ERA Conference · New ERA - Towards a responsible knowledge driven society of the 3rd Millenium

The objective of the project »ERA conference« is to create a space for stakeholders to engage with the formation of the new, revitalised European Research Area (ERA) in order to pursue the European Commission's goals of co-designing, co-creating and co-developing ERA policies with all ERA actors. This delivers against the European Commission Communication from September 2020 on A new ERA for Research and Innovation and the Council Conclusions from December 2020 on the New European Research Area.The first day of the ERA conference focuses on the Commission’s proposal for a Council Recommendation on a Pact for Research and Innovation in Europe and the new ERA governance structure. The second day will focus on implementation challenges with stakeholders.The expected impacts of the ERA conference are: a) contributing to the Commission’s co-creation of ERA Actions (derived from the ERA policy agenda), ensuring they are designed appropriately; and b) engaging stakeholders, by giving them their own space to discuss the implementation of several actions. The overall rationale of the ERA conference is based on the high level discussion on the topic of the renewal of the ERA and strengthening relations between stakeholders and the Commission (through workshop activities on the second day of the conference). The ERA conference will also deliver promotional activities prior to the conference – with stakeholder engagement through video testimonials on the topic of the renewal of the ERA, which will be publicised alongside the conference. Additionally, after the conference, the publication of conference recommendations will contribute to the balanced development of the new ERA and could be used in further ministerial discussions on the renewal of ERA. In the time of proposal writing it is planned for the conference to be held live, however we also have a support plan in case we would have to switch to online event due to the pandemics.