Objective

The purpose of the SEMMERING Fora was to bring together experts involved in the study of research policies and to discuss the variety of theoretical and methodological approaches underlying empirical studies. Additionally the Fora were intended to facilitate interaction between researchers and policy-makers with the purpose of considering appropriate ways in which the experience and expertise in this field can be consolidated and fed into policy debates and structures, both within national and European settings.

The development and implementation of EU research policies poses a number of interesting and challenging questions. First, there are questions about the content of such policies: what is specifically European about what the EU is advocating, where do the ideas originate, and how are global science policy trends translated into the European scene? Second, there are questions about the nature of EU policy-making processes: the actors, mechanisms, and processes involved in formulating EU research policies. Third, there are questions about the policy instruments employed: for example, the relation between the structuring of the Framework Programme and the policy objectives it is designed to meet. And, finally, there are questions about the relationship between the EU activities and developments within national research systems, the impact of EU policies at various levels, from the transformation of local research practices to changes in national policy-making arrangements. Underlying all of these questions are concerns about the relationships, and flows of influence, between the EU and its Member States, as well as the position of the EU within a broader context of other transnational research initiatives.

The creation of the European Research Area and the ongoing development of the Framework Programme call for important discussions about their form and content, which are expected to be taking place in the coming years. What do the various proposals and ideas imply about the future form of S&T policy? What are the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of building stronger links between the full range of European countries? These are the questions which were addressed during the Fora.

In that context the aim of SEMMERING was to provide policy makers with a solid foundation on which to base their decisions and to anticipate changes in the field of science and technology.

The key objective of the SEMMERING was therefore to foster a network of researchers and decision makers all over Europe to tackle relevant S&T issues for international and transnational research co-operation in the European context. The role of Accession countries in this connection was particularly looked at.

The specific objectives of SEMMERING were:

• To increase the knowledge of the European dimension in S&T policies and to understand the impact of national policies on Europeanisation.
• To assess and compare the efficiency of S&T policy instruments - and in particular evaluation - in fostering outstanding research quality.
• To promote the European integration of the S&T sectors by examining the role of networks and the preconditions for their sustainability. 

Steering Committee

Name, Institution	Address	Phone, Fax, Email
Balarew, Christo Bulgarian Academy of Sciences	Acad. G. Bonchev str. Bl 11; BG-1040 Sofia	Phone:   +359 2 708494 Fax:       +359 2 705024 Email:    Balarew@svr.igic.bas.bg
Benavot, Aaron Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem	Mt.Scopus; IL-91905 Jerusalem	Phone:   +972 2 5883324 Fax:       +972 2 5324339 Email:    msbenavo@mscc.huji.ac.il
Cappellin, Riccardo University of Rome “Tor Vergata”	Via di Tor Vergata; I – 00133 Roma	Phone:   +39-06-72595716 Fax:       +39-06-2020500 Email: Cappellin@economia.uniroma2.it
Carius, Alexander Adelphi Research	Caspar-Theiss-Straße 14a D – 14193 Berlin	Phone:   + Fax:       + Email:    carius@adelphi-research.de
Caswill, Chris Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)	Polaris House, North Star Avenue UK – Swindon SN2 1UJ	Phone    +44 1793 413008 Fax:       +44 1793 413005 Email:    chris.caswill@esrc.ac.uk
Crowley, John Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales (CERI)	rue Jacob, 56; F – 75006 Paris	Phone:   +33 1 58717023 Fax:       +33 1 44108450 Email:    crowley@ceri-sciences-po.fr
Dienel, Hans-Liudger Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft, Technische Universität Berlin	Hardenbergstraße 4-5, HAD 38 D – 10623 Berlin	Phone:   +49 30 314 21406 Fax:       +49 30 314 26917 Email:    dienel@ztg.tu-berlin.de
Elise Féron Le Centre Interdisciplinaire pour la Recherche Comparative en Sciences Sociales (CIR-Paris)	41, rue Amilcar Cipriani F-93400 St-Ouen	Téléphone: +33-1-40 12 19 38 Email:    e.feron@iccr-international.org
Filacek, Adolf Czech Academy of Sciences	Jilska 1 CZ – 10000 Praha	Phone:   Email:    filacek@kav.cas.cz
Madjarova, Mirolyuba Centre for European RTD Projects, Sofia University	33-a Galitchiza, Str., Room 322; BG – 1164 Sofia	Phone:   +359 2 962 0234 Fax:       +359 2 971 3543 Email:    mira@fmi.uni-sofia.bg
Van der Meulen, Barend Univerisity of Twente	P.O. Box 217 Overijssel The Netherlands	Email: B.J.R.vanderMeulen@wmw.utwente.nl
Mosoni-Fried, Judith Institute for Research Organisation, Hungarian Academy of Sciences	Nádor utca 18; HU – 1051 Budapest	Phone:   + 36 1 269 5195 Fax:       + 36 1 331-3161 Email:    mos526@helka.iif.hu
Nedeva, Maria Policy Research in Engineering, Science and Technology (PREST), University of Manchester	Oxford Road; UK – Manchester M13 9PL	Phone:   +44 161 2755921 Fax:       +44 161 2731123 Email:    maria.nedeva@man.ac.uk
Pearman, Alan Leeds University Business School	Woodhouse Lane; UK - Leeds LS2 9JT	Phone: +44 113 233 41 21 Fax: +44 113 233 39 88 Email: a.d.pearman@adm.leeds.ac.uk
Peterson, Martin Gothenburg University	Renströmsgatan 6 SE - 405 30 Göteborg	Phone: +46 31 773 49 83 Fax:     +46 31 773 44 56 Email: martin.peterson@history.gu.se
Pohoryles, Ronald J. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Research in the Social Sciences (ICCR)	Schottenfeldgasse 69/1; A – 1070 Vienna	Phone:   + 43 1 524 13 93-111 Fax:       + 43 1 524 13 93-200 Email: r.pohoryles@iccr-international.org
Tönnisson, René Archimedes Foundation, Estonia	Sihtasutus Tartu Teaduspark, Riia 185 EST – 51014 Tartu	Phone: +37 2 7 383 005 Fax:     +37 2 7 383 041 Email:   rene@ibs.ee
Santos Pereira, Tiago Institute for International Scientific and Technological Cooperation (ICCTI)	R. Castilho, 5-4° PT – 1250-066 Lisbon	Email: tsp@ip.pt
Walukiewicz Stanislaw Centre for Industrial Management at Polish Academy of Sciences	PKiN Pl. Defilad; PL-1 00-901 Warsaw	Email: swalukiewicz@cimpan.pl
Żółtowski, Tadeusz Centre for Industrial Management Polish Academy of Sciences	PKiN Pl. Defilad 1; PL-00-901 Warsaw	Phone:   +48-22-6202580 Email:    tzoltowski@cimpan.pl