The association facilitates co-operation among its members and supports excellence in science and research in all disciplines, acting as a platform to develop positions on research policy issues and to address policy messages to the European institutions, researchers, national governments, and the public.
The RFOs and RPOs that make up Science Europe share a common mission: to fund and perform excellent research in a world where scientific communities are less and less shaped by national borders. They also share the responsibility of managing a substantial proportion of national public research investments in Europe. Science Europe was established by its members to act as a platform to share experience and practice, develop, and deploy collective strategies to face their common challenges, as well as to speak with one voice to other science policy stakeholders when it is relevant to do so.
The policy-related work of Science Europe is guided by a roadmap.[2] This document outlines the strategic objectives for Science Europe, as well as nine "Priority Action Areas" on which its member organisations collaborate.
Dedicated working groups, high level policy networks, and task forces are set up around these policy areas to make concrete progress on finding common approaches; these groups draw on the extensive experience of the Member Organisations. Science Europe regularly publishes position statements, practical guides, policy briefs, survey reports, and other documents on these topics which provide analyses, present results, and make recommendations for research stakeholders.[4]
Science Europe is active on topics relating to EU legislation and regulatory affairs which have a large impact on the research sector, current topics include:
