Activities

EUROCORES

The EUROCORES scheme is a unique framework offered by the European Science Foundation to promote collaborative research, networking and dissemination while targeting broad and complex topics of research across all scientific domains at the European level and in a global context. The research funding as well as funding for coordination and networking come from national funding organisations, but the trusts are not nationally or strategically driven but rather researcher lead and in consultation with the participating funding organisations.

Research Networking Programmes

Research Networking Programmes (RNPs) lay the foundation for nationally funded research groups to address major scientific and research infrastructure issues, in order to advance the frontiers of existing science. These long-term programmes, subject to selection through an open call and an international peer review process, must deal with high-quality science and demonstrate the added value of being carried out at the European level.

Research Conferences

The ESF Research Conferences Scheme provides the opportunity for leading scientists and young researchers to meet for discussions on the most recent developments in their fields of research. It acts as a catalyst for creating new synergistic contacts throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The core activities of the Conferences are based on lectures by invited scientists, who are leaders in their respective fields, followed by extensive discussion periods. Conferences generally last for four or five days and up to 150 participants and invited speakers may be accepted to attend.

Exploratory Workshops

ESF supports approximately 50 Exploratory Workshops across all scientific domains. These small, interactive group sessions are aimed at opening up new directions in research to explore new fields with a potential impact on developments in science. The workshops, which usually last 1-3 days, have a wide participation from across Europe and involve mature scientists as well as young, independent researchers and scholars with leadership potential.

Forward Looks

Forward Looks enable Europe’s scientific community, in interaction with policy makers, to develop medium to long-term views and analyses of future research developments with the aim of defining research agendas at national and European level. Forward Looks are driven by ESF’s Member Organisations and, by extension, the European research community. Quality assurance mechanisms, based on peer review where appropriate, are applied at every stage of the development and delivery of a Forward Look to ensure its quality and impact.