All European Academies
All European Academies (ALLEA) was founded in 1994 and currently brings together 58 Academies in more than 40 countries from the Council of Europe region. Member Academies operate as learned societies, think tanks and research performing organisations. They are self-governing communities of leaders of scholarly enquiry across all fields of the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. ALLEA therefore provides access to an unparalleled human resource of intellectual excellence, experience and expertise.
"A sense of belonging to Europe, to a community of values, of culture and interests, is essential to forge this common destiny. Europe is indeed us, each of us. And each of us can make a difference in Europe and contribute to driving positive change. This is what ALLEA is doing through its wide range of activities." With this statement, former President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso underlines ALLEA's efforts to shape the discourse on the future of Europe.
About ALLEA
Independent from political, commercial and ideological interests, ALLEA’s policy work seeks to contribute to improving the framework conditions under which science and scholarship can excel. Jointly with its Member Academies, ALLEA is in a position to address the full range of structural and policy issues facing Europe in science, research and innovation. In doing so, it is guided by a common understanding of Europe bound together by historical, social and political factors as well as for scientific and economic reasons.
Mission and Strategy
ALLEA's mission is to promote the exchange of information and experiences between Academies, strive for excellence and high ethical standards in the conduct of research, as well as for autonomy of science and scientific institutions and adequate working conditions for scientists and scholars. ALLEA aims to secure the preservation, protection and interpretation of the European cultural heritage and seeks to contribute to improving the conditions under which science and scholarship can fulfil this task and further excel.
Its policy for science work addresses the framework for science and research in Europe and beyond and offers advice to the European society and scientific community and to a wide range of decision-makers and stakeholders in the science policy arena. ALLEA directly involves its Member Academies, relying on expertise of the Academies’ leading scholars, and other pan-European academy organisations in its deliberations.
The organisation's positions are elaborated through permanent and issue-focused expert Working Groups and reflect on the societal, technological and environmental challenges that science and scholarship face, thereby proposing the steps necessary to maintain and expand a vigorous and rigorous science base in Europe. ALLEA advice takes the form of analytical reports and studies, memoranda and statements, articles and essays.
ALLEA's focus areas include the European Research Area and Horizon 2020, Digitisation and Research Infrastructures, Intellectual Property Rights and Open Access, Science and Ethics, Science Education, Social Sciences and Humanities as well as the intellectual and cultural notion of Europe.
The Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values
ALLEA awards the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values, which is endowed with 25,000 Euros and co-sponsored by the Stiftung Mercator. The first Madame de Staël Prize was awarded to Professor Luisa Passerini in Brussels in April 2014. The award was presented by José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission from 2009 - 2014.
The prize is awarded to eminent scholars whose work represents a significant contribution to the cultural and intellectual values of Europe and to the idea of European integration and therewith exposes the multifaceted intellectual Europe of openness and colourful vibrancy. It also shows the importance of non-technological scholarly work and research for Europe. Laureates are well known for their scholarly merits in the fields of history, political science, social science, religion, law or any other field in the humanities and their work must also be of remarkable significance for the emerging and necessary values of Europe in present times.
On 23 April 2015 the Madame de Staël Prize will be awarded for the second time to Dame Helen Wallace and will be handed over by the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas.
Structure
The General Assembly is ALLEA‘s highest legislative body where all Member Academies decide on the federation’s policy, governance, bodies and budget.
The President and Board are elected from amongst the ALLEA Members Academies and are responsible for the operative ALLEA activities. The Board consists of eight members including two Vice Presidents elected from among the Board members.
ALLEA Working Groups assemble the leading experts from the Member Academies in selected areas of interest. They can be of permanent character or of limited duration.
The ALLEA Secretariat, based at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin, Germany, provides administrative support to ALLEA‘s different bodies and acts as an intermediary between them.
Presidency (since 2012)
President: Günter Stock, Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities
Vice President: Daniela Jezova, Slovak Academy of Sciences
Vice President: Ed Noort, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Working Groups
Intellectual Property Rights (permanent)
Intellectual Property Rights, be it patents or copyrights, play an important role in all academic activities. The permanent Working Group Intellectual Property Rights, which has been in existence since the 1990s, has prepared and issued reflections, declarations and recommendations on the most challenging topics of IPRs, including open access to scientific publications, stem cell research, the community patent or the grace period.
Science and Ethics (permanent)
The permanent Working Group Science and Ethics is concerned with a wide range of problems, both internal (within the scientific community) and external (relations between science and society). Its capacities and activities have been extended during recent years in order to fulfil adequately the mission of collective deliberation on topics such as scientific integrity, research misconduct or ethics education among others.
Science Education
The Working Group Science Education is engaged in fostering science education and improving its quality as well as raising the awareness for this issue among the society at large and policy makers in particular. The Working Group specifically promotes the concept of inquiry-based science education in order to adequately train school teachers at all levels of primary and secondary education.
E Humanities
The Working Group E Humanities is charged with identifying and raising awareness for priorities and concerns of the Digital Humanities, and contributing to the Open Access agenda from a Humanities and Social Sciences perspective, and building consensus for common standards and best practices in E Humanities scholarship and digitisation.
Social Science and Humanities
The purpose of the Working Group Social Sciences and Humanities is to ensure that the interests of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities within the Member Academies of ALLEA are appropriately represented in the scope, organisation and funding of the EU Programme Horizon 2020. In achieving that purpose the Group engages in consultation with the Academies and in lobbying relevant EU institutions.
Survey and Synergy Analysis of SSH Research in Europe (SSASSH)
While numerous research projects on European cultural heritage are conducted on national levels, a pan-European programme on basic research in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) is still lacking. To improve the coordination and integration of European research activities in the future, a survey of these activities and research infrastructures is being undertaken via a close cooperation between the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities and ALLEA. SASSH is the first ever survey of basic research in the social sciences and humanities in Europe.
Running from August 2013 until April 2015, the project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The project enjoys the guidance of a scientific advisory board composed of leading researchers from around Europe. A full analytical report of the findings will be available in print and digital form.
The project aims to bring greatly needed transparency to these areas of research while investigating and improving the coherence of the numerous ongoing SSH research projects and activities within and across national borders, including the harmonisation of existing digital tools and standards. In the medium-term, the project seeks to detect opportunities for a long-term SSH research programme on cultural heritage in Europe, including funding opportunities on the European level.