European Science Foundation

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ESF (European Science Foundation)

Abbreviation	ESF
Headquarters	Strasbourg, France
President	Véronique Halloin[1]
Chief executive	Nicolas Walter[1]
Website	www.esf.org

The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association under the local laws of Alsace–Moselle.^[2] Its office is in Strasbourg. In 2025, the association has 10 members from 8 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania, Serbia and Türkiye.^[3]

In June 2008, ESF in collaboration with EUROHORCs (European Heads of Research Councils) published a policy briefing 'The EUROHORCs and ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and their Road Map for Actions to Help Build it',^[4] detailing essential requirements to build a globally competitive European Research Area within the next five to ten years. At the time, EUROHORCs used the European Science Foundation as an implementation agency. In 2014, this instrument disappeared from the European landscape and has not been replaced by any other funding mechanism. Following this transition, European Science Foundation operates as an association under the local laws of Alsace–Moselle, no longer holding the legal status of a foundation.^[2][5]

The European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) was launched by the European Science Foundation in 2002 through its Standing Committee for the Humanities as a reference index of humanities journals.^[6] From 2008, ERIH’s initial A/B/C banding drew criticism from editors and learned societies, who warned it could be misused for research assessment; sector media reported coordinated protests and opt-outs.^[7][8] In January 2009 ESF dropped the letter grades and replaced them with descriptive categories.^[9] In 2014, responsibility for ERIH was transferred from ESF to Norway’s NSD – Norwegian Centre for Research Data, and the index was relaunched and expanded as ERIH PLUS to include social sciences.^[10][11]

Local reporting in Strasbourg noted concerns in late 2012 that the European Science Foundation might be dissolved or relocated to Brussels as European-level bodies consolidated, while also reporting ESF’s stated preference to remain in Strasbourg. The same coverage highlighted declining staff numbers at the time and flagged a late-November 2012 general assembly as a decision point.^[12] In December 2012, ESF’s members deferred a final decision on the organisation’s future until end-2014.^[13]

In October 2011, the majority of the European Science Foundation’s national research-funding and research-performing member organisations established Science Europe, a Brussels-based association created to represent their collective interests and coordinate research policy at the European level.^[14][15] This represented a strategic shift away from ESF’s traditional roles in managing research programmes and distributing funding and toward a dedicated platform for policy advocacy and alignment with European Union institutions.^[16]

Science Europe assumed many of the coordination and strategic functions previously carried out by ESF, but it was not designed to operate funding schemes directly.^[16] Between 2011 and 2015, ESF progressively wound down its research networking activities and transferred policy functions to Science Europe.^[16]

Following this transition, ESF operates as an association under the local laws of Alsace–Moselle, no longer holding the legal status of a foundation, and continues as a smaller science-services organisation, focusing on activities such as peer review, research evaluation, and hosting scientific platforms.^[2][5] Science Europe became the main advocacy body for Europe’s national research funders and performers.^[17]

Portugal’s national funder FCT contracted ESF to support a two-stage evaluation of national R&D units.^[18] The process and outcomes were disputed by parts of Portugal’s research community; in April 2015, Science characterised the evaluation as politically contentious in reporting on FCT leadership changes.^[19] In October 2014, Nature ran a World View opinion column by Amaya Moro-Martín referring to “a flawed evaluation process supported by the ESF”; ESF demanded a retraction and threatened legal action, as covered by Retraction Watch; ESF later said it did not intend to sue “at this stage.”^[20][21]

Regional press reported in April 2017 that ESF confirmed its presence in Strasbourg “on different bases,” describing a transition from roughly 120 employees to 19 after three redundancy plans (two voluntary, one compulsory), alongside a pivot to professional services under the Science Connect brand (peer review, evaluations and related support) and a medium-term staffing target of around 40; examples of early clients cited included IdEx Bordeaux, the University of Luxembourg and the AXA Research Fund.^[22]

ESF has recently changed its scope of work.^[23] ESF has closed its traditional research support activities (European Collaborative Research Projects, Exploratory Workshops, Research Networking Programmes, etc.) and is focused now on supporting the scientific community through scientific-support services delivered by its Expert division (Science Connect 2016).^[24]

ESF is structured as follows:

• Governing bodies
• Science Connect Division
• Community of Experts
• Expert boards

The annual assembly is the highest level decision making body of the ESF. It elects the ESF president, the Executive Board, ratifies the budget and accounts and admits new members. The assembly delegates are appointed by ESF member organizations.

The Executive Board sets and direct the overall strategy of the ESF and coordinates the relations with EU and other institutions. The Executive Board consists of the ESF president and 3 to 8 member organizations. The Executive Board meets twice a year.

The President officially represents the ESF to the public and in relations with other national or international organizations.

The Chief Executive is responsible for the implementation of the strategy and policy set by the Executive Board, for administration of the ESF office and its finance and for ensuring the execution of the decision of the assembly and the Governing Council.

Science Connect is ESF's Expert services division dedicated to support scientific decision-making through a range of science-support services, such as Grant Evaluation, Career Tracking, coordination of EU-funded Projects and the hosting of scientific platforms and Expert Boards.

According to the ESF website, the Community of Experts is a network of international recognized experts.^[25] Its role is to sustain scientific collaboration and support excellence in research grant peer-review and proposal evaluation across all scientific disciplines.

ESF's Community of Experts comprises two colleges:

• The College of Review Panel Members. Review Panel Members have a broad expertise in several scientific disciplines and their mission is to build consensus during the evaluation of research proposals.
• The College of Expert Reviewers. Expert Reviewers are scientists specialized in a specific scientific domain and are in charge of assessing and evaluating several types of proposals such as fellowship applications and research projects.

From 1974 onwards ESF has set up and hosted expert boards and committees in several scientific domains.

Belgium

• Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique – FNRS (F.R.S.–FNRS) (Fund for Scientific Research – FNRS (F.R.S.–FNRS))

Bulgaria

• Българска академия на науките (BAS) (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

France

• Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)(French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea)
• Core Technologies for Life Sciences (CTLS)

Hungary

• Magyar Tudományos Akadémia (MTA) (Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

Luxembourg

• Fonds National de la Recherche (FNR)

Romania

• Consiliul Național al Cercetării Științifice (National Council for Scientific Research -CNCS)

Serbia

• Српска академија наука и уметности (САНУ) (Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts)

Turkey

• Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu (TÜBITAK) (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey)

Initial European Science Foundation

• 1974–1979 Brian Flowers
• 1980–1984 Hubert Curien
• 1985–1990 Eugen Seibold
• 1991–1993 Umberto Colombo
• 1994–1999 Sir Dai Rees
• 2000–2005 Reinders van Duinen
• 2006–2011 Ian Halliday

Transition to association under the local laws of Alsace–Moselle

• 2012–2015 Pär Omling
• 2016 – April 2020: Martin Hynes^[26]
• April 2020 to date: Véronique Halloin

Initial European Science Foundation

• 1974–1979 Friedrich Schneider
• 1980–1986 John Goormaghtigh
• 1986–1993 Michael Posner
• 1991–1993 Umberto Colombo
• 1993–1998 Peter Fricker
• 1998–2003 Enric Banda
• 2004–2007 Bertil Anderson
• 2007 John Marks
• 2008–2011 Marja Makarow^[27][28]

Transition to association under the local laws of Alsace–Moselle

• 2012–2015 Martin Hynes^[26]
• 2016 – June 2019: Jean-Claude Worms ^[29]
• July 2019 to date: Nicolas Walter

Note: since 2019 tenure indefinite, on an open-ended basis

• Archives of the European Science Foundation Historical Archives of the European Union.
• Official website