To: Minister Simona Kustec, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel
Brussels, 4 October 2021
Honourable Minister Simona Kustec and Commissioner Mariya Gabriel,
With this letter, the undersigned representatives of research and innovation (R&I) organisations wish to reiterate to the member states and the European Commission the added value of including European R&I stakeholders in the ERA governance system, especially in both its co-creation and implementation. The R&I stakeholders provide high-quality, collective input from different communities within the R&I system, all of which are necessary to achieve an effective and resilient ERA. Including stakeholders in the development of ERA policies and legislation in a structured and sustained way will help the design and take up of ERA policies.
Reminding you of our longstanding and strong historical commitment and efforts towards ERA, and recalling the clear calls for stakeholders’ involvement in the Communication ‘A new ERA for Research and Innovation’ and in the subsequent Council Conclusions, we therefore strongly welcome and support the proposal of the Slovenian Presidency in the draft Council Conclusions published on 7 September as they appropriately “invite the Commission to guarantee that the ERA Forum will:
- ensure appropriate representation at its meetings of the following sectors: universities, research and technology organisations, R&I-intensive businesses, individual researchers and innovators, research infrastructures and R&I-funding organisations, […]
- set up an open online voluntary stakeholder register to increase transparency in the identification of the ERA stakeholders involved in the work of the ERA Forum and its subgroups.”
Considering the above proposal for ERA stakeholder involvement, as representatives of European R&I organisations we commit to coordinating and self-organising by sector as proposed, to ensure effective engagement and structural representation of different perspectives in the ERA governance.
In light of the future Competitiveness Council that will finalise the ERA governance proposal at the end of November, we remain fully committed to working with you and supporting your continued efforts to ensure structured and systematic R&I stakeholders’ involvement in the ERA Forum.
Yours sincerely,
Signatories
| Michael Murphy European University Association | Jón Atli Benediktsson AURORA |
| Rik Van de Walle CESAER | Ludovic Thilly COIMBRA Group |
| Màrius Martínez Muñoz ECIU | Martin Vetterli EuroTech Universities |
| Vincent Blondel The Guild | Luciano Saso UNICA |
| Snježana Prijić-Samaržija YERUN | Marc Schiltz Science Europe |
| Jon Deer European Alliance for Social Sciences and Humanities | Agnieszka Żyra European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers |
| Michael Matlosz EuroScience | Martin Andler Initiative for Science in Europe |
| Mostafa Moonir Shawrav Marie Curie Alumni Association | Gemma Modinos Young Academy of Europe |
