ERA Forum agrees on structure for next ERA Policy Agenda

On 13-14 December 2023, the ERA Forum met in Bonn, upon invitation by the German Ministry of Education and Research. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the structure of the next ERA Policy Agenda (EPA) 2025-2027. The ERA Forum reached agreement on this structure, as illustrated by the graphic representation below (download). The new EPA consists of the following elements:

The guiding document for the EPA is the Pact for R&I.

The EPA will have three main pillars:

• A Narrative that will describe the context and the EPA's overall objectives, will make the EPA easier to understand, and serve as a compass for its implementation.
• A set of structural ERA policies (working title) that would consist of policy areas that are part of ERA already, and need continued action such as Research Careers, Research Infrastructures, International Collaboration, Gender Equality and others. For each structural policy, a work plan for three years (i.e. the duration of the EPA) will be set out.
• A set (a limited number) of ERA Actions that would describe medium-term (new) policy initiatives to be implemented (to complete the deliverables) within three years, certainly with the possibility of follow-up activities. ERA Actions could also have a thematic focus, as long as they include R&I policy-related deliverables (research activities by themselves would not qualify).

A monitoring system will provide information about the status quo and progress made, thus also facilitating implementation of the EPA.

This structure should contribute to achieving an EPA that is comprehensive (covering all major ERA-related activities), clear, as simple as possible, describes the various fields of activity in an appropriate way, and sets out concrete activities throughout all policies and actions.

The next step will be to identify the policies and actions that should be part of the EPA from a total of about 30 proposals that are currently on the table. To this end, each ERA Forum member, including all stakeholder umbrella organisations, will contribute to a survey comprising all proposed actions. At its next meeting on 2 February 2024, the ERA Forum will then aim at reaching agreement on a list of policies and actions for the next EPA. These Conclusions should then be forwarded to ERAC for a strategic discussion to be held on 11/12 April 2024.