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Since its inauguration in early 2013, the Science Europe Scientific Committee for the Humanities has strongly supported Horizon 2020’s third pillar, Societal Challenges. The Committee realises the importance of the issues addressed, and the urgent need to find solutions to these pressing questions. The Committee is therefore committed to making the Challenges-approach successful.

In this paper, produced by the Scientific Committee for the Life, Environmental and Geo Sciences, the Committee highlights the lack of clear evaluation metrics for scientists working in multidisciplinary teams. The Committee devises also concrete recommendations to contribute to the elaboration of an appropriate evaluation framework and suggests four main categories of indicators that demonstrate success in multidisciplinary and collaborative research: data generation, analysis and knowledge management; the development of enabling tools for data handling; the added value of collaborative research, and acknowledging contributions in bibliometic analysis.

Improving the world’s resilience to future impacts of global environmental change is of utmost importance. This brochure outlines strategies on different areas such as health, food, security, and biodiversity and underlines the importance of conserving the planet’s natural resources while adapting to various effects of climate change.

In a globalised research ecosystem, collaboration is key. This collaboration also brings challenges linked to the diversity of scientific and legal environments. The aim of this practical guide is to provide better and more efficient means for research organisations to apply a set of optional models for cross-border collaboration and to help them achieve more successful and easier implementation.

The Roadmap, approved by the Science Europe General Assembly in November 2013, is Science Europe’s action plan to contribute to the elements of a successful research system. It acts as a framework for voluntary collective activity, providing a long-term strategy for the association. The ‘Priority Action Areas’ are those in which Science Europe members believe that there is a potential to achieve tangible and substantive progress, and where they can add real value by working together.

Published on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Berlin Declaration, this paper encourages the humanities research community to engage with the new possibilities that Open Access can offer. It also calls on research funding and performing organisations to work together to tackle the specificities and remaining potential obstacles.

This Opinion Paper has been produced by Science Europe Scientific Committees for the Humanities and the Social Sciences to outline the main prerequisites for the successful integration of Social Sciences and Humanities throughout Horizon 2020’s Societal Challenges and across the entire research ‘ecology’. Overall, these elements should ensure a coherent interplay between the high-level objectives of Horizon 2020, the programme design, its implementation and evaluation.

This is the first brochure produced by the Science Europe Scientific Committee for the Humanities, with the objective to increase awareness of how the humanities are actually contributing to the Societal Challenges. The humanities have important resources to offer and it is essential that in the formulation of the Horizon 2020 programme texts there is scope to include these valuable lines of research. The projects highlighted in the brochure not only have made a concrete, societal impact but also break through the usual stereotypes of the humanities and therefore widened the view on our field.

This paper expresses the concerns of the medical and health research communities about the lack of a specific consideration when regulating the privacy of individuals and protecting personal data in the context of medical and health research in the General Data Protection Regulation.

The European Institutions are currently entering the crucial stage of the legislative process that will revise the EU Data Protection Directive and lead to the European General Data Protection Regulation (DPR). Scientific research produces high impact results, depending heavily on access to and use of datasets that include personal data. In order to continue to perform scientific research for the benefit of Europe and its citizens, researchers need an appropriate DPR that reconciles the safe processing of personal data for scientific research and the protection of individual rights to privacy

Science Europe Member Organisations are committed to ensuring that publicly-funded research and innovation in Europe has the maximum impact, leading to new discoveries, and providing solutions that deliver societal benefit. Research publications are one of the main results of the research process and the Research Performing and Research Funding Organisations that comprise Science Europe share the vision of increasing the impact and reducing the costs of research publications by moving to a system of Open Access.

European social sciences and humanities research is world leading in many areas. SSH research perspectives are key to tackling grand societal challenges in the future and its role throughout H2020 needs to be substantial. Simply stating such an ambition will not, however, result in its achievement. Here we provide some practical recommendations for how SSH can be embedded into the societal challenges in a meaningful and constructive way.

Producing excellent science and research has historically been Europe’s key asset for sustainable growth and maintenance of a leading position in a highly competitive global economy. Horizon 2020, the European Framework for Research and Innovation from 2014 to 2020, complements national and cross-border efforts and should strengthen the impact of investments into science, research and innovation.

As European leaders meet to decide on the budget of the EU for the next seven years, the 50 major Research Performing and Research Funding Organisations that constitute Science Europe would like to stress the importance of adequate funding for research and innovation at the European level. The Europe 2020 strategy is the primary EU-level plan to strengthen growth and competitiveness, by producing clear European added value through investment in education, research and innovation.