Science Policy Standing Committee

The ALLEA Science Policy Standing Committee (SC) is the central body guiding ALLEA’s engagement in science-policy matters. Established to respond to a rapidly evolving European research and innovation landscape, the Committee ensures that ALLEA’s activities remain timely, transparent, and strategically aligned with its mission to promote science for the benefit of society. The SC provides a platform for leading experts from across Europe to identify and address key challenges at the interface of science, policy, and society. By coordinating ALLEA’s science-policy work and shaping the development of dedicated Task Forces, the Committee helps to strengthen the voice of the academies in European research policy debates.

Responsibilities:

  • The ALLEA Science Policy Standing Committee (SC) steers and coordinates ALLEA’s science-policy activities, ensuring that the academies’ collective expertise informs policy development at the national and European level.
  • It identifies emerging topics and recommends the establishment of Task Forces to address them, while monitoring and evaluating their progress and outcomes.
  • It brings together experts from a wide range of disciplines to provide independent, evidence-based perspectives on issues affecting research systems, science–policy interfaces, and the societal role of science.
  • Its work supports ALLEA’s strategic objectives, including strengthening academic freedom, promoting research integrity, and advancing trustworthy science.
  • Acting as a hub for exchange between Member Academies and policymakers, the Committee ensures that ethical, interdisciplinary, and sustainability considerations are embedded in ALLEA’s contributions to European and international science-policy discussions.
  • Godelieve Laureys (Chair) – Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts
  • Catherine Barnard – British Academy
  • Graham Caie – Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • Lisa Cheng – Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Benjamin Gorissen – Young Academy of Belgium
  • Lara Keuck – Junge Akademie
  • Tomáš Kostelecký – Czech Academy of Sciences
  • Guido Martinelli – Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei
  • Arben Merkoçi – Academy of Sciences of Albania
  • Christina Moberg – Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
  • Therese Murphy – Royal Irish Academy
  • Barbara Prainsack – Austrian Academy of Sciences
  • Pere Puigdomènech – Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona, Institute of Catalan Studies
  • Michael Zürn – Union of German Academies