#SciPol activities for you to dive into before recharging over the holiday season!

Dear EGU Experts,

This month’s Science for Policy Newsletter highlights several initiatives and science for policy resources that you may like to dive into before recharging over the holiday season. Read on to learn about upcoming #SciPol sessions at #AGU22, how you can have your say on the next EU Funding Framework Programme, key take-home messages from the EGU-Intergroup event on biodiversity, and how you can maximise your Policy Impact with a free EU Academy Course.

If you have any further questions or comments about the policy opportunities that exist for scientists in Europe, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via policy@egu.eu or on Twitter using @Chl0e_Hill.

Wishing you a restful and happy holiday season,
Chloe Hill, EGU Policy Manager

Upcoming AGU Science for Policy Sessions

Next week is the American Geophysical Union’s Fall Meeting. As one of our sibling societies, I’m pleased to be able to highlight some of the many ‘science for policy sessions’ that will be taking place next week and that may be of interest to those of you reading this newsletter. While the US and EU political systems are very different, there are transferable skills that scientists can learn and use in both regions! Of particular interest are:

If you’re unable to attend the meeting next week, never fear! EGU will be publishing a GeoPolicy Blog post with key highlights and take-home messages before the holiday season starts.

Horizon Europe: Have your say!

The European Commission currently has an open Consultation to evaluate the past, present and future of the EU’s Horizon research and innovation programmes 2014-2027. Not only is this an opportunity for you to provide feedback with the Horizon programmes, but for you and your institution to help shape the future of EU funding! You can respond to this consultation here until 23 February 2023.

If it’s your first time submitting feedback to a European Consultation, there are many useful online resources to support you. The Good Lobby’s Consultation Toolkit is one example that gives a detailed explanation about how you can effectively engage with the different types of Consultations and calls.

"There’s no way out of the biodiversity crisis without science”

Last month’s EGU-Intergroup #SciPol event on Supporting EU’s biodiversity targets by bridging the science-policy divide has helped to bring biodiversity-relevant science, policy, NGO, and industry stakeholders closer together. The event highlighted how science and science-based collaborations could be used to support the EU’s ambitious biodiversity targets with Member of the European Parliament Cesar Luena who stated, “[Scientific] proposals and recommendations are our guideline to implement effective policies. There is no way out of the biodiversity crisis without science!”

You can now watch and share the recording of this event here. If you would like any further information on the event, EGU’s Policy Programme, or how EGU is supporting the EU’s biodiversity targets, please get in touch via policy@egu.eu.

EGU’s #SciPol Hangouts will become monthly in 2023!

Throughout the second half of 2022, the EGU’s Science for Policy Hangouts have provided EGU members with an informal space to meet and chat #SciPol and related topics. EGU is happy to announce that in 2023, we’ll be expanding this initiative to once per month! You can already register for the first Hangout of 2023 here but going forward, we’d like to set a Jour fixe (regular day of the month) for these meetings. If you have a preference for when these monthly meetings will take place, let us know what they are here before 30 December 2022.

Maximise your policy impact with an EU Academy Course

The holidays are a great time to switch off our screens and recharge! But in case you’d like something to watch in the lead-up to this, or as inspiration in the New Year, I can recommend the EU Academy’s short trainings and videos. Supported by the European Union, these resources are free for everyone and cover a wide variety of topics. One of particular interest to those reading this newsletter is the 60-minute course, Science for Policy – Maximise your Policy Impact. This course highlights the skills scientists need to better engage with policymakers including how to understand their audience better, appreciate the different language used by scientists and policymakers, and get their key messages across with confidence.

©2022 European Geosciences Union. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
EGU - European Geosciences Union e.V.
Kastenbauerstr. 2
81677 Munich, Germany
Banner image credit: European Union 2015 – European Parliament via Flickr