Scholars invited to partner MEPs on EU policy-making

The European Parliament invites economists, social scientists, lawyers and other scholars to apply for the MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme organised by the EP office for Science and Technology Options Assessment. STOA is part of the DG European Parliamentary Research Service. Scholars working on topics of relevance to EU science and technology policymaking – and the impact of policies on European society – are welcome to apply by the 31st of July. Examples of recent initiatives are on the STOA publications’ directory.

The 4th call in the MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme describes the value-added for MEPs and scholars as follows: “(1) For MEPs: By introducing them to a network of scientists / researchers, their awareness of scientific processes and discovery is enhanced, along with a better understanding of the scientists’ point of view on policy issues. The pairing scheme facilitates the process of bringing scientific advice into EU policy discussions. (2) For scientists: They learn how to effectively interact with politicians and how to proactively inform them in fields of mutual interest. Additionally, they could contribute to the dissemination of information to universities and other scientific institutions on the structure and implementation of relevant European policies and programmes, e.g. Horizon 2020.”