Reorganisation strengthens JRC scientific focus and networking support
A series of reports have been published over the past year on the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). These include a high level group study under Viscount Davignon in mid 2000, the JRC five-year assessment and a recent Commission audit of JRC activities designed to reduce costs and better integrate operations into the European Research Area (ERA). As a result, the JRC is refocusing and strengthening its organisation to ensure a successful contribution to ERA and the FP6 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. In the passage below, the JRC tells CORDIS News how it will go about this procedure. The main mission of the JRC remains the provision of science and technology support, independent of national and commercial interests, for the EU policymaking process. The new strategy and structure will increase JRC support to European Commission policymaking Directorates-General and to the European science and technology community as a whole. An initial benchmarking exercise shows that in 2000, the JRC was involved in 17% of interservice consultations, produced 80 deliverables for Member States and was involved in 57 pieces of Community legislation or communications. In line with its overall mission, its new strategy will improve quality by refocusing activities, and through better management of all scientific activities - particularly in terms of dissemination of results and knowledge, intensification of relevance and greater networking. Significant gains in efficiency are expected in the short and medium term. Cost savings are being found in four areas: merging of projects with similar objectives; terminating projects with limited relevance; reorganising or outsourcing administration and technical support; and allocating more staff to high potential projects responding to clear user demand. Major efforts are being directed to strengthening links with users, particularly, at a strategic level, with the Council and the European Parliament (EP), with other Commission DGs as primary customers, and with the wider user community in Member State research institutes and in industry. Tighter links are also being established with Member State regulatory and enforcement agencies. At the same time, the JRC is enhancing networking and co-operation with public and private institutions in the Member States and in the rest of the world - principally the USA and Japan. It currently works with over 2300 public and private organisations, such as research centres, universities, regulatory bodies, local authorities, industrial associations and companies, in 140 major networks - including partnerships with applicant countries. The JRC will also improve recognition of its scientific excellence, especially through regular evaluation and benchmarking, and by highlighting its quality management improvement scheme. There are more than 2000 JRC staff around Europe, with over 1500 scientists. The JRC has a policy of attracting bright and able scientists - many leaders in their field - to ensure a rich resource pool. Staff are recruited from all over the EU and from the applicant countries, bringing diverse skills and talents to resolve scientific issues of importance to EU policy-makers. The organisation is also developing a strategy for human resource development and mobility - particularly through training of young scientists and exchanges with national institutes in both existing Member States and applicant countries. Both the five-year assessment and the recent JRC internal audit concluded there was substantial overlap between the missions of the former Environment Institute (EI), the Space Applications Institute (SAI) and the Institute for Systems, Information and Security (ISIS) at JRC Ispra in Italy. Therefore, from 1 September 2001, these three organisations were merged into two new institutes: - The Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), supporting EU policies for the protection of the environment and sustainable development as well as providing continuing support for space applications. Its new structure will provide a broader and more coherent approach to environmental and sustainability issues. - Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC), supporting EU policies to protect the citizen - particularly cybersecurity and the fight against fraud, natural, technological and economic risks, humanitarian security, non-proliferation and nuclear safeguards. The intention is to increase the quality and quantity of scientific output by concentrating more on policies than technologies. The more transparent framework will make it easier for customers and potential partners to understand who does what. The leaner shape and lower management overhead will provide significant savings - and reallocation of staff from projects of lower priority to areas of higher priority will cut overall recruitment needs. A name change for the Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM) in Petten, the Netherlands to the Institute for Energy (IE) reflects more clearly its focus on clean and sustainable energy, spanning both nuclear and non-nuclear domains. And the Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) in Ispra will gradually take a more integrated approach to health matters - particularly the quality of food and drink on one hand and that of biomedical products, pharmaceuticals and vaccines on the other. Other JRC institutes - the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) in Geel, Belgium, which promotes a common European measurement system; the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) in Karlsruhe, Germany, which provides reliable, neutral expertise in the field of nuclear safety and safeguards; and the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) in Seville, Spain, which assesses the main drives of change likely to affect science and technology - are unaffected. Finally, a new Brussels-based Directorate for Science Strategy is responsible for positioning the JRC in relationship to ERA. In preparation for FP6, the JRC is concentrating its activities on three key themes: food, chemical products and health; environment and sustainability; and nuclear safety and safeguards. These 'pillars' are underpinned by three horizontal competences: technical foresight; reference materials and measurements; and public security and anti-fraud. Specific priorities include: - Climate change - keeping the EU at the forefront of efforts to fight a global threat; - Combating fraud - from cybersecurity to agriculture; - Emissions and air quality - avoiding impacts on health and the environment; - Genetically modified organisms - improving GMO detection and risk assessment; - Nuclear safeguards - preventing diversion of nuclear material, equipment or technology from energy applications to military use; - Nuclear safety - reducing risks from nuclear operations; - Nuclear waste - improving management and storage; - Safety and quality of the food chain - re-establishing confidence in food production by analysis of food quality and safety, and support for the implementation of food legislation; - Sustainable energy - security and safety of energy supply and renewable energies; and - Water quality - preventing pollution. As a result of its refocus and new priorities, the JRC will be able to play a, catalytic role in both ERA and FP6. Involvement will cover both the development of a Community-wide base for harmonised measurements and participation in, and co-ordination of, European and global networks. Two of the five FP6 research programmes proposed by the European Commission involve the JRC: - A 715 million euro programme focusing on food safety and health, environment and sustainable development, technology foresight, metrology, combating fraud, monitoring/prediction of natural disasters and data security; and - A 330 million euro programme covering the nuclear field: treatment and storage of nuclear waste, training of inspectors, reactor safety, nuclear medicine and radiation monitoring. Within its available resources, the JRC will play an active part in promoting training through research and researcher mobility within ERA and step up participation of applicant candidates in JRC activities.