On June 30, forty-four European science organizations representing "several hundred thousands of researchers across Europe" issued a call for a European Research Council (ERC). Excerpt:
Europe has made great strides towards agreeing on a genuine new mechanism to fund frontier research – the European Research Council (ERC). This is a cornerstone for achieving the ambitions of the European Council (Lisbon agenda) to increase substantially Europe's innovativeness and competitiveness. The aim is to boost fundamental research as a means to be a winner in a world wide knowledge-based economy....The time has now come for the European Competitiveness Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission to see to it that the ERC clears the last remaining hurdles and receives a strong budget commitment and a statute guaranteeing its independence....[B]y providing a funding source that is freely, and under the same conditions accessible to scientists from across Europe, it creates a strong incentive for universities and research organizations to establish a stimulating working environment for promising young scientists and for large groups of the best and brightest. It is the best possible boost to the European university system.
Comment: Momentum for the ERC is building and we can hope that EU policy-makers will approve it. This is a golden opportunity to design a 21st century funding agency channeling public money into scientific research. The ERC needs a clear policy mandating open access to ERC-funded research.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 7/12/2005 02:44:00 PM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
