On May 6th and May 7th 2024, the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) is co-organizing the conference #StrongerTogether : SSAH and the future of evidence-informed policymaking in the frame of the Belgian’s Presidency of the European Council, together with the Flemish Department for Economy, Science and Innovation (EWI), the Walloon Service Public for Economie, Employment and Research (SPW EER), the General Service of higher education and scientific research of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB) and Innoviris.
This event will take place at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, located in Tervuren, Belgium.
Date: 6 - 7 May 2024
Place: AfricaMuseum, Tervuren, Belgium
| 8:30 - 9:15 |
Registration and coffee |
| 9:15 - 9:30 Auditorium  |
Introductory plenary session Opening address Arnaud Vajda (Chairman of the Board of Directors, Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO)) Marc Lemaître (Director General DG Research and Innovation (RTD) of the European Commission) (via video) |
| 9:30 - 11:05 Auditorium |
Plenary opening session The actors of the evidence-informed policymaking ecosystem and their views on its functioning Moderator : Sven Retoré (Visuality.eu) |
| Keynote addresses and panel discussion | |
| Frank Vandenbroucke (Minister of social affairs and health) The viewpoint of a policymaker on the EIPM ecosystem |
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| Professor Marius Gilbert (Vice-rector of research and valorisation, Université Libre de Bruxelles; former member of GEES (advisory panel to the Belgian government during the pandemic)) The viewpoint of a scientist on the EIPM ecosystem |
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| Professor Eric Lambin (Member of the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission) The viewpoint of a knowledge broker on the EIPM ecosystem |
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| Jolita Butkeviciene (Director for Innovation in Science & Policymaking, Joint Research Center of the European Commission) The viewpoint of a knowledge broker on the EIPM ecosystem |
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| Fabrice Rousselot (Chief Editor of The Conversation France) The viewpoint of a journalist on the EIPM ecosystem |
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| 11:05 - 11:30 Foyer |
Coffee break |
| 11:30 - 12:40 Auditorium |
Macroscopic views on the functioning of the evidence-informed policymaking ecosystem Moderator : Sven Retoré |
| 11:30 - 11:50 |
Keynote speech Stéphane Jacobzone (Senior adviser, OECD) Behavioural and institutional dimensions in the functioning of the actors in the EIPM ecosystem |
| 11:50 - 12:10 |
Keynote speech David Budtz Pedersen (Professor of Science Communication and Impact Studies, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University) The EIPM ecosystem as a whole and the framework for assessing its functioning |
| 12:10 - 12:40 |
QA and debate with the audience |
| 12:40 - 14:00 Foyer |
Lunch break |
| Cocreation in parallel sessions # 1: SSAH and the production of
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| 14:00 - 15:15 Picnic Room |
Session 1: Which incentives for stimulating interdisciplinary research? Producing interdisciplinary evidence or coordinating the expertise of a diversity of disciplines should never be taken for granted. Scholarly research within the SSAH is still mainly anchored in mono-disciplinary work and creating mutual understanding between researchers remains difficult and time consuming. Participants will discuss possible ways to stimulate interdisciplinary research further (notably within SSAH and with STEM) with the aim to generate novel and usable knowledge which support the decision-making process on current societal challenges. Chair: Professor Erik Mathijs (Prof. Agricultural and Resource Economics, KU Leuven, Chair of the SAPEA working group on sustainable food consumption) (14:00 - 14:25) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss and insights into possible recommendations from
Interactive discussions between participants (15.15 – 15.30) Short break (transition into next session) |
| 14:00 - 15:15 Meeting Room 1 |
Session 2: AI for EIPM – new technological factors in science for policy Artificial Intelligence applications open new possibilities for large-scale, dynamic, and tailored synthesis and analysis of multidisciplinary evidence. How can this be best leveraged in a policy context? What are possible applications and pitfalls to look out for? Chair: Alessandro Allegra (DG RTD, European Commission) (14:00 – 14:25) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss; Presentation of a case on the development and use of AI for policymaking by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC):
Interactive discussions between participants (15.15 – 15.30) Short break (transition into next session) |
| 14:00 - 16:30 Auditorium |
Session 3: Providing evidence for funders/science policy makers: how to balance societal, research and policy needs Inter/multi/transdisciplinary research, which is required in EIPM, needs a functional environment to thrive. An environment into which public and private funders, like research councils and ministries, play a prominent role... What sort of conditions need to be in place and how can these conditions be generated? An additional aim of this session is to come up with recommendations for research funding organisations: what can be done concretely to better enable these research forms in Europe? Chair: Gabi Lombardo (Director of EASSH – European Alliance for the Social Sciences and the Humanities) Part 1 sets the scene by presenting a case study of successful collaboration of technical and social scientists in the EU-funded NORDIS project that addresses how to create a model for tackling information disorders in digital media to ensure transparency in open democracies. The case study will then be followed by a panel discussion on interdisciplinarity with funders and think talk.
Panel speakers: Raf Guns (university of Antwerp and Jon Deer (City, University of London) |
| 15:30 - 16:45 Meeting Room 2+3 |
Session 4: Cross-disciplinary, cross-domain policy advice from governmental and transnational bodies Organisations within or put in place by governments that can mediate evidence across a wide range of disciplines are rare. This session will discuss good examples, possible limitations and recommendations for transversal brokering systems within government (cutting across SSAH/STEM disciplines) in delivering larger and coherent evidence to the so-called ‘wicked problems’. Chair: Holger Strassheim (Professor of Political Sociology, Bielefeld University) (15:30 - 15:55) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss and Insights into possible recommendations from:
Interactive discussions between participants |
| 15:30 - 16:45 Picnic Room |
Session 5: Engagement of academic associations and scientific networks in multi-disciplinary science advice for policy Various forms of scholarly associations, science academies, academic networks (such as young academies) and university alliances seek to strengthen, aggregate and disseminate scientific knowledge to increase the impact of science on evidence-informed policymaking. As such, they are becoming collective actors of multi-disciplinary science advice for policy. The session will discuss how and in how far these academic mediators can and do play a role in the science-policy interface. It will moreover focus on their impact on the further development of science and academia, and their relationship to politics and society. Chair: Gaby Umbach, Professor and Director of the Research Area ‘Knowledge, Governance, Transformations’, Global Governance Programme, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute (15:30 - 16:00) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss and Insights into possible recommendations from
Interactive discussions between participants |
| 15:30 - 16:45 Meeting Room 1 |
Session 6: The production of evidence-informed policies Policymakers (both politicians and civil servants) play an essential part in a well-functioning “science for policy ecosystem”. However, the demand for scientific advice remains uneven although it offers many avenues to co-design an ecosystem that rests on a ‘science in all policies’ approach. Chair: Maxime Petit Jean (Expert in Policy Analysis and Evaluation to the High Strategic Council, Walloon Region - Belgium) (15:30 - 15:50) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss and Insights into possible ways forward from
Interactive discussions between participants |
| 16:45 - 18:15 | Drinks reception |
| 18:15 - | End of the day 1 Informal programme |
| 8:45 - 9:15 |
Registration and coffee |
| 9:15 - 9:45 Auditorium |
Plenary session The feedbacks and suggestions of ways forward from the parallel sessions 1 to 6 will be presented |
| Cocreation in Parallel sessions # 2 Professionalisation of the SSAH actors for a better functioning evidence informed policymaking ecosystem
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| 9:45 - 11:00 Meeting Room 1 |
Session 7: Communication between actors in the EIPM ecosystem Effective communication is necessary between all the actors in the EIPM system. When (SSAH) researchers and knowledge brokers engage with policymakers and citizens, it is quite often a challenge to adapt their message to their audience(s). When the scientific evidence is multidisciplinary, complex, or sometimes even conflictual, it not easy to convey a message that is nuanced, timely and accessible. At the same time, policy makers may struggle to engage in a continuous dialogue with SSAH scientists and knowledge brokers. Throughout this session we will explore difficulties and opportunities in the science for policy communication interface. Chair: Ingrid Van Marion (Science Communication Researcher, Université libre de Bruxelles) (9:45 – 10:00) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss and Insights into possible ways forward from
Interactive discussions between participants |
| 9:45 - 11:00 Auditorium |
Session 8: Which are the essential competences and skills for the actors of EIPM ecosystems, scientists and policymakers? For EIPM ecosystems to thrive scientists and policymakers need to develop cross-cutting competences to build the bridge between science and policy. Developing these skills in researchers and policymakers, as well as taking these competences into account in research evaluation, will enable both actors to rise to the global challenges, to deliver innovative and future-proof policy solutions and reinforce trust in both democracy and science. Chair: Anstasia Deligkiaouri (JRC) (9:45 - 10:15) Introduction by the chair, presentation of the competency framework developed by the JRC and positioning of the issues to discuss and Insights into possible recommendations from
Interactive discussions between participants |
| 9:45 - 11:00 Meeting Room 2+3 |
Session 9: Defining roles and building trust in the EIPM ecosystem Trust is a major theme in studies of the relationship between science and society in general and evidence-informed policymaking (EIPM) in particular. These challenges are fundamental, not least in social science and humanities research that often concerns society’s most complex issues where there can be considerable political disagreements and value heterogeneity. We can define three common framings that affect roles and trust: 1) the linear model from supply of evidence to demand by policy, 2) the reversed linear model (from policy demand to scientific supply) and the 3) cocreation model in which policymakers and scientists are coproducers. Chair: Magnus Gulbrandsen (Director of the Oslo Institute for Research on the Impact of Science (OSIRIS) (9:45 - 10:00) Introduction by the chair, positioning of the issues to discuss case presentation (how did trust come into play in the rollout of vaccination strategies in the Covid-19 pandemic? ) and Insights into possible recommendations from: Olivier Luminet, (Professor of psychology, Université catholique de Louvain) (10:00 - 11:00) Interactive discussion between participants |
| 11:00 - 11:30 Foyer |
Coffee break |
| 11:30 - 11:45 Auditorium |
Plenary session The feedbacks and suggestions of ways forward from the parallel sessions 7 to 9 will be presented |
| 11:45 - 12:30 Auditorium |
Key note speeches on SSAH, multidisciplinarity and policymaking Rick Szostak (Professor of Economics, University of Alberta and College of Europe) |
| 12:30 - 13:30 Foyer |
Lunch break |
| Plenary debate on #3 Innovation in EIPM ecosystems: the added value of SSAH |
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| Keynote addresses and panel discussion | |
| 13:30 - 15:15 Auditorium |
Jeroen Bourgonjon (Ghent University) Cocreating policies with scientists, citizens and local authorities: the case of Ghent. |
| Jaakko Kuosmanen (Chief Coordinator of the Science Advice Initiative of Finland) Small-scale pilots than scaling up tested solutions: Finland notably is very good at this at all levels of government. |
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| Jean-Eric Aubert (President of the French Foresight Society, President of Foundation 2100) Foresight exercises and the role of SSAH in a science for policy ecosystem. |
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| Lidia Borell-Damian, Secretary general of Science Europe The assets of SSAH for the future in evidence-informed policymaking. |
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| Timo Maas (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency) Co-creating the science to policy interface |
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| 15:15 - 15:30 Auditorium |
Short break |
| 15:30 - 16:30 Auditorium |
Wrap-up |
| 16:30 - 16:45 Foyer |
Farewell coffee |
| 16:45 | End of the conference |
Video streams of the keynotes speeches and the plenary debates are available here: https://www.facebook.com/events/7341230389306029/.
The sessions marked with a will be streamed. The stream will become available on the days of the event.
NB: the number of rooms in each hotel is limited, the rooms will be given in a first come, first served basis. In case the hotel of your choice in the list above should be full, please contact them to arrange an additional room at the same preferential rate.
As all available places have been allocated, registration for the conference on 6-7 May 2024 is now closed.
If you have any problems or questions, please contact us at this address: stepconf@belspo.be.
