Policy Makers Forum

Objectives and Scope

The Policy Maker Forum during the SCOPE-EAST conference complemented the thematic workshops by discussing questions related to the framework conditions of S&T cooperation with Russia and Ukraine. The policy maker forum identified areas for an in-depth discussion which are of particular relevance to enhance the S&T cooperation between Member States, Associated States and Russia and the Ukraine. These areas were in particular

• Common policy objectives (and priorities)
• major elements of a common framework building on each others national instruments and ensuring their consistency and coherence (rules & regulations, funding schemes etc.
• joint instruments for delivering the joint framework
• optimum use of EU-Community instruments to be complemented by Russian and Ukrainian instruments

In more detail, the following issues and questions regarding the framework conditions of S/T cooperation were covered during the policy maker forum.

Common objectives of trans-national S&T cooperation

• Joint policy objectives addressing the particular needs of the science communities, individual scientists, global challenges

Setting up an appropriate framework to reach these common objectives both by national stakeholders and through coordinated trans-national efforts.

• Transparency of national S&T systems; effective and efficient dissemination of information
• Attractiveness of national S&T systems
• Borderless mobility of researchers allowing continuous brain circulation
• Funding schemes for the particular needs of international S&T cooperation
• Coordination of those national S&T programmes which address common objectives
• Fair trans-national use on national intellectual property
• Joint S&T (infra)structures, such as cross-border teams, joint laboratories, joint large-scale installations

Subsidiarity of national, bilateral and EU Programmes

• Complementarity of national, bilateral and Community programmes
• Association to the EU RTD Frame Programme: Chances and Challenges
• Policy mix for exploiting synergies of different policy domains, such as S&T, innovation, education and training, foreign assistance

International Bureau (IB) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); project co-ordinator, Germany	Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France	National Information Center for Ukraine-EC S&&T co-operation (NIP-UKR), Ukraine	State University — Higher School of Economics (HSE), Russia