WRR-Newsletter -December 2020

At the beginning of 2021, WRR and France Stratégie will organize a webinar on the issue of digitalization in times of growing dependence on digital means. This event is partially based on the WRR’s latest report ‘preparing for digital disruption’.

Often without our even noticing it, digital infrastructure is closely intertwined with processes that are essential to our society, economy, democracy and the rule of law. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus it has become even more apparent how intertwined we are with technology, and how dependence on digital systems is increasing. With this growing intertwining and dependence come increased risks and vulnerabilities. In which ways do France and the Netherlands deal with this, and what can we learn from each other?

During this webinar the WRR and France Stratégie will reflect on this, and WRR-chair Corien Prins and senior research fellow Erik Schrijvers will discuss with Commissioner-General of France Stratégie, Gilles de Margerie and other attendants.

On Tuesday 24 November 2020, the Danish Council for Research and Innovation Policy organized a virtual conference on science advice in the current Covid-19 crisis. The organization had invited speakers from EU organizations, the USA National Institutes of Health and the WRR to share their thoughts and experiences. In her contribution WRR-chair Corien Prins reflected on the use of scientific knowledge and advice in The Netherlands during the Covid-19 crisis.

Chair Corien Prins contributed to the DFiR-Conference 2020

In this series, we are publishing research by the Netherlands Council for Government Policy (WRR) that is relevant to the international community. Many social issues that affect the formation of policies in the Netherlands also represent challenges to other Western nations or international bodies. By publishing these studies in the international open access series, we hope that their analyses and insights will be able to contribute towards policy debates in other countries.

The Springer Series: Research for Policy

Global climate change has a serious impact on the Netherlands in many different ways. The country is grappling not only with the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a more sustainable economy, but also with rising sea levels and fluctuating weather patterns. The Netherlands has committed to both national and international agreements aimed at tackling climate change (mitigation) and absorbing the consequences of global warming (adaptation), but there are still a lot of difficult choices to be made in both the short and longer term. It is against that background that the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) has included the Climate Policy project in its work programme. This WRR project focuses on two aspects of climate policy: climate justice and long-term policy.

WRR launches Climate Policy project

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of robust scientific advice to policymakers. To promote sound evidence-informed policy-making across Europe the Joint Research Centre (JRC), organises a series of short, virtual workshops about 'science for policy eco-systems'. Anne-Greet Keizer, International Liaison of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) was invited to explain how the WRR practices science for policymaking at the centre of its national government. To support this workshop the WRR has made a video about its work.

WRR part of JRC workshop ‘science for policymaking’