25 Jun 2024
Study outlines policy options on protecting academic freedom
A study commissioned by the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) on protecting academic freedom has been published. This study complements existing efforts to monitor academic freedom, by screening and assessing possible policy options to strengthen and improve implementation of Recital 72 in Horizon Europe, identifying opportunities and bottlenecks and proposing applicable solutions. The authors of the study propose seven policy options to strengthen the protection of academic freedom and assesses their feasibility and impact:
- Provision of a strategy for better integration of academic freedom and its enforcement within Horizon Europeprojects
- Setting-up of a European monitoring system for academic freedom
- Strengthening of the European research agenda on academic freedom
- Setting-up of coordinated initiatives with relevant stakeholders and connection to broader projects
- Introduction of a binding legal definition of academic freedom
- Integration of academic freedom into institutional quality assurance procedures and criteria
- Implementation of a specific deliverable in the Horizon Europe application form or, alternatively,the introduction of an academic freedom plan as an eligibility criterion.
The study can be downloaded here: