a communication agency, is working on the corporate design of Science Europe.
Sir Roderick Floud has formed a working group which will map the establishment of the Scientific Committees of Science Europe.
The Pilot Board also discussed the formal foundation of Science Europe. Due to legal reasons, some Pilot Board members will officially found Science Europe with a Belgian notary in early autumn. On 21 October 2011, the Founding Assembly will be held in Berlin.
A list of organisations which very clearly fulfil the membership criteria prepared by the ESF/EUROHORCS working group and approved by both EUROHORCs and ESF assemblies was compiled at the meeting. These organisations will be invited to the Founding Assembly; the letters will be sent out by the end of June. At the Founding Assembly, a membership committee will be established, which will evaluate many more organisations based on the adopted rules and then propose another group of organisations to join Science Europe in spring 2012.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Best regards,
Dieter Imboden
17/05/2011
Letter from the President to the Members of EUROHORCs
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to update you on the recent discussions on how to move forward with “ScienceEurope” (SE). As you know, at its General Assembly in Istanbul on 14 April 2011, EUROHORCs voted unanimously for the founding of a new research organisation in Europe, "ScienceEurope". Also, a large majority of EUROHORCs voted in favour of the so-called Option 1, that is, the creation of SE in Brussels according to Belgian law and a responsible winding down of the current ESF office in Strasbourg within 3 to 5 years.
At its General Assembly on 4 May 2011 in Frankfurt, the members of ESF confirmed with clear majority the choice of Option 1 over Option 2 (Option 2 meant the transformation of ESF into SE with its headquarter remaining in Strasbourg), but missed by two votes the 2/3 majority which according to the ESF Statute is needed for a formal decision to close ESF.
Given the clear majorities in both organisations, some MOs of EUROHORCs and ESF decided to move forward and to prepare the creation of a new legal entity named ‘ScienceEurope’ based in Brussels. A Pilot Office which is overseen by a Pilot Board consisting of EUROHORCs- and ESF-members, was already established two months ago. Based on the Working Paper elaborated by the common EUROHORCs/ESF Working Group during the last 18 months, the Pilot Office takes care of the founding process and the strategic and practical preparations of the establishment of the new organisation. The Pilot Office is supported by voluntary contributions from MOs: either free office space (provided by FWO), seconded staff (office head Craig Bardsley, seconded by RCUK) and by cash contributions. The Founding Assembly of SE will take place in Berlin on 21 October 2011. I will ask 4 to 5 persons to form a nomination committee with me, which will propose to the Founding Assembly the first President, Vice-Presidents and Board members of SE.
Clear membership rules of ScienceEurope have been formulated by the EUROHORCs/ESF Working Group and approved by both EUROHORCs and ESF Assemblies. At the end of June 2011, the Pilot Board will send out a letter inviting those member organisations of EUROHORCS and ESF that obviously meet these criteria to the Founding Assembly. At the Founding Assembly, a Membership Committee will be elected, which will then carefully analyse all further membership proposals so that at the second General Assembly meeting of SE (in spring 2012) many more research organisations can join.
The Pilot Board of SE will work closely with the President and Chief Executive of ESF to make sure that some of the current activities of ESF will be gradually moved to SE over the next years. This includes particularly the formation and support of the Scientific Committees and the continuation of the MO Fora. Furthermore, both organisations are committed to continuing, uninterrupted, their joint work in pursuit of the EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and their Road Map for Actions, as they have throughout the merger process.
The Pilot Office and I will keep you informed on the further progress of our work. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Dieter Imboden
President
European Heads of Research Councils (EUROHORCs)
10/05/2011
EUROHORCs and ESF response to the Common Strategic Framework for EU research and innovation funding
EUROHORCs and ESF prepared a response to the Commission’s Green Paper on a Common Strategic Framework for EU research and innovation funding. EUROHORCs is convinced that all kinds of research are to be valued and are inextricably connected and mutually reinforcing activities. New knowledge, effective application of knowledge and recognition of their linkages, feed-back and feed forward are essential for European innovation, wealth and wellbeing.
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09/05/2011
EUROHORCs members in favour of creation of new organisation ScienceEurope
At its recent general assembly EUROHORCs voted unanimously for the founding of a new organisation in Europe, ‘Science Europe’. This organisation will represent science and research through the membership of European funding and performing organisations. A large majority of EUROHORCs members also voted in favour of the creation of this new organisation through a merger between EUROHORCs and the European Science Foundation, with a strong and influential office in Brussels, and a gradual and responsible decline in activity in the current ESF Office in Strasbourg.
We are glad to see that the vote at the ESF assembly reflected the views of the EUROHORCs members – with the majority voting for the gradual closure of the ESF Office in Strasbourg. The alternative option of creating Science Europe through the transformation of ESF in France was not supported.
However, although the ESF assembly gave a clear indication as to future direction it failed by two votes to get the 2/3 majority required by ESF statutes to make this a legal decision. As a result discussions of the merger of the two organisations have not yet been resolved, but existing commitments will be unaffected, and both organisations are committed to continuing, uninterrupted, their joint work in pursuit of the EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and their Road Map for Actions, as they have throughout the merger process.
02/05/2011
EUROHORCs Comments on EC Decision on Measures for Simplifying the Implementation of FP7
EUROHORCs wanted to use the opportunity of the January EC decision on simplification measures to draw the attention to a number of additional measures that are considered important by its member organisations. Among the requests are the acceptance of the institutions‘ accounting systems, the abandonment of the obligation for interest-bearing bank accounts and the introduction of strong ex ante evaluations of the proposals.
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