'Peer review' by EU-ANSA Agencies – a reflection paper

Abstract

Most of the discourse in the area of peer review takes place within the context of the assessment of papers for inclusion in scientific journals. There is a need to explore the use of peer review within the very specific context of the work of EU agencies providing scientific advice and technical support and identify the specific challenges of utilising peer review in this environment. This paper provides a reflection on the key principles applicable to the use of peer review approaches within the context of such agencies. It differs in a number of ways from the classical peer review in academic publishing. This reflection is also intended to contribute to an on-going debate on developments taking place within the broader scientific community in relation to peer review. ; The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (EU) set up a number of decentralised Agencies to carry out specific legal, technical or scientific tasks within the EU. In 2013, the Heads of EU Agencies Network decided to set up a specialised sub-network of EU Agencies tasked to provide scientific and technical advice to EU Institutions, Member States and other relevant EU-policy makers. It is called EU Agencies Network on Scientific Advise (EU-ANSA).