New EU project launched: ‘Building capacity for evidence-informed policymaking’
The kick-off meeting for the ‘Building capacity for evidence-informed policymaking in governance and public administration in a post-pandemic Europe’ project took place on 8 November, in Brussels. European societies face complex problems and major societal challenges, such as COVID-19 and climate change. It is therefore crucial that governments are able to base their policies on scientific knowledge. This new EU project aims to increase the involvement of scientists, evaluators and policymakers in each other’s work to improve knowledge sharing, processes and policies.
The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) participated in the first meeting of the project’s steering committee on behalf of the Netherlands. The first meeting of the national coordination group – which includes representatives of the ministries of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Justice and Security, and Education, Culture and Science, as well as of the network of chief science officers – will follow soon. During the event in Brussels, WRR director Frans Brom participated in a panel discussion on the importance of science and knowledge in policymaking, and the challenges organisations like the WRR face in this context.
The project is an initiative of DG Reform and will be carried out by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and the OECD. In addition to the Netherlands, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic are also participating.