Scientific Advice Mechanism#Group of Chief Scientific Advisors
{{Short description|Service created by the European Commission}}
{{Politics of the European Union mini}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
The Scientific Advice Mechanism is a service created by the European Commission which provides independent science advice on request directly to European Commissioners.{{Cite web |title=Who we are – Scientific Advice Mechanism |url=https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/scientific-advice-mechanism/who-we-are/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |language=en-GB}}
The Mechanism consists of three parts: the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, an expert group consisting of up to seven leading scientists;{{Cite web |title=About the Advisors – Scientific Advice Mechanism |url=https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/group-of-chief-scientific-advisors/about-the-advisors/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |language=en-GB}} SAPEA, a consortium of five European academy networks collectively representing around 120 academies and learned societies across Europe;{{Cite web |title=Academies and Networks – Scientific Advice Mechanism |url=https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/sapea/academies-and-networks/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |language=en-GB}} and a unit within the European Commission (Unit RTD.02 Science Policy, Advice and Ethics) which serves as a secretariat to the Advisors.{{Cite web |title=About the secretariat – Scientific Advice Mechanism |url=https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/sam-secretariat/about-the-secretariat/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |language=en-GB}}
Group of Chief Scientific Advisors
The core of the Scientific Advice Mechanism is the European Commission's Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, an expert group consisting of up to seven leading scientists, selected by the European Commission assisted by an independent identification committee. The Advisors are supported by a dedicated secretariat, Unit RTD.02, informally known as the "SAM Unit", staffed by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and Joint Research Centre.
The Group of Chief Scientific Advisors currently consists of the following seven members:
Previous members of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors include:{{Cite web |title=About the Advisors – Scientific Advice Mechanism |url=https://scientificadvice.eu/about-us/group-of-chief-scientific-advisors/about-the-advisors/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |language=en-GB}}
- Julia Slingo (2015–2016)
- Henrik Wegener (2015–2017)
- Cédric Villani (2015–2017)
- Janusz Bujnicki (2015–2020)
- Pearl Dykstra (2015-2020)
- Rolf-Dieter Heuer (2015-2020)
- Carina Keskitalo (2016-2021)
- Paul Nurse (2016-2021)
- Éva Kondorosi (2020-2023)
- Maarja Kruusmaa (2020-2024)
- Alberto Melloni (2020-2024)
- Nicole Grobert (2018–2025)
- Eric Lambin (2021–2025)
- Eva Zažímalová (2021–2025)
- Nebojša Nakićenović (2020–2025)
SAPEA
SAPEA brings together around 120 academies, young academies and learned societies. Its role as part of the Scientific Advice Mechanism is to provide high-quality, independent evidence to underpin the Scientific Opinions produced by the Chief Scientific Advisors. SAPEA has the ability to convene experts from some 40 countries across Europe, spanning the disciplines of engineering, humanities, medicine, natural sciences and social sciences.
The SAPEA consortium brings together six umbrella networks jointly representing Europe's academies:
- Academia Europaea{{Cite web|url=https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Acad_Main/Activities/SAPEA|title=Academy of Europe: SAPEA|website=ae-info.org|access-date=2019-03-28}}
- All European Academies{{Cite web|url=https://www.allea.org/asap-academies-sciences-advice-to-policy/|title=SAPEA: Science Advice for Policy by European Academies -|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-28}}
- European Academies Science Advisory Council{{Cite web |title=www.easac.eu |url=https://easac.eu |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=easac.eu |language=en}}
- European Council of Applied Sciences and Engineering{{Cite web|url=http://www.euro-case.org/index.php/sapea.html|title=SAM: Scientific Advice Mechanism|website=euro-case.org|access-date=2019-03-28}}
- Federation of European Academies of Medicine{{Cite web|url=https://www.feam.eu/policy-priorities-2/sapea/|title=SAPEA {{!}} FEAM|website=feam.eu|access-date=2019-03-28}}
- Young Academies Science Advice Structure{{Cite web |title=YASAS is joining the SAPEA project – SAPEA |url=https://sapea.info/yasas-is-joining-the-sapea-project/ |access-date=2022-11-18 |language=en-GB}}
At present, SAPEA is funded by a grant from the European Union's Horizon Europe programme through to May 2029.{{Cite web |last=European Commission |title=CORDIS: Science Advice for Policy by European Academies |access-date=13 January 2025 |website=CORDIS: Science Advice for Policy by European Academies|url=https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101198044 }}
Scientific advice
The Scientific Advice Mechanism has issued advice in the form of Scientific Opinions, explanatory notes or statements, supported by evidence review reports, on the following topics:{{Cite web |title=Advice – Scientific Advice Mechanism |url=https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/ |access-date=2023-10-10 |language=en-GB}}
| class="wikitable sortable" style="border:#555;" |
| Topic
! Date ! Evidence review and scientific opinion |
|---|
| Glyphosate
| {{Dts|June 2016}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/glyphosate/] |
| Light-duty vehicle real-drive CO2 emissions
| {{Dts|November 2016}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/light-duty-vehicle-real-drive-co2-emissions/] |
| Cyber-security in the European Digital Single Market
| {{Dts|March 2017}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/cybersecurity/] |
| New techniques in agricultural biotechnology
| {{Dts|April 2017}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/new-techniques-in-agricultural-biotechnology/] |
| Food from the oceans
| {{Dts|November 2017}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/food-from-the-oceans/] |
| Novel carbon capture and utilisation technologies: research and climate aspects
| {{Dts|May 2018}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/novel-carbon-capture-and-utilisation-technologies/] |
| Authorisation processes of plant protection products in Europe
| {{Dts|June 2018}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/improving-authorisation-processes-for-plant-protection-products-in-europe/] |
| A scientific perspective on microplastics in nature and society
| {{Dts|January 2019}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/a-scientific-perspective-on-microplastics-in-nature-and-society/] |
| Transforming the future of ageing
| {{Dts|July 2019}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/transforming-the-future-of-ageing/] |
| Making sense of science for policy under conditions of complexity and uncertainty
| {{Dts|July 2019}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/making-sense-of-science-for-policy-under-conditions-of-complexity-and-uncertainty/] |
| Towards a sustainable food system for Europe
| {{Dts|April 2020}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/a-sustainable-food-system-for-the-european-union/] |
| Adaptation to climate change-related health effects
| {{Dts|June 2020}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/adaptation-to-climate-change-related-health-effects/] |
| COVID-19, future pandemics and other crises in the global context
| {{Dts|November 2020}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/covid-19/] |
| Biodegradability of plastics in the open environment
| {{Dts|December 2020}} | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/biodegradability-of-plastics-in-the-open-environment/] |
| A systemic approach to the energy transition in Europe
| June 2021 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/a-systemic-approach-to-the-energy-transition-in-europe/] |
| Improving cancer screening in the European Union
| March 2022 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/improving-cancer-screening-in-the-european-union/] |
| Strategic crisis management (with European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies)
| November 2022 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/strategic-crisis-management-in-the-eu/] |
| Sustainable food consumption
| June 2023 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/towards-sustainable-food-consumption/] |
| AI in science
| April 2024 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/artificial-intelligence-in-science/] |
| One Health governance
| November 2024 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/cross-sectoral-evidence-based-governance-for-one-health-in-the-eu/] |
| Solar radiation modification
| December 2024 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/solar-radiation-modification/] |
| Advanced materials
| January 2026 | [https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/advanced-materials/] |
History
Until 2016, science advice in the European Commission was provided by a single Chief Scientific Advisor who reported directly to the President of the European Commission. The last Chief Scientific Advisor, serving from 2012 to 2014, was Dame Anne Glover.
On 1 November 2014, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker asked Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science in his mission letter to "make sure that Commission proposals and activities are based on sound scientific evidence and contribute best to our jobs and growth agenda". Following this, on 13 May 2015, Juncker announced the establishment of the Scientific Advice Mechanism. The first seven members of the Advisors were identified, following a European call for nominations, in January 2016.
In December 2016, SAPEA was officially launched to support the Advisors by providing scientific evidence review reports. Its funding was renewed in 2020 and again in 2025.
References
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External links
{{Sister project links|European Commission}}
- [https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/support-policy-making/scientific-support-eu-policies/group-chief-scientific-advisors_en Scientific Advice Mechanism]
- [https://www.sapea.info SAPEA]
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