Structure
ESF is structured as follows:
- Governing bodies
- Science Connect Division
- Community of Experts
- Expert boards
Governing bodies
The annual assembly is the highest level decision making body of the ESF. It elects the ESF president, the Executive Board, ratifies the budget and accounts and admits new members. The assembly delegates are appointed by ESF member organisations.
The Executive Board sets and direct the overall strategy of the ESF and coordinates the relations with EU and other institutions. The Executive Board consists of the ESF president and 3 to 8 member organisations. The Executive Board meets twice a year.
The President officially represents the ESF to the public and in relations with other national or international organisations.
The Chief Executive is responsible for the implementation of the strategy and policy set by the Executive Board, for administration of the ESF office and its finance and for ensuring the execution of the decision of the assembly and the Governing Council.
Science Connect Division
Science Connect is ESF's Expert services division dedicated to support scientific decision-making through a range of science-support services, such as Grant Evaluation, Career Tracking, coordination of EU-funded Projects and the hosting of scientific platforms and Expert Boards.
According to the ESF website, the Community of Experts is a network of international recognized experts that covers the full spectrum of the scientific landscape (Humanities, Economics and Social Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Engineering Sciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Life and Biomedical Sciences). [5] Its role is to sustain scientific collaboration and support excellence in research grant peer-review and proposal evaluation across all scientific disciplines.
ESF's Community of Experts comprises two colleges:
- The College of Review Panel Members. Review Panel Members have a broad expertise in several scientific disciplines and their mission is to build consensus during the evaluation of research proposals.
- The College of Expert Reviewers. Expert Reviewers are scientists specialized in a specific scientific domain and are in charge of assessing and evaluating several types of proposals such as fellowship applications and research projects.
Expert boards
Since 1974 ESF has set up and hosted expert boards and committees in several scientific domains. These include space sciences; radio-astronomy frequencies; nuclear physics; marine and polar sciences; and materials science. At present ESF hosts the following Expert Boards:
European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC)
Established in 1974, the ESSC provides unbiased, expert advice to the space scientific community including the European Space Agency, the European Commission, EU national space agencies. Over the years, the ESSC has become the reference body in Europe for independent scientific advice on space matters and a key partner for international research collaboration.
Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee (NuPECC)
NuPECC's aim is to strengthen European collaboration in nuclear physics through the definition of a network of complementary facilities within Europe. NuPECC issues recommendations on the development, organisation and support of European nuclear physics and particular projects.
Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF)
Established in 1988, CRAF represents all the major radio astronomical observatories in Europe. CRAF initiates and encourages scientific studies aimed at reducing radio astronomy interference at source and the effects of interference. Throughout the years CRAF has become an active voice in Europe and engages with other groups of radio astronomers in discussions with international organisations that decide on the use of radio spectrum.
Science policy is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Topics include the funding of science, the careers of scientists, and the translation of scientific discoveries into technological innovation to promote commercial product development, competitiveness, economic growth and economic development. Science policy focuses on knowledge production and role of knowledge networks, collaborations, and the complex distributions of expertise, equipment, and know-how. Understanding the processes and organizational context of generating novel and innovative science and engineering ideas is a core concern of science policy. Science policy topics include weapons development, health care and environmental monitoring.
The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a previously existing international scientific institution, CERN. The ESRO convention, the organisations founding document outlines it as an entity exclusively devoted to scientific pursuits. This was the case for most of its lifetime but in the final years before the formation of ESA, the European Space Agency, ESRO began a programme in the field of telecommunications. Consequently, ESA is not a mainly pure science focused entity but concentrates on telecommunications, earth observation and other application motivated activities. ESRO was merged with ELDO in 1975 to form the European Space Agency.
The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific Council, its governing body consisting of distinguished researchers, and an Executive Agency, in charge of the implementation. It forms part of the framework programme of the union dedicated to research and innovation, Horizon 2020, preceded by the Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). The ERC budget is over €13 billion from 2014 – 2020 and comes from the Horizon 2020 programme, a part of the European Union's budget. Under Horizon 2020 it is estimated that around 7,000 ERC grantees will be funded and 42,000 team members supported, including 11,000 doctoral students and almost 16,000 post-doctoral researchers.
The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of European interests in national research agencies.
The National Fund for Scientific Research (NFSR) was once a government institution in Belgium for supporting scientific research until it was split into two separate organizations:
The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie is a global network of French-speaking higher-education and research institutions. Founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1961, as the Association des Universités Partiellement ou Entièrement de Langue Française (AUPELF), the AUF is a multilateral institution supporting co-operation and solidarity among French-speaking universities and institutions. It operates in French-speaking and non-speaking countries of Africa, the Arab world, Southeast Asia, North and South America, Polynesia, the Caribbean, Central, Eastern and Western Europe. As of 2020, the AUF has 1,007 members distributed throughout francophone countries on six continents. It is active in 119 countries, and represented by regional offices and information centers on campuses and in institutes. The Association receives funding from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), and its headquarters are located at the Université de Montréal, Quebec.
The European Cooperation in Science and Technology is running an EU-funded programme which enables researchers and innovators to set-up their own research networks in a wide range of scientific topics, called COST Actions. While COST does not fund research activities as such, it provides funding for scientific collaboration in the form of conferences, meetings, training schools and scientific exchanges.
The Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration is a Swiss graduate school of public administration. In 2014, the independent foundation was integrated into the University of Lausanne.
The Dutch Research Council is the national research council of the Netherlands. NWO funds thousands of top researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course of Dutch science by means of subsidies and research programmes. NWO promotes quality and innovation in science. NWO is an independent administrative body under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. NWO directs its approximate budget of 1 billion euros towards Dutch universities and institutes, often on a project basis. Also, NWO has its own research institutes and facilitates international cooperation. Current president of NWO since April 1, 2021 is Marcel Levi. Former NWO presidents include Stan Gielen, Peter Nijkamp and Jos Engelen.
Aurora Borealis is a proposed European research icebreaker, comparable to the world's strongest icebreakers, planned jointly by a consortium of fifteen participant organizations and companies from ten European nations. If built, she would be the largest icebreaker ever built as well as the first icebreaker built to the highest IACS ice class, Polar Class 1.
Informatics Europe is the European association uniting university departments, research labs and companies in the field of informatics.
ELIPS - European Programme for Life and Physical Sciences in Space and applications utilising the International Space Station started in 2001 and was intended to cover the activities for the following 5 years. This Microgravity Programme at the European Space Agency (ESA) is an optional programme, with currently 17 ESA member states participating. The ELIPS programme prepares and performs research on the International Space Station, and other uncrewed mission platforms like Sounding Rockets, in fundamental and applied life and physical sciences. ELIPS is the continuation of the earlier European microgravity programmes EMIR 1&2, and the Microgravity Facilities for Columbus, MFC.
The European Marine Board is a pan-European network comprising national organizations engaged in marine research. Its members include research funding organizations, such as research councils and ministries; research performing organizations like national marine research institutes; and nationally based consortia of higher education institutes, including university consortia.
Science Europe is an association of major research funding organisations (RFOs) and research performing organisations (RPOs). It was established in October 2011 and is based in Brussels.
Boris Yuriyevich Sharkov is a Russian physicist.
The Czech Science Foundation (GACR) was established in 1993 as an independent public organisation supporting basic research in the Czech Republic. On the basis of calls for proposals and a public competition, the Czech Science Foundation provides financial support for both experienced and young and early-stage researchers. It also funds international projects on a bilateral basis in cooperation with several partner agencies as well as projects carried out within international research programmes. It is one of two major government-supported research funding agencies in the Czech Republic, the other being the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR).
Athena Coustenis is an astrophysicist specializing in planetology. Dr. Coustenis, a French national, is director of research, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, at LESIA, at the Paris Observatory, Meudon. She is involved in several space mission projects for the European Space Agency (ESA) and for NASA. Her focus is on gas giant planets Saturn, Jupiter and their moons, and she is considered a foremost expert on Saturn's moon Titan.
The Research Foundation – Flanders is a Belgian public research council, based in Brussels. The Flemish research council aims to sponsor ground-breaking research and innovation. Much of this work involves supporting researchers and undertakings in association with the universities and institutes of Flanders, including Ghent University, University of Leuven, University of Antwerp and Free University of Brussels, among others.
The Science Programme of the European Space Agency is a long-term programme of space science and space exploration missions. Managed by the agency's Directorate of Science, The programme funds the development, launch, and operation of missions led by European space agencies and institutions through generational campaigns. Horizon 2000, the programme's first campaign, facilitated the development of eight missions between 1985 and 1995 including four "cornerstone missions" – SOHO and Cluster II, XMM-Newton, Rosetta, and Herschel. Horizon 2000 Plus, the programme's second campaign, facilitated the development of Gaia, LISA Pathfinder, and BepiColombo between 1995 and 2005. The programme's current campaign since 2005, Cosmic Vision, has so far funded the development of ten missions including three flagship missions, JUICE, Athena, and LISA. The programme's upcoming fourth campaign, Voyage 2050, is currently being drafted. Collaboration with agencies and institutions outside of Europe occasionally occur in the Science Programme, including a collaboration with NASA on Cassini–Huygens and the CNSA on SMILE.
The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) was founded in May 1980 in London to serve as an umbrella organisation representing the national Medical Physics societies in Europe. The office moved to Utrecht in January 2021. It is a non-profit organisation and aims to foster and coordinate the activities of its national member organisations, encourage exchange and dissemination of professional and scientific information, develop guidelines for education, training and accreditation programmes and to make recommendations on the responsibilities, organisational relationships and roles of medical physicists.
