Introduction

AuthorDelaney, Niamh; Tornasi, Zeno; Warin, Colombe
Pages6-9
6
INTRODUCTION
The Commission working paper in November 2000 ‘Science, Society and the Citizen in
Europe’ established the b asis f or the debate on the relationship of science and
technology with society. On 26 June 2001, European research ministers adopted a
resolution on ‘science and society and on women in science’ inviting both EU Member
States and the European Commission to become more active in bringing science and
society closer. As a response to the June 2001 i nvitation, in December 2001 the ‘Science
and Society’ Acti on Pl an was launched to set out a common strategy to make a better
connection between science and European citizens.
The 'Science and Society' theme under ‘Structuring the ERA’ in the Sixth Framework
Programme (FP6) b ecame the first ever initiative of its kind on a European scale. With a
budget of EUR 88 million, its goal was t o increase society’s acceptance of and
engagement with science and to rectify gender imbalances in research. The Sci ence and
Society projects supported a wide range of studies and partici patory events in areas
including gender, ethics, young people and scientific participation.3
In 2007, under the 7th Framew ork Programme for Research and Technological
Development (FP7), ‘Science and S ociety’ became ‘Science in Society (SiS)’ with the
main objecti ve to foster public engagement and a sustained two-way dialogue between
science and civil society. Its budget almost tripled to 280 million euros. 183 projects
were funded with an average EC cont ribution of 1.6 mi llion euros. Si S d emonstrated a
clear European added value addressing science and society-relevant issues such as
governance, ethics, public participation, awareness raising, gender equality, science
education, open access to data, as well as dissemin ation of research and innovation.4
In 2012, the Communication on a reinforced ERA, included gender equality and gender
mainstreaming in R&I as one of its five core priorities5.
Fig. 1: Evolution of budget allocated to ‘Science with and for Society’ in EU FPs
3 Report o f the Expert Group: Evaluation of the Sixth Framework Progra mmes for research and technological development
2002-2006
4 Study 'Commitment and coherence: Expostevaluation of the 7th EU Framework Programme (20072013)'
5 COM(2012) 392 final ‘A Reinforced European Research Area Partnership for E xcellence and Growth’

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