Initiative for Science in Europe

The Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE) is an independent platform of European learned societies and scientific organizations. It provides a shared forum for scientific communities seeking a stronger role for researchers in European policymaking, particularly in the design, implementation, and evaluation of science and research policy. ISE emerged from dissatisfaction among European scientific organizations with the way research policy and funding instruments were being developed at European level in the early 2000s. Scientific communities were concerned that researchers were not sufficiently involved in policymaking and that European research support did not yet provide an adequate instrument for funding high-quality, investigator-driven frontier research across disciplines. The initial effort was coordinated through the European Life Science Forum, but participation soon expanded beyond the life sciences as additional disciplines and organizations joined. The initiative was formally launched in Paris on 25 October 2004. Its early agenda was closely connected with the broader development of the European Research Area and with efforts to establish a European funding mechanism capable of supporting excellent, curiosity-driven research. In this role, ISE functioned less as a conventional commercial brand than as a collective advocacy and policy forum representing the interests of organized scientific communities. The organization later acquired formal legal status as a not-for-profit organization in Strasbourg on 12 October 2017. Its activities have centered on promoting independent scientific advice, encouraging the participation of scientists in European policy design, and communicating the priorities and concerns of learned societies to European institutions and other policymakers. The platform's membership-based character allows organizations from different fields to coordinate positions while retaining their individual identities. ISE has been associated with several prominent figures in European science and research policy. Its first president was José Mariano Gago, the Portuguese scientist and former minister responsible for science, technology, and higher education who was also involved in the early conception of the European Research Area. He was followed by Julio Celis, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, the former director-general of UNESCO, and Maria Leptin, a former EMBO director and president of the European Research Council. Professor Martin Andler is identified as the current president in the available reference material. ISE's principal offering is therefore institutional rather than commercial: it convenes scientific organizations, develops shared policy perspectives, and advocates for research systems in which decisions are informed by independent expertise. Its geographic focus is Europe, and its work is relevant to research funding, scientific advice, researcher participation, and the relationship between scientific institutions and European public policy.

The Initiative for Science in Europe developed out of a broader concern among European learned societies and scientific organizations that science was not playing a sufficiently strong or independent role in the formation of European policy. During the early 2000s, organizations involved in research policy were dissatisfied with existing European funding instruments and with the limited participation of active researchers in decisions affecting the direction of science and innovation. One early objective was the creation of a European funding instrument capable of supporting frontier research selected primarily on the basis of scientific excellence. The concept was intended to operate across disciplinary boundaries and to provide support for investigator-led research rather than being restricted to narrowly prescribed policy themes. Initial coordination took place through the European Life Science Forum. The initiative subsequently attracted organizations from other scientific fields, transforming it from a life-science-centered effort into a broader cross-disciplinary platform. ISE was formally launched in Paris on 25 October 2004. Its formation coincided with continuing European discussions about the European Research Area and the appropriate institutional relationship between scientific communities and European decision-makers. The organization sought to give learned societies a collective voice, encourage the use of independent scientific advice, and make the involvement of scientists a more visible part of European research-policy development. The platform's advocacy has been institutional and policy-oriented rather than commercial. It has provided a setting in which participating organizations can exchange views, coordinate positions, and communicate shared priorities concerning research funding and science governance. Its remit includes both the substance of research policy and the processes through which that policy is designed and implemented. In particular, ISE has emphasized the importance of scientific independence and of channels that allow policymakers to draw on expert knowledge without compromising the autonomy of research communities. A significant organizational milestone occurred on 12 October 2017, when ISE was registered as a not-for-profit organization in Strasbourg. This formal registration gave the previously informal initiative a recognized legal structure while preserving its role as a platform for scientific and learned organizations. The organization has been led by figures with substantial experience in European and international science policy. José Mariano Gago served as its first president and was among the people associated with the early development of the European Research Area concept. Subsequent presidents included Julio Celis, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, and Maria Leptin. Leptin had served as director of EMBO and later became president of the European Research Council. Martin Andler is identified in the available reference material as the current president. ISE remains focused on strengthening the connection between organized science and European policymaking. Its identity is defined by convening and advocacy: it does not primarily sell products, but instead represents a cross-disciplinary policy constituency concerned with research quality, scientific advice, and the participation of researchers in decisions about Europe's scientific future.

• 2017

  Registration as a not-for-profit organization

  [1]Initiative for Science in Europeen.wikipedia.org

  ISE was registered as a not-for-profit organization in Strasbourg on 12 October 2017, giving the initiative a formal legal structure.

• 2004

  Formal launch in Paris

  [1]Initiative for Science in Europeen.wikipedia.org

  The Initiative for Science in Europe was formally launched in Paris on 25 October 2004 after an earlier period of informal development and coordination through the European Life Science Forum.

An independent, cross-disciplinary advocacy platform representing European scientific communities in debates on research policy, funding, and evidence-informed policymaking.

• Policy advocacy · 2004

  Science-policy advocacy

  ISE's core activity is collective advocacy on European science and research policy. It brings together learned societies and scientific organizations to articulate common positions on research governance, funding, scientific independence, and the role of expertise in policymaking. This is an institutional service rather than a commercial product.

• Advisory platform · 2004

  Scientific advice and policy dialogue

  The organization provides a forum for scientific communities to promote independent scientific advice and to engage with European policy processes. Its purpose is to improve the connection between researchers, learned societies, and public institutions involved in developing or implementing science policy.

• Research-sector coordination · 2004

  European research-policy coordination

  ISE coordinates perspectives across scientific disciplines and organizational members. The platform was initially associated with discussions about a European instrument for funding excellent frontier research, and its broader function is to help European scientific organizations participate collectively in debates over research priorities and funding mechanisms.

• 2017

  Formalization as a not-for-profit organizationOther

  Background

  ISE had operated as an informal initiative since its development in the early 2000s.

  Action taken

  The organization was registered as a not-for-profit entity in Strasbourg on 12 October 2017.

  Aftermath

  The registration provided ISE with a formal legal framework for continuing its European science-policy activities.

  Source

• 2004

  Adoption of a cross-disciplinary European science-policy platformStrategy

  Background

  European learned societies were seeking a stronger role for scientists in policymaking and better support for frontier research across disciplines.

  Action taken

  The initiative expanded beyond its initial life-science coordination and was formally launched as a broader platform for European scientific organizations.

  Aftermath

  ISE became a collective forum for advocacy on independent scientific advice and European research policy.

  Source

1. 1Initiative for Science in Europeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Initiative for Science in Europe official websiteinitiative-se.eu