Towards communities of practice
Public policy support is a mission that naturally brings together targeted research organisations, both in France and abroad, even if they have not specifically structured this activity. INRAE is involved in initiatives aimed at federating a scientific community for public policy support.
At the institutional level, communities of practice are being organised around support activities such as international expertise, or collaboration with different types of stakeholders. At national level, INRAE’s informal launch of an inter-agency group for sharing experience on public policy support provides a forum for sharing and building on common issues. These forums help to professionalise public policy support activities and build a common culture. This includes both the scientific community and the staff responsible for implementing public policy support in their establishments.
A national group for sharing experience between public scientific organisations
In 2021, an informal experience-sharing group on public policy support was launched at the initiative of INRAE’s public policy support division. It brings together practitioners from 14 organisations and universities who share common objectives: to bring a public policy support mission to life in their establishments and to facilitate the interface between science and public policy in a shared context of transitions and global changes. The group is a forum for sharing and building on shared issues and themes of common interest: training, development, innovation, and opening up to European and international organisations.
It facilitates the development of shared tools for training scientists, measuring the impact and maturity of research work in terms of support for public policy, bringing research to European level and linking national and regional levels.
The inter-agency group is a trade group that remains open to any new public scientific and technical entity wishing to join.
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Collaboration between INRAE and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre
The Directorate-General for Expertise and Support for Public Policies and the Joint Research Centre are working together on ecosystems to develop and implement public policies in the European Union’s Member States. Together with Member States and an inter-directorate-general Commission think tank (JRC- DG RTD- DG REFORM), INRAE contributed to the publication of a European Commission working document entitled “Supporting and connecting policymaking in the Member States with scientific research“. INRAE also contributed to the development of the French position when the document was presented to the Competitiveness Council in late 2022. These various interventions have enabled INRAE to establish a dialogue with the national level on these “science for policy” (S4P) issues. These intense collaborations since 2020 enabled the Director General for Public Policy Support to participate as a guest speaker at the “Science for Policy in Europe Conference” on 10 and 11 October 2023, and to share INRAE’s expertise on public policy support issues.
These various interactions, in addition to the issues of public policy support training led by the JRC, in which INRAE participates, will strengthen relations with the JRC and extend the scope of the collaborations provided for in the framework agreement between INRAE and the JRC.
The European Practice Sharing Group
The research institutes INRAE, ILVO, CREA and LUKE, as well as the universities of Aarhus and WUR, have a long history of supporting public policy. Together, they have launched the ‘Ghent Group‘, an informal network whose aim is to provide a space for scientists from major European research institutes to share their experiences of public policy support at the level of individual scientists as well as institutional strategies. The group organises meetings, courses and workshops. The group is open to all.
See also: the “Science for policymaking in France” workshop organised by INRAE and the JRC
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Partner’s testimonial
ADEME, a GIS Sol partner: tools for the ecological transition based on soil data
“ADEME has been involved in the GIS Sol since it was set up in 2001, both in its funding and in the way it operates and uses its data.
Jérome Mousset
Director of Bioeconomy and Renewable Energy at ADEME
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Partner’s testimonial
Phytopharmacovigilance, a unique system in Europe set up by Anses
“[…] This system provides a wealth of data on the presence of residues of plant protection products in the environment […]”.
Fabrizio Botta
Deputy Head of the National Phytopharmacovigilance Scheme at Anses
Training to strengthen public policy support practices
In 2022, the Ghent Group co-organised its first advanced course entitled “Science-Based Advice in the fields of agriculture and environment“. Spread over two days, the aim of the course was to discuss the contours of public policy support and to share best practice in relation to these activities. It was held again in 2023 and 2024.
Scientists with advanced experience in public policy support shared and discovered tools to assess their practices, gain access to a large community of practices, exchange resources and improve their understanding of the issues related to these activities.
The course combines theoretical presentations by speakers from the organising institutes and the Joint Research Centre, reflective sessions and practical case studies.
Discover the European Commission’s Knowledge for Policy website
See also
“We need to create new forums for exchange between science and decision-makers”
Joint interview with Patrick Flammarion, INRAE’s Deputy Director General for Public Policy Support and David Mair, Director of the Joint Research Centre
