FAQs Transnational Policy Fellowship

• Rhine-Main-Univerisities: Goethe University Frankfurt (coordinating institution), Technical University of Darmstadt and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany).
• BETA Technological Center at University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (Spain)
• University of Granada (Spain)
• Palacký University Olomouc (Czech Republic)
• Ca' Foscari University of Venice (Italy)
• University Lumière Lyon 2 (France)

The fellowship fosters dialogue between researchers and policy professionals from EU institutions and international organisations on issues of green and digital transitions. The programme comprises face-to-face and virtual meetings between researchers and policymaking professionals. While the policymaking professionals get access to scientific expertise on the policy issues they are working on, the participating scientists learn policy perspectives on their research. 

The meetings are intended to create long-term networks between the researchers and the policy professionals.

The fellowship is based on the questions and thematic interests of the participating policy professionals. We will put together a tailor-made programme for each policymaker. Policymaking professionals must apply here by 15 February 2025. We encourage early applications! 

Accepted applicants will become policy fellows of our network. We will compile lists of possible scientists in our ENGAGEgreen network for each policy fellow. The policy fellows can then select the researchers with whom they would like to chat, either in person or virtually.

The policy fellows will conduct two rounds of in-person or virtual meetings with ENGAGEgreen researchers. Each round of meetings comprises 4-8 meetings with researchers. 

Upon completing the policy fellowship, the policy fellows will join our Alumni programme. We will happily keep informing you about our projects and events. 

• Rhine-Main-Universities: Goethe University Frankfurt (coordinating institution), Technical University Darmstadt and Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (Germany)
• BETA Technological Center at University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (Spain)
• University of Granada (Spain)
• University Lumière Lyon 2 (France)

Motivation 

It must be demonstrated that participation in the fellowship programmes will bring long-term added value for the professional development of both the applicants and the sending organisations. Elaborating on (initial) ideas for possible follow-up activities is highly recommended. 

Participation in the fellowship programme is the first step towards establishing networks with researchers. Therefore, we prefer candidates interested in a long-term dialogue with the researchers.

Policy questions/policy issues

The submitted questions or policy issues must be clearly connected to the respective organisations' central areas of work. For example, if your organisation focuses on environmental issues, we expect environmental issues to feature prominently in the application rather than issues like social media or digitalisation. 

We must also be able to identify enough experts at our universities. The more similar the applicants' interests are, the fewer applicants can be included in the programmes; otherwise, we cannot ensure that enough researchers are available for each fellow. Similarly, the greater the variance in interests, the more fellows can be accepted into the programme.

Please indicate at least two and up to six overarching questions or areas of interest. Please add at least five sub-topics or sub-questions to each overarching question or area of interest. The overriding questions or areas of interest must align with your organisation's policy issues. The questions or areas of interest have to be related to the issue of green and digital transitions.

About 10-16 face-to-face meetings are planned per policy fellow. Therefore, the questions/areas of interest topics must allow for the inclusion of many researchers.

Please phrase your questions/areas of interest, including subtopics/subquestions, so researchers from various academic disciplines can be approached. 

Example:
1. Area of interest: Reduction of energy consumption
1.1 What technical options can be used to save energy in buildings? 
1.2 How can energy consumption in road transport be reduced? 
1.3 What impact do energy taxes have on energy consumption in companies? 
1.4 How can energy-saving behaviour be encouraged in children? 
1.5 What role does the issue of energy consumption play in party programmes and election campaigns?

Researchers from various academic disciplines (e.g., architecture, engineering, economics, education, political science) can be contacted for such complex questions.

Please avoid sub-questions that are very similar and address a single scientific discipline.

Example:
1. Effectiveness of energy taxes
1.1 What are the advantages of energy taxes?
1.2 What are the disadvantages of energy taxes?
1.3 What impact do energy taxes have on companies?
1.4 What impact do energy taxes have on consumers?
1.5 How can energy taxes be improved?

The number of possible experts is minimal for such a question as the expertise is focused on a single academic discipline (in this case, economics).

Please check whether your questions can be phrased in more general terms to identify many possible experts. Also, consider whether geographical, temporal, or thematic restrictions can be omitted.

Example "Environmental protection in Frankfurt since 2015" is a particular topic. To enlarge the pool of possible experts, it is advisable to formulate the topic more openly, e.g., "Environmental protection in cities."

We understand the interest in specialised expertise is exceptionally high in specialist units in policymaking institutions. We also know that applicants can struggle to assess whether sufficient scientific knowledge is available at the ENGAGEgreen universities. You are, therefore, welcome to send us your questions before submitting a formal application. We are happy to provide feedback on your questions. You can contact Mr Sandevski at science-policy@uni-frankfurt.de or +49 (0)69 798 12132 by 15 January 2025.

Please number the main topics and sub-questions according to the principles 1.1., 1.2, 1.3, etc.

How many experts we identify depends on the type of questions/policy issues we receive and the amount of submissions we receive. For example, suppose a policymaking professional is interested in the issue of environmental protection in the Mediterranean. In that case, we will focus on our experts at the partner universities in France, Italy or Spain. We might turn down very specific questions, which require us to conduct comprehensive research. Also, we might turn down questions so general that the lists would compile hundreds of researchers (e.g., how is digitalisation changing economies and societies in EU countries?).

We cannot guarantee that the requested meetings will take place. We are happy to ask the researchers for meetings, but they will decide whether they will accept the requests. 

You are welcome to ask the researchers for possible recommendations. Please note that the researchers' knowledge about policymaking varies. We have researchers who follow policy issues very closely. Many have already conducted commissioned research for ministries or other policymaking institutions. Some might be members of expert bodies. However, for some researchers the meetings will be their first contact with policymaking professionals.

To reach many researchers, we recommend not phrasing the questions from the perspective of your organisation.

Example: Instead of "How can my organisation make better use of social media to inform young people about sustainable finance?", we recommend asking more general questions such as "How do young people use social media?" or "What should young people know about sustainable finance?". Instead of "How can my organisation promote the use of energy-efficient technologies in companies?" it is better to ask questions such as "What factors explain the use of new (energy-efficient) technologies in companies? How can the use of energy-efficient technologies be promoted?"

Background: Researchers sometimes do not know the specific contexts in which the respective policymaking institutions operate. They are more likely to decline meeting requests if they lack prior knowledge of these contexts. Therefore, it is better to phrase the questions in more general terms. During the virtual meeting, you can inform your conversation partners about your policy-related work and move from general to specific questions.

We also ask policymaking professionals to remember that university research usually differs significantly from policy analyses conducted by think tanks and consultancies. "How can a ministry/agency/general directorate, etc., do something better?" is usually not the starting point for university research projects. The topicality of research questions also plays a different role in universities than in think tanks or consultancies. Suppose researchers have not already developed policy recommendations as members of expert bodies or via policy reports in the past. In that case, they may do so for the first time during the meetings with the policymaking professionals. 

We do not expect the policy fellows to have scientific knowledge. These informal meetings are often the first time policymakers meet with our researchers. We ask all policy fellows to prepare for the meetings by visiting the websites of their conversation partners before the meetings to gain an overview of their interlocutors' expertise. 

We recommend asking the following three questions to prepare for the meetings:

• How does my conversation partner relate to my areas of interest? 
• What questions would I like to ask? 
• What can my conversation partner learn about the policy issues I am dealing with? 

Please spare some 30 minutes to prepare for each meeting.

The policy fellows plan their visits individually. If the visits to the universities coincide, we will be happy to connect the policy fellows.

We are currently planning a policy event in Brussels to which we will invite our policy fellows.

Six of the eight ENGAGEgreen universities completed science-policy dialogue projects funded by the EU. 

Goethe-University Frankfurt, Technical University Darmstadt, and Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
have been running joint policy dialogue projects for almost a decade. They have organized about 3,000 meetings between 350+ policymaking professionals from the European Commission, international organisations (OECD, OSCE, UNEP, World Bank Group, EBRD), and national and regional ministries, with more than 700 of our researchers. 

The BETA Technological Centre of the University of Vic-Central
aims to promote the research and innovation in the environmental and sustainability fields, mainly of rural territories. It works to be a useful actor for various sectors: the agri-food sector, the public administration, the academic world and civil society, with the idea of advancing together to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
It has worked with a multidisciplinary scientific approach that will enable it to address the complexity of the main environmental, social and economic challenges from the perspective of the circular bioeconomy.

The University of Granada specializes in the integration of science and public policy with a specific focus on territorial challenges, many of which are highly relevant on a national and European level. The University has developed scientific advisory programs within the province of Granada, which has a population of one million, and also extends its work to the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Additionally, it is expanding its territorial engagement programs across the region of Andalusia, in Spain and internationally through the participation in European projects. The University boasts over 3,600 researchers, with some areas of expertise ranking among the top in international rankings. Moreover, with over 55,000 students, the University also creates significant opportunities to connect science and public policy through student-led initiatives and research efforts.

At the Université Lumière Lyon2, the ENGAGEgreen project is supported by the University's Science and Society Department, whose purpose is to strengthen the University's position at the heart of society. One of its 6 development priorities is to structure the political and strategic commitment to science and society. This aims to amplify the University's political and strategic commitment to science and society and to stimulate a cross-disciplinary dynamic within the Institution. 
The ENGAGEgreen project is also cooperating with other formats at the University, as well as highlighting the specific nature of research at the Université Lumière Lyon 2, in particular by relying on the “Pôles de Spécialités" clusters, the two partnership chairs and the University's Science Shop to follow up projects linked with local authorities.

Palacký University Olomouc has extensive experience in collaboration with the city of Olomouc and the Olomouc Region through various scientific projects, contract research, supervision of theses, seminars, workshops, and hackathons. These initiatives not only foster strong partnerships and contribute significantly to regional development and innovation but also influence policy making, ensuring that research outcomes are effectively integrated into local and regional policies.