Science Advice for Policy by European Academies

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies)

Berichtszeitraum: 2020-11-01 bis 2022-04-30

The ‘Science Advice for Policy by European Academies’ (SAPEA) project is part of the Scientific Advice Mechanism of the European Commission (SAM) which provides independent scientific advice to the European Commission to inform policy making. At the request of the European Commission SAPEA provides Evidence Review Reports (ERRs) which includes evidence-based policy options to inform the Scientific Opinions of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors.

SAPEA is a consortium of the Academy Networks Academia Europaea, ALLEA, EASAC, Euro-CASE and FEAM. Across these networks, SAPEA brings together outstanding expertise from natural sciences, engineering and technology, medical, health, agricultural and social sciences, and the humanities. SAPEA draws on over a hundred academies, young academies and learned societies in more than 40 countries across Europe.

In view of the increasing complexity of today’s societal challenges and the growing need for independent interdisciplinary scientific evidence to inform policymaking, the project’s core objectives are:

Firstly, to provide science-based policy advice and scientific inputs in different formats, in particular ERRs, which inform the Scientific Opinions of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, also responding to the need for scientific evidence in the context of COVID-19.

Secondly, to strengthen cooperation and foster synergies among the Academy Networks and their member academies, as well as making the existing structures more sustainable.

In addition, SAPEA undertakes dissemination and outreach activities to inform audiences about SAPEA and the work of the SAM, to strengthen public confidence in the evidence base underpinning EU policy-making; and to stimulate and respond to heightened debate about the role of scientific evidence in policy, also with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SAPEA developed ‘Guidelines on advising policymakers and society’ which are publicly available at www.sapea.info.

In 2016 and 2017 Academy Fellows and experts, nominated by the academies, contributed to the following publications of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors:
• ‘Cybersecurity in the European digital single market’, March 2017
• ‘New techniques in agricultural biotechnology’, April 2017

Between 2017 and 2022, SAPEA produced the following Evidence Review Reports which informed the Advisor’s Scientific Opinions:
• ‘Food from the oceans’, 2017
• ‘Novel carbon capture and utilisation technologies: research and climate aspects’, 2018
• ‘Improving authorisation processes for plant protection products in Europe’, 2018
• ‘A scientific perspective on microplastics in nature and society', 2019
• ‘Transforming the future of ageing’, 2019
• ‘Making sense of science for policy under conditions of complexity and uncertainty’, 2019
• ‘A sustainable food system for the European Union’, 2020
• ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’, 2020
• ‘A systemic approach for the anergy transition in Europe’, 2021
• ‘Improving cancer screening in the European Union’, 2022

D&E&C measures:
During the lifetime of the project SAPEA has organised, co-organised or participated in 171 outreach events related to the above-mentioned topics (in 22 European countries, thereof 11% in EU-13 countries, and 10 events outside Europe) with a total of around 16,800 participants.

In addition, SAPEA co-organised four major conferences:
• October 2017, Tallin, ‘Crossing boundaries - new approaches to science for policy in Europe’
• May 2018, Sofia, ‘Shaping European Science Advice: Insights and Experiences’
• November 2019, Helsinki, ‘The future of science advice in Europe’
• April 2022, Brussels, the conference of the Scientific Advice Mechanism ‘Science advice under pressure’

Online engagement has been a major part of SAPEA’s activities. By the end of the project, SAPEA had:
• Received quarter of a million website visits from 148,000 unique visitors
• Acquired more than 3,000 followers on Twitter
• Published 47 podcast episodes with around 600 listeners per episode
• Published 77 videos attracting a total of 19,000 views, with an average view duration of more than 6 minutes per video
• Built up a newsletter mailing list with more than 1,500 subscribers

The main impact statement of the project is to ‘Improve the quality of EU policymaking by providing timely scientific evidence within the EC’s Scientific Advice Mechanism’. SAPEA produced on request of the EC a total of 10 Evidence Review Reports which informed the Advisor’s Scientific Opinion. The publications were used and referenced in different policy documents, such as:

• ‘Food from the Oceans’ in the Communication A sustainable Bioeconomy for Europe (COM/2018/673)
• ‘Improving authorisation processes for plant protection products in Europe’ in the Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 on the placing of plant protection products on the market
• ‘A Scientific perspective on microplastics in nature and society' in the Staff Working Document accompanying the Report on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (SWD/2020/61)
• ‘Transforming the future of Ageing’ in the Green Paper on Ageing (COM/2021/50)
• ‘A sustainable food system for the European Union’ in the Staff Working Document accompanying the Communication Contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis (SWD/2021/317)
• ‘Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment’ in the ‘Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2005/29/EC concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market (C/2021/9320)

More examples can be found at the project’s website.

As part of the SAM, SAPEA continues its activities in the project HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-EA-IBA including communications, dissemination and outreach activities and actively promotes scientific knowledge around past and future topics. Examples of forthcoming topics include ‘Strategic crisis management in the EU` with reference to a broad and multidisciplinary understanding on how the EU can improve its strategic crisis management.

2018 WP5 Academies’ interaction workshop Madrid. Source: SAPEA

April 2022 Cover Scientific Opinions published to date. Source:SAPEA/Sophie Lenoir

December 2022 online with Commissioners Gabriel and Sinkevičius. Source: SAPEA

Nov 2019 SAPEA Helsinki Conference. Source: SAPEA/Tomi Setälä

April 2022 SAPEA/SAM conference online session Canadian Science Policy Source: SAPEA/Sophie Lenoir

Sept 2019 Handover MASOS ERR, European R&I days. Source: SAPEA

Summer 2019 Elements of the microplastics escape room, World Oceans Day, Sopot, Poland: Source SAPEA

April 2022 Eric Lambin GCSA. Source: SAPEA/Sophie Lenoir

SAPEA Logo

Nov 2017 Handover FFO ERR and Group`s SO to Commrs Moedas and Vella. Source: EC

Dec 2019 SAPEA ERRS published to date. Source: SAPEA

Jan 2019 Handover NMP ERR. Source: SAPEA

Oct 2019 Handover TFA ERR. Source: SAPEA

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies)

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