European Science Foundation: new projects and developments

Abstract

After 42 years of setting European research agendas, the European Science Foundation's traditional mission of funding cross-border collaborative research programmes and networks ended in December 2015. This was followed by ”Science Connect’, the Expert Services Division that will be rolled out during a 3-yr business plan, providing a new strategic orientation to the ESF. The main aim of the organization is still to promote scientific developments through collaborative actions, mainly by supporting decision-making for research funding organisations. The presentation introduces the services provided by "Science Connect" such as peer-review missions, project management or career tracking among others. The MERIL-2 H2020 project for Mapping the European Research Infrastructure Landscape, http://portal.meril.eu/, which ESF coordinates, is analyzed in some detail, with an emphasis on potential opportunities for interoperability.