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1.

Joint Research Centre work programme 2021-2022. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

As the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, the JRC provides independent scientific advice and support to EU policy, in order to tackle the interlinked and complex challenges faced by our society. The European Commission has set its ambition high in how Europe should respond to planetary challenges, climate change and ecosystem degradation, the digital acceleration, changing demographics, shifting human geography and the future of work, all against a rapidly evolving geopolitical context. Europe needs to build its own resilience, and to do so at a time when we are recovering from the effects of a global pandemic. Operating at the interface between science and policy, the JRC wants to strengthen its capacity to be a key partner in helping to identify solutions to such challenges. In our 2021-2022 Work Programme, we support all Commission’s political priorities and most initiatives included in the Commission 2021 work programme and contribute to the implementation of the Horizon Europe and Euratom research and training programme.

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2.

Joint Research Centre work programme 2021-2022 [er]. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

As the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, the JRC provides independent scientific advice and support to EU policy, in order to tackle the interlinked and complex challenges faced by our society. The European Commission has set its ambition high in how Europe should respond to planetary challenges, climate change and ecosystem degradation, the digital acceleration, changing demographics, shifting human geography and the future of work, all against a rapidly evolving geopolitical context. Europe needs to build its own resilience, and to do so at a time when we are recovering from the effects of a global pandemic. Operating at the interface between science and policy, the JRC wants to strengthen its capacity to be a key partner in helping to identify solutions to such challenges. In our 2021-2022 Work Programme, we support all Commission’s political priorities and most initiatives included in the Commission 2021 work programme and contribute to the implementation of the Horizon Europe and Euratom research and training programme.

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3.

Historical analysis of FCH 2 JU stationary fuel cell projects [er] : progress of key performance indicators against the state of the art. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

As a part of its knowledge management activities, the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking 2 (FCH 2 JU) has commissioned the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to perform a series of historical analyses by topic area, to assess the impact of funded projects and the progression of its current Multi-Annual Work Plan (MAWP; 2014-2020) towards its objectives. These historical analyses consider all relevant funded projects since the programme’s inception in 2008. This report considers the performance of projects against the overall FCH 2 JU programme targets for stationary Fuel Cells (FCs), using quantitative values of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for assessment. The purpose of this exercise is to see whether and how the programme has enhanced the state of the art for stationary fuel cells and to identify potential Research & Innovation (R&I) gaps for the future. Therefore, the report includes a review of the current State of the Art (SoA) of fuel cell technologies used in the stationary applications sector. The programme has defined KPIs for three different power output ranges and equivalent applications: (i) micro-scale Combined Heat and Power (mCHP) for single family homes and small buildings (0.3 - 5 kW); (ii) mid-sized installations for commercial and larger buildings (5 - 400 kW); (iii) large scale FC installations, converting hydrogen and renewable methane into power in various applications (0.4 - 30 MW). Projects addressing stationary applications in these particular power ranges were identified and values for the achieved KPIs extracted from relevant sources of information such as final reports and the TRUST database (Technology Reporting Using Structured Templates). As much of this data is confidential, a broad analysis of performance of the programme against its KPIs has been performed, without disclosing confidential information. The results of this analysis are summarised within this report. The information obtained from this study will be used to suggest future modifications to the research programme and associated targets.

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4.

Assessing smart specialisation [er] : governance. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

This reports provides some insights on the impact of Smart Specialisation on the governance of research and innovation policy systems across EU regions and countries. First, the analysis explores the governance arrangements underpinning Smart Specialisation strategies and the changes introduced by this policy concept. Second, it investigates to what extent (if any) and how Smart Specialisation has been promoting better coordination and collective action. The results show that Smart Specialisation has made the decision-making process and the governance of innovation policy more inclusive. One of the results of this policy experience is the reorganisation and/or establishment of coordination bodies, platforms, thematic working groups, clusters and the like. These organisations are reshaping and strengthening networks of engagement and modalities of cooperation between public and private actors, lowering transaction costs associated with collective action. There is evidence that Smart Specialisation has supported the production of a wide range of tangible and intangible collective goods, which are considered essential in promoting development processes. Finally, under the Smart Specialisation experience, inter-government coordination has received more attention that in the past and, as a result, new norms and arrangements have been experimented. However, despite these changes, and the general increase in pressure for coordination, the effectiveness of horizontal and vertical coordination is still weak. This depends on coordinating bodies and arrangements that are not properly functioning and the persistence of a silo approach in government, which is difficult to overcome. Clearly, this is an area where more efforts are needed in the future, along with the strengthening of the skills and resources to perform policy functions. In view of the new Cohesion Policy 2021-2027, the report provides two main recommendations. First, the Smart Specialisation approach should recognise more explicitly the need for upgrading the quality of governance and policy capacity. Where these elements are weak and/or incomplete they should be addressed with specific measures embedded into strategies and progress should be continuously monitored. Second, territories should discover what governance arrangements work best in their context, preferring the experimentation of new governance structures and processes and the increase of responsibilities and functions of management bodies and other relevant organisations as a result of capacity building processes, to the adoption of ideal models and best practices, which are often formally introduced without promoting real changes.

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5.

Higher education for smart specialisation [er] : the case of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

This technical report presents the findings of the case study carried out in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace on the role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the design and implementation of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3). It is one of the case studies undertaken in the project Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS), an initiative of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. The region is a moderate innovator according to the 2019 Regional Innovation Scoreboard, with important structural weaknesses constrained by horizontal development policies, suffering from its remoteness which affects to its ability to attract and retain talent. It has a comprehensive higher education system, with the Democritus University of Thrace as main regional higher education institution and eleven campuses spread across the Region. The Smart Specialisation Strategy is considered by stakeholders the best available tool to develop a long-term, evidence and place-based regional innovation strategy. The regional and national governance structures and their interaction, as well as the policy mix deployed for the programming period 2014-2020, has limited the capacity of higher education to contribute to regional growth. The partnership between regional administration and HEIs manager seems to have room for improvement, through spaces for dialogue and the co-design of funding instruments that respond to a shared vision of regional challenges. The institutionalisation of HEI third mission could benefit from a performance based type system, as well as the promotion of HEI leadership in a region characterise by a strong disconnect. The new programming period 2021-2027 is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ambition of the higher education institutions to lead the regional transformation process, through adequately tailored funding instruments and improved peer learning capacity from good practices at EU level.

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6.

Open access to JRC research infrastructures [er]. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Summary	The European Commission‘s Joint Research Centre (JRC) gives leading researchers from across Europe and beyond access to its world-class facilities and laboratories, enabling state-of-the-art experimental research, collaboration and capacity building with a European dimension. It does so through the programme for open access to JRC research infrastructures.

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7.

Exploring synergies between EU Cohesion Policy and Horizon 2020 funding across European regions [er] : an analysis of regional funding concentration in key enabling technologies and societal grand challenges. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

Over the course of the 2014-2020 period, the European Union has invested more than €125bn into sup-port to research and innovation through two main channels: the excellence-based Horizon 2020 programme and its cohesion policy implemented through the European Structural and investment funds (ESIF) and in particular the European Regional Development fund (ERDF). While projects funded by ESIF are se-lected in the context of place-based operational programmes and smart specialisation strategies (S3), Horizon 2020 grants are assigned based on the quality of the project proposals and consortia without any geographical criteria. A concentration of R&I funding from both funding schemes in the same technological or policy area could point to the creation of a synergy between EU funding as suggested by the concept of smart specialisation and encouraged by the European Commission. This report uses project data to analyse the regional distribution of Horizon 2020 and ESIF funding among key enabling technologies and societal grand challenges and to map potential synergies between different EU funding policies.

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8.

Historical analysis of FCH 2 JU electrolyser projects [er] : evaluation of contributions towards advancing the state of the art. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

As a part of the knowledge management activities of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, the JRC has been commissioned to perform a series of historical analyses by topic area in order to assess the impact of funded projects and the progression of the FCH JU Multi-Annual Work Plan (MAWP) towards its objectives. This report considers the performance of projects against the overall Programme Targets for electrolysers, using Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for assessment. The purpose of this exercise is to see whether and how the programme has enhanced the state of the art for electrolysers and to identify potential Research and Innovation gaps for the future. The programme generally addresses three main electrolyser types – Alkaline, PEM and Solid Oxide. Therefore, projects addressing these electrolyser types were identified, and values for the achieved KPIs extracted from relevant sources of information such as final reports and the TRUST database. As much of this data is confidential, a broad analysis of performance of the programme against its KPIs has been performed, without disclosing confidential information. The results of this analysis are summarised within this report. The information obtained from this study has then been used to suggest future modifications to the research programme and associated targets.

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9.

Healthcare and long-term care workforce [er] : demographic challenges and the potential contribution of migration and digital technology. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

In the EU, the right to timely access the ‘affordable, preventive and curative health care of good quality’ and the right to ‘affordable long-term services of good quality’ are enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights (C(2017) 2600 final). The backbone of health and long-term care (LTC) systems’ capacity to ensure that EU citizens can exercise these rights is its workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic has put the resilience of national health and LTC systems to the test and has made it even more tangible that ‘health is a precondition for our society and economy to function’ (COM(2020)724 final). However, even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the national health and LTC systems were faced with an unprecedented challenge with regard to the progressive ageing population in the EU. The rise in the number of elderly people has been increasing the demand for health and LTC services which, in turn, has generated a rising demand for a qualified health and LTC workforce. In the period 2018-2030 alone, the EU-27 will need 11 million newly trained or imported health and LTC workers to satisfy the rising demand in the health and LTC sectors. Planning a health and LTC workforce that has the size and skills suitable to satisfy the demand is a challenging task, given the numerous and often interrelated factors in play. These factors range from the demographic and health characteristics of a population, a country’s economic growth, technology, the migration of health and LTC professionals, to education and retirement policies. This implies a need for a holistic approach in workforce planning, capable of incorporating and coordinating various policy domains at local, national and EU level. Drawing on research activities carried out at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) – specifically within the framework of the Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography (KCMD) and the Centre for Advanced Studies HUMAINT project – this report aims to contribute to workforce planning by enhancing the scientific knowledge in three specific domains: demography, migration and digital technology. More specifically, the aim of this report is to provide scientific insights into the role of demographic change, migration and intra-EU mobility, as well as digital technology, in determining the demand and the supply of health and LTC workers in an effort to inform the EU’s workforce planning policies.

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10.

An intervention-logic approach for the design and implementation of S3 strategies [er] : from place-based assets to expected impacts. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

Smart Specialisation is conceptualised as research and innovation policymaking encompassed in a holistic place-based view of development. It combines an organisational bottom-up approach with a structural approach, stressing interactions among local and international actors that participate and facilitate reflexive learning processes. The issue of governance is key and multi-level governance is of crucial importance. The need to connect top-down sectoral policies with place-based facts and ambitions that translate into competitive advantage generating growth and jobs makes governance the cornerstone of the process. The need for mainstreaming Smart Specialisation Strategies, allowing all sectoral policies to operate with a common overall directionality in synergy with the new EU agenda, is instrumental for a successful implementation. Opportunities exist for better links between Smart Specialisation Strategies and other programmes such as Horizon Europe to fully address challenges set by the Green Deal and the New Industrial Strategy. This report focuses on the new generation of Smart Specialisation Strategies and their expected impacts. The main objective is to make sure the links between all the components of the implementation of a strategy strengthen the overall coherence of the public intervention.

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11.

Innovative mergers and acquisitions and the integration of European regions [er]. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) entail the substantial reallocation of economic activities. When they involve distant acquiring and target companies, they transfer control and diffuse knowledge across locations, which in turn facilitates the process of the integration of business systems. This study aims to understand how cross-regional European M&A facilitate the process of European integration. We applied social network analysis and regression techniques to a sample of cross-regional acquisitions between 2003 and 2017. The data allow us to identify whether or not a target company had an active patent portfolio at the time of deal completion. Both types of deals are highly concentrated in economically more developed regions and cluster into communities constituted by countries or groups of neighbouring countries. However, a large and increasingly non-trivial proportion of deals connect different communities, and to a larger extent for innovative than for non-innovative M&A. More populous and richer regions host a disproportionally larger number of acquiring and target companies and thus connect fragmented communities. The intensity of R&D-related expenditures provides an additional factor favouring the connection of fragmented groups of regions by attracting technology-seeking acquirers.

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12.

Creativity, a transversal skill for lifelong learning [er] : an overview of existing concepts and practices : final report. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

In the past several decades, in Europe and across the world there have been significant changes. The main trends include: — The increasing complexity of problems such as climate change, global migration and growing resistance to life-saving drugs; — The ubiquity of data; — The proliferation of knowledge sources from the Internet and wider digital world; — The increasing interconnectedness and global nature of our relationships; — The potential of automation via Artificial Intelligence and its impact, often contested, on life and work; — Increased self-employment; — Global population growth; — Economic and social inequities; — Growing recognition of the importance of lifelong learning; — An ageing society. To this list can be added the likelihood of further global pandemics and their implications for society. Such challenges have heightened the need for all individuals to develop capabilities, competences and dispositions that go beyond foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy. In recognition of this, in public and academic discourse, the focus has shifted towards problem-solving, critical thinking, ability to cooperate, creativity, computational thinking, self-regulation, adaptability, communication and learning to learn.

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13.

Research and innovation in vehicle design and manufacturing [er] : an assessment based on the Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS). European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

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14.

Research and innovation in vehicle design and manufacturing : an assessment based on the Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System (TRIMIS). European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

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15.

Creativity, a transversal skill for lifelong learning [er] : an overview of existing concepts and practices : final report, annex II : inventory of initiatives. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

The purpose of the inventory was to reveal practices that had been used to promote creativity as a transversal skill. These include initiatives that vary in terms of design, conceptualisation of creativity and methodological approach. To identify relevant practices, an online survey of experts and educators was carried out, and a comprehensive desk research was conducted. As a result, 34 practices were selected for a more detailed review. The selection process was guided by the principles outlined below: - Focusing on initiatives that have been adopted since 2010; - Focusing on initiatives that have been implemented in Europe; - Focusing on initiatives implemented in vocational education and training, higher education and/or non-formal learning (e.g. adult education and training) sectors; - Including initiatives that link creativity with the digital, entrepreneurship and/or life key competences; - Including initiatives launched in the fields of social action, youth work and/or sustainability; - Including initiatives which are well documented. For each selected initiative, information was gathered on such aspects as objectives, timeframe, target group(s), geographical scope, sector(s), level(s) and settings of education and training covered, level of implementation, key actors involved and their roles, funding arrangements, key activities/measures, definition of creativity, pedagogical approaches and methods promoted, assessment approaches and methods promoted, outputs, outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned.

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16.

Creativity, a transversal skill for lifelong learning [er] : an overview of existing concepts and practices : final report, annex I : case studies. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

The purpose of the case studies was to reveal how creativity is conceptualised, translated into learning objectives, taught, and assessed. Out of 34 cases described for the inventory (see Annex II to the present report), eight were selected for a more detailed review: - Three 'Tinkering EU' projects: 'Tinkering: Contemporary Education for Innovators of Tomorrow', 'Tinkering EU: Building Science Capital for ALL', and 'Tinkering EU: Addressing the Adults'; - 'Design thinking in higher education for promoting human-centred innovation in business and society'; - 'Teaching creativity in engineering'; - Victorian curriculum and assessment; - IDEO Creative Difference; - Lead Creative Schools; - 'Creative thinking in youth work'; - High-performing cycles (ETHAZI). These are well-documented policy and grass-root initiatives of broad scope, high degree of maturity, and observable impact. Together, they cover different countries, sectors, levels and settings of education and training, focus areas, target groups, levels of implementation, and funding arrangements. For each case, desk research was conducted along with email enquiries and telephone interviews with the people involved in their design and/or implementation. Concise yet informative case study reports were then prepared, covering such aspects as design features, conceptualisation of creativity, teaching and learning, assessment, results, key drivers and challenges, and lessons learned. To boost the accuracy and facilitate the interpretation of the descriptions, throughout them, terms adopted by the case owners are used.

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17.

Creativity, a transversal skill for lifelong learning [er] : an overview of existing concepts and practices : executive summary. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

In the past several decades, in Europe and across the world there have been significant changes. The main trends include: — The increasing complexity of problems such as climate change, global migration and growing resistance to life-saving drugs; — The ubiquity of data; — The proliferation of knowledge sources from the Internet and wider digital world; — The increasing interconnectedness and global nature of our relationships; — The potential of automation via Artificial Intelligence and its impact, often contested, on life and work; — Increased self-employment; — Global population growth; — Economic and social inequities; — Growing recognition of the importance of lifelong learning; — An ageing society. To this list can be added the likelihood of further global pandemics and their implications for society. Such challenges have heightened the need for all individuals to develop capabilities, competences and dispositions that go beyond foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy. In recognition of this, in public and academic discourse, the focus has shifted towards problem-solving, critical thinking, ability to cooperate, creativity, computational thinking, self-regulation, adaptability, communication and learning to learn.

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18.

Scenarios and tools for locally targeted COVID-19 non pharmaceutical intervention measures [er] : building the necessary tools for monitoring and planning the containment of COVID-19 at EU level. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

In its communication on Short-term EU health preparedness for COVID-19 outbreaks (COM(2020) 318 final) the Commission calls for “targeted and localised non-medical countermeasures, informed by research and evidence” to avoid major social and economic consequences from large-scale lockdown measures. This study provides insights based on mathematical modelling of spatial transmission patterns of COVID-19. It also uses aggregated and anonymised mobility data shared by Mobile Network Operators with the European Commission for this purpose.

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19.

ARTEFACTS [er] : how do we to deal with the future of our one and only planet? European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2019.

Summary

In the summer of 2017, the European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that EU policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy-making process for the future. To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.

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20.

Ocean color calibration and validation : the JRC contribution to Copernicus. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2020.

Summary

Copernicus Sentinel-3 missions, including the ongoing Sentinel-3A and -3B and the future Sentinel-3C and -3D, offer an unprecedented opportunity for long-term ocean colour observations to support global environmental and climate investigations. Nevertheless, any ocean colour mission incorporates calibration and validation activities essential for the indirect calibration of the space sensor and the validation of data products. These calibration and validation activities are largely centered on the production of highly accurate in situ reference measurements relying on state of the art measurement methods and instrumentation. Since the start of the operational ocean colour missions in 1997, the JRC sustained the required calibration and validation activities by developing unique expertise and setting up specific measurement programs and infrastructures. This expertise, measurement programs and infrastructures, currently support the Copernicus ocean colour calibration and validation tasks through the delivery and exploitation of in situ reference data essential for the quality control of satellite data products. This Technical Report aims at providing: i. a general introduction to the ocean colour paradigm; ii. an extended synopsis of requirements and strategies for satellite ocean colour missions with a detailed focus on the JRC experimental activities carried out during the last decades; and finally iii. a discussion supporting the need for a sustained support of the JRC laboratory and field measurement programs assisting the production and exploitation of in situ reference data for the validation of Sentinel-3 ocean colour products. The Report, mostly through section 2, should naturally satisfy readers interested in appraising the specific JRC activities performed to support ocean colour calibration and validation. The same Report through sections 1 and 3, should also satisfy the need for more essential information supporting the need for sustaining the JRC ocean colour validation activities currently embedded in the Copernicus Earth Observation program of major relevance for global marine and climate investigations.

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