Joint Research Centre

European Union

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The Joint Research Centre (JRC), is a Directorate-General of the European Commission under the responsibility of Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science. The current JRC Director General is Vladimír Šucha.^[1]

The JRC provides independent scientific and technical advice to the European Commission to support a wide range of EU policies. The JRC has seven scientific institutes, located at six different sites in Belgium (Brussels and Geel), Germany (Karlsruhe), Italy (Ispra), the Netherlands (Petten) and Spain (Seville), with a wide range of laboratories and unique research facilities. Its headquarters are located in Brussels.^[2]

Mission

"As the Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre's mission is to provide EU policies with independent, evidence-based scientific and technical support throughout the whole policy cycle. Working in close cooperation with policy Directorates-General, the JRC addresses key societal challenges while stimulating innovation through developing new methods, tools and standards, and sharing its know-how with the Member States, the scientific community and international partners."^[2]

Structure

The JRC has seven scientific institutes. The Institutes are:

• Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM)
• Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU)
• Institute for Energy and Transport (IET)
• Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC)
• Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES)
• Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP)
• Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS)

The Directorate-General of the JRC is located in Brussels. The Scientific Policy and Stakeholder Relations Directorate and the Resources Directorate are based in Brussels and Geel, Belgium, and in Ispra, Italy. The Ispra site management (ISM) Directorate is responsible for the site management and for the nuclear decommissioning, safety, security and protection. The JRC Board of Governors assists and advices the JRC Director General on matters relating to the role and the scientific, technical and financial management of the JRC.

History

The Italian Centre in Ispra originally belonged to the Comitato Nazionale per l'Energie Nucleare (CNEN) and was officially transferred to the Community on March 1, 1961.^[3] Since 1973, non-nuclear research evolved rapidly, especially in topics related to safety and the environment. In 1992, the results of a study led to a proposal to convert the JRC Ispra site into an environmentally-optimised model site – the "ECO Centre". At the beginning of the 1980s re-examination of the mandate and evaluation of the activities of the JRC began. Future activities were to continue to support the Commission's implementations of Community policies. After 16 years of research, the nuclear reactor at JRC Ispra^[4] was shut down in 1983.^[5]

Staffing

The JRC employs around 2750 staff from EU countries.^[6] The recruitment of permanent scientific and administrative staff for the European Commission is organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) through open competitions. The JRC can also recruit individuals on a temporary basis under certain conditions.

JRC Events

The JRC site in Ispra regularly opens its doors to the public. The Open Day's programme allows visitors to see the JRC's laboratories. Latest JRC Open Days:

• JRC Open Day 2013 (Saturday 4 May)
• JRC Open Day 2011

Other JRC events are announced on the JRC website.

See also

• Directorate-General
• Directorate-General for Research
• Directorate-General for Information Society and Media (European Commission)
• European Research Area (ERA)
• European Research Council (ERC)
• European Institute of Technology (EIT)
• European Research Advisory Board (EURAB)
• European School
• Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development
• Joint Technology Initiative
• Lisbon Strategy
• Seventh Framework Programme
• Sixth Framework Programme

References

External links

• Joint Research Centre

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