Members of three Science Diplomacy projects under H2020 have joined forces in order to sustain and grow their activities within a new European Alliance.
The past EU research and innovation framework programme Horizon 2020 (H2020) included the funding for three projects on science diplomacy, European Leadership in Cultural, Science and Innovation Diplomacy (EL-CSID), Using Science for/in Diplomacy for Addressing Global Challenges (S4D4C), and Inventing a Shared Science Diplomacy for Europe (InsSciDE). With H2020 and the projects ending, 16 of the participating institutions, including universities, research funders and the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) have decided on a collaborative initiative to sustain and grow the activities, networks, impact and legacy of the three projects. On 10 June 2021, they launched the European Science Diplomacy Alliance.
The Alliance aims at further developing, maintaining, and organising joint research projects, capacity building and training activities on the topic of science diplomacy, which were initiated by the H2020 projects. It will serve as a hub for cooperative activities and coordination and will rely on its membership community and networks to select the activities it will pursue. The Alliance emerged as a result of the S4D4C policy brief ‘Nurturing the EU Science Diplomacy Community: The Launch of an EU Science Diplomacy Alliance for Addressing Global Challenges’. All activities are not for profit and funded entirely by voluntary contributions of the Alliance members. A selection of resources for Science Diplomacy is already available on the Alliance’s website.
The European Science Diplomacy Alliance is open to additional members, who agree with a Letter of Intent and commit to mobilise resources to support each other in the achievement of joint objectives. Eligible as members are legal entities based in the EU. Non-EU based legal entities can affiliate as ‘Global Networking Partners’. The Alliance is also planning to create a board of ‘Advisory Partners’ by invitation to representatives of international institutions. As a first member of this board, Jan-Marco Müller on behalf of the European Union External Action Service already accepted the invitation.
Science Diplomacy is also in the focus of the Strategic Forum for International S&T Cooperation (SFIC), which is a dedicated configuration of the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC). On 27 May, the SFIC taskforce on Science Diplomacy published a report summarising the findings from a ‘Survey Analysis on Science Diplomacy Strategies, Activities and Actors of EU Member States and Associated Countries’. The survey covers 19 countries in total, and comes to several conclusions showing potential for improvement. The study shows that formal policy strategies for Science Diplomacy are often missing and that science advice for foreign affairs policy is still in the making. Countries aim at increasing national capacities and tackling global challenges, when devising Science Diplomacy strategies, mostly led by governmental stakeholders. However, international cooperation in Science Diplomacy is still at an early stage and training for professionals remains scarce. The study also concludes that the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for Science Diplomacy. It seems that the activities proposed by the new European Science Diplomacy Association may have the potential to address at least part of the identified gaps.