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Report of the first informal meeting of NGOs concerning
the European Research Policy


(You can also download it here)

Report of the first informal meeting of NGOs concerning the European Research Policy
held the 16th November 2004 in London

Present: a dozen organisations from six European countries

Name (in alphabetical order)                             Organisation
Reiner Braun                                                        INES (International network of engineers and scientists), Germany
Marc Develì                                                         Snesup (Syndicat national de l'enseignement supérieur), France
Maurice Herin                                                     Snesup (Syndicat national de l'enseignement supérieur), France
Janine Guespin                                                    Espaces Marx, France
Nicola Hellwig                                                      INES, Germany
André Jaeglé                                                        FMTS (Fédération mondiale des travailleurs scientifiques), France
David King                                                             HGA (Human Genetics Alert), UK              
Jean-Paul Lainé                                                   Snesup, France
Claus Montonen                                                   INES, Finland
Claudia Neubauer                                                FSC (Fondation Sciences citoyennes), France
Stuart Parkinson                                                 SGR (Scientists for global responsibility), UK
Doug Parr                                                             Greenpeace, UK
Patrick Petitjean                                                  FSC, France
Monika Sanchez                                                  Peace Foundation, Espagne
Arnim Tenner                                                       INES, Netherlands
Laurence Vandewelle                                       Green Party, European Parliament
Robert Vint                                                            GFA (Genetic Food Alert), UK
Diana Wittendorp                                                    Science for the people, Netherlands

Why this meeting on NGOs and European research policy?

    The European Social Forum unified for the third time hundreds of non governmental and other organisations. Some of these organisations are more directly involved in the field of science and society, e.g. growing commercial control of science in Europe, the influence of the military in science and technology, human genetics (bar-coding people, human cloning and genetic engineering, prenatal screening, etc.), agriculture (gm crops and food in Europe, nanotechnology in agriculture), science and citizenship (citizens intervention in new research policy, participatory approaches, etc.).
    The question laying at the basis of our engagement is what kind of research we need to build a society that would be more sustainable, more solidary, more responsible, more equitable.    
We are conscious that the resources of our planet are limited and that a large majority of the world population is still living under more or less inhuman conditions (employment, education, environment, health, justice, human rights etc.) despite a more and more fast growing technical and scientific progress. There is the need to question the construction and the use of scientific knowledge and to support a scientific research that is socially needed and acceptable. Reflecting and acting on the definition of research priorities, on how to organise research and on how to use its results are today key challenges regarding the development of our societies and the social transformations we are witnessing. These challenges require new forms of cooperation between scientists, citizens and policy makers.


Concerning the European research policy we are facing several problems:

The policy of the « European Reseach Area » (ERA) is focused on making of Europe the most competitive economy in the world up to 2010, linking even more directly than ever before research and industry and research and scientific and technical innovation.
[If you want to read more about the concept and the « ideology » of the ERA:
http://www.cordis.lu/era/
and especially the report from the European Commission « Towards a European Research Area » from January 2000:  ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/documents_r5/natdir0000001/s_1372005_20010125_143514_C001190en.pdf]
Science and research seem to be considered by many NGOs, social movements, unions, and citizens as to be something outside of their engagements and far from their fights.
Science is not yet a social issue.

Concerning the Framework Program 7: Research is seen as a key issue in the Lisbon group.
the FP 7 will have the third most important budget of the European Union (the 7th FP will have a doubled budget in comparison to the 6th).
the FP 7 will mainly have the same orientations as FP 6 but the new budget will include space, security and defense.
the program is very corporate and liberal.
 
for information:
The new commissioner for research will be Janez Potocnik, a center-right politician from Slovenia (economist, former minister of European Affairs).



You can find more information concerning FP 7 on: http://www.cordis.lu/era/fp7.htm

[ Attention!! When you go to this website -> than to
Commission launches new website on FP7 research themes -> than to
§http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/future/themes/index_en.html you come to a call where the public, stakeholders etc. are invited to propose thematic domains and research themes for the FP7. The call is open up to end of December this year. If ever we have the energy and the time... it would be good to send at least one text (even if short) with some reflections and propositions.
This could even make more credible our analysis.]





Some concrete ideas came up during the discussion

  • We should create an informal network including numerous European NGOs (NGOs of concerned scientists, non scientific NGOs active in different fields as environment, health, food, agriculture, energy, social affairs, human rights, etc.). The actual circle is too restricted, too « academic » and not enough « activist » and comes only from a limited number of European countries. In the frame of this informal network that could be called « European Science Social Forum » (ESSF), we wish to propose to other NGOs to reflect together on the place of science and research in the process of globalisation and liberalisation, to develop together a critical analysis of research and research policy, to discuss together questions as: Who should decide research priorities? How to use participatory democracy methodologies in order to enlarge the pool of democratic tools for decision making processes concerning science and technology? What social tools in order to master our system of scientific knowledge production? How to support social responsibility for scientists movements inside the scientific community? What does democratic governance of research mean?

  • We decided to try to analyse the 7th framework program, to analyse the world that is proposed by this FP and than to prepare a counter-proposition of our vision of the world: the « alternative FP 7 ». This analysis, discussed among us, could be proposed as a petition and be signed by as many organisations and people as possible. We should also criticise the way the FP was elaborated, e.g. the lack of democracy in the decision process. (When presenting the alternative FP 7: Should we contact the commissioner for research and ask a meeting with him in order to present our work?).

  • What about lobbying in Brussels? But do we have the capacities and if so how and who to do so?

  • We wish to organise an intermediate meeting between November 2004 and March 2006 (next ESF) in order to deepen our discussions on: science and the ESF, science and democratisation (citizens' assemblies, etc.), science and the European research policy, science and globalisation, etc.
 
  • We consider useful to organise a one day « European Science Social Forum » just before the next European Social Forum that will take place in spring 2006 in Athens.


=>    Up to now this informal network has no head and no structure. It is a free cooperation of NGOs, organisations and persons wishing to influence, to improve, to change the European research policy because they believe that Another world is possible.


Finances:
    This question is still totally open. In a first time we have to try to function without any supplementary money. But if we intend to work in the long run we should find some subsidies. Any ideas are welcome!!

to recall:
During the 2nd ESF meetings in Paris, the idea of "citizens' assemblies on research in Europe" was launched, and some 80 people from five European countries constituted a mailing list (ACRE/CARE), later on transformed into an informal network that facilitated obtaining one seminar and two workshop on science during the 3rd ESF in London.
This mailing list (growing constantly since October) is now used as a starting point in order to spread the information on our initiative as wide as possible.

Who does what in a first time:

Who                                                             what                                                                                                   when
Doug Parr             Prepares a first version of an analysis of the FP 7
                               + counter-propositions + critics of the decision process                             December 2004

Monika Sanchez       Installs a wiki website that will allow us to discuss
                                              all emerging questions                                                                                January 2005

Janine Guespin                Coordinates the mailing list                                                                   December 2004

Nicola Hellwig,            Coordinate the organisation of an intermediate
Reiner Braun                       meeting in the mid 2005                                                           January to June? 2005

Claudia Neubauer         Writes the report of the first meeting (what is
                                          done herewith), prepares a list of NGOs and
                                           persons to contact                                                         November and December 2004

Laurence Vandewalle              Delivers documents and information
                                                         concerning the FP 7 and an eventual
                                                        conference inside the EP                                                              ongoing

Reiner Braun,
Jean-Paul Lainé             Contact the ESF organisers in order to achieve that
                                     science is put on the agenda of the next ESF as a key issue               As soon as the preparation
                                                                                                                                                           process for the next ESF is open