/about-knaw/international
Science is profoundly international and scientific cooperation is indispensable for tackling the international challenges of our time. Promoting international cooperation is therefore one of the four ambitions in the Strategic Agenda 2021-2025.
Most of the Academy’s international activities focus on two areas:
- Providing advice based on scientific research (Science for Policy).
- Promoting the interests of science among policymakers (Policy for Science).
The most important Science for Policy themes are climate, sustainability and health. Policy for Science deals with topics such as scientific integrity, digital developments such as Open Science, and reform of the science domain such as publication culture and recognition and rewarding. Academy members and experts nominated by the Academy regularly participate in working groups for international advisory reports and statements.
International organisations
Within Europe, the Academy collaborates with other European academies as a member of various umbrella organisations: All European Academies (ALLEA), the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and the Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM). These three organisations are also jointly active within Scientific Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA), which provides advice directly to the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) of the European Commission. The Academy is also a member of the Netherlands House of Education and Research (Neth-ER) association and the European Science Advisors Forum (ESAF). Finally, in the global arena, the Academy is active in the International Science Council (ISC), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the Global Science Forum (GSF).
All European Academies (ALLEA) is a broad European federation of academies of science with more than 50 members from 40 countries that aims to connect science, policy and society.
In the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom jointly provide independent scientific policy advice to European policymakers in the fields of life sciences, energy and climate.
The Federation of European Academies of Medicine (FEAM) is the European umbrella organisation for academies of medicine, pharmacy and veterinary medicine, aiming to give its members a voice in European policy debates on health, biomedical research and education.
Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) provides advice directly to the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) of the European Commission as part of the European Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM). ALLEA, EASAC and FEAM are members of SAPEA and from 2022, The Young Academy will also be connected through the Young Academies Science Advice Structure (YASAS).
The Netherlands House of Education and Research Association (Neth-ER) was established to inform the Dutch knowledge field about European policy developments relating to research, innovation and education. In addition, Neth-ER facilitates European policy influencing by its members and their affiliated institutions.
Within the European Science Advisors Forum (ESAF), members exchange knowledge about the different scientific advisory mechanisms in European countries with the aim of improving them. The Academy works together with The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) on achieving this aim.
The International Science Council (ISC) is a non-governmental global organisation of more than 200 national and regional scientific organisations, academies and research councils. ISC is closely linked to the United Nations and its education, science and culture agency, UNESCO.
The InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) is a global think tank of approximately one hundred and forty national, regional and global academies. IAP focuses on three branches: health, science and policy.
The Global Science Forum (GSF) is part of the Committee for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP) of the OECD, the multilateral organisation for economic cooperation and development. The Academy is part of the Dutch delegation at the request of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Scientific cooperation China - Netherlands
For many years, the Academy, often in cooperation with NWO (the Dutch Research Council), has cooperated with China in the field of research. These programmes are now coming to an end. The China Exchange programme was completed during 2019 and the Scientific Alliance programme in 2021. The Academy no longer issues new calls for proposals.
In 2009, the Academy and NWO formulated a joint strategic policy to stimulate science and research cooperation with China. It was aimed at closer cooperation and better coordination between new and existing funding programmes. All programmes promoting scientific cooperation with China are intended to broaden and deepen Chinese-Dutch scientific cooperation on the basis of academic excellence and mutual interest and benefit. The programmes focus on specific forms of cooperation, research themes and/or specific groups of researchers.