Mapping European research foundations
While most of us know that foundations support research through funding, we do not know why they do it. Why do they support some projects and not others? The 'Foundations research and mapping' (Foremap) project delved into the workings of these venerable organisations. The project was initiated by the European Foundation Centre (EFC) which developed the methodology for the study. The EFC was assisted by a scientific advisory committee (SAC) made up of university experts, a representative from Eurostat, the EU's statistics body, and representatives from European foundations. By getting a wider picture of the foundations' activities, the project was able for the first time to map trends with comparable data. Foremap tested the methodology on foundations in different countries - Germany, Portugal, Slovakia, and Sweden - and sectors with differing research capacities. Once the results came back from the four pilot studies, the methodology was revised accordingly. Around 25 stakeholders from across Europe then met in Brussels in September 2009 to discuss the methodology in a dedicated workshop. They reviewed the methodology and found areas that could be improved and discussed how foundations' contributions to science could be useful to various actors in the sector. They also examined ways of expanding the methodology to cover all of Europe. On the basis of this workshop a book was published, called 'Understanding European research foundations', which outlined the outcomes of the four pilot studies and underlines the importance of widening the experience of the project to other countries in Europe.