Marine modeling at JRC provides a tool to examine the present and future state of the marine ecosystem and can inform and support a variety of EU policies including the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The Black Sea has suffered from severe ecological changes since the 1970s due to concurent effects of intense eutrophication, overfishing, outburst of gelatinous carnivores and natural climatic variations. The main purpose of the project is therefore to implement an advanced ecosystem model for the complex Black Sea ecosystem based on the validated JRC hydrodynamic model to generate future scenario simulations considering different policy options and climate change scenarios. The data generated from these scenario simulations will be thoroughly analysed using state of the art statistical methods like singular spectrum analysis and breakpoint detection methods. The results of this work will be broadly disseminated not only to the scientific community but it will be ensured that various groups, public bodies and agencies (e.g. the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution, etc.), outside of academia can and will utilise the knowledge produced.

This project aims to develop novel techniques using smart multifunctional materials for the combined seismic-plus-energy retrofitting, and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of the European cultural heritage buildings (CHB). The need for upgrading the existing old and CHB is becoming increasingly important for the EU countries, due to: (1) their poor structural performance during recent earthquakes (e.g. Italy, Greece) or other natural hazards (e.g. extreme weather conditions) that have resulted in significant economic losses, and loss of human lives; and (2) their low energy performance which increases significantly their energy consumption (buildings are responsible for 40% of EU energy consumption). Moreover, the SHM of the existing buildings is crucial for assessing continuously their structural integrity and thus to provide information for planning cost effective and sustainable maintenance decisions. Since replacing the old buildings with new is not financially feasible, and even it is not allowed for CHB, their lifetime extension requires considering simultaneously both structural and energy retrofitting. It is noted that the annual cost of repair and maintenance of existing European building stock is estimated to be about 50% of the total construction budget, currently standing at more than €300 billion. To achieve cost effectiveness, STRETCH explores a novel approach, which integrates technical textile reinforcement with thermal insulation systems and strain sensors to provide simultaneous structural-plus-energy retrofitting combined with SHM, tailored for masonry cultural heritage building envelopes. The effectiveness of the proposed retrofitting system will be validated experimentally and analytically. Moreover, draft guidelines and recommendations for determining future research on the use of smart composite materials for the concurrent retrofitting (structural-plus-energy) and SHM of the existing cultural heritage buildings envelopes will be proposed.

On June 27, 2019, a landmark court decision was released in Texas, in which a judge found the petrochemical company Formosa Plastics Corporation, liable for violating the Clean Water Act because of plastic discharge into local waters. The case was brought by a civic group based in part on citizen sensed-evidence which involved volunteer observations performed over years. This practice entailing grassroots-driven environmental monitoring could be qualified as ‘Citizen Science’ and, more specifically, ‘Citizen Sensing’. The contamination could not be proved through existing data held by competent authorities since the company never filed any record of pollution with the competent authority. Rather, the monitoring and data collection was almost entirely conducted by local residents. Cases such as the Formosa litigation are expected to increase drastically. They pose urgent research questions. Above all, the case motivates an investigation of the potential of introducing Citizen Sensing as a source of evidence in litigation over environmental wrongdoings. Furthermore, Citizen Sensing may also play a role in avoiding the court stage, as a tool to mediate the environmental conflict and to steer the responsible company to adopt an environmentally-compliant behaviour. Related research is still in its infancy. The few championing actors in the debate are located in the U.S., not flanked by a parallel inquiry from the European perspective. The key objective of the Sensing for Justice project is to fill this knowledge gap in order to avoid a possible scientific and legislative vacuum, and provide newly required research capacity in the EU. The research will be hosted by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, currently leading actor in the research on Citizen Science for environmental monitoring and reporting, which will allow me to play a crucial role in the enactment of measures to release Citizen Science for litigation and mediation’s potential across the EU.

The INNOVA MEASURE IV project continues the research activity carried out by the JRC in support of the work on better evidence for policy-making by the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation. It builds on the outcomes and capacities developed within the framework of the INNOVA MEASURE I-III projects. It focuses on three interrelated research streams, complemented by adequate dissemination: (1) The update and -as necessary- the refinement of the methodologies used for composite indicators measuring R&I performance. This includes the development, enhancement, and production of composite indicators on R&I (including the Innovation Output Indicator and the adjusted Research Excellence Indicator); it also includes a specific angle in support of the statistical work around the European Innovation Scoreboard, led by DG RTD and GROW; (2) Improving the availability of evidence on startup and scale-up of innovative firms, with a focus on “the makers of robots”, or companies in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics; (3) Support to analyses around R&D investments from abroad. This work stream studies European countries and regions as part of a global network of foreign investments in R&I, with the ultimate aim to identify the impact of foreign corporate knowledge ties on local innovation performance. It includes statistical econometric analyses on the internationalization of R&D and on the complex associations between innovation, growth, inequality and competitiveness.

The project aims: (a) to provide statistical support for the development and update of indicators used by DG RTD to monitor development on science, technology and innovation; (b) to carry out statistical and econometric analysis in order to better understand the nature, needs and determinants of high-growth enterprises, as well as the policy responses and the framework conditions needed to facilitate the growth of companies in innovative sectors; (c) to explore the relationship between inward and outward foreign direct investment flows in R&D and framework conditions such as the tax system/tax incentives (R&D tax incentives in particular); (d) to provide econometric and statistical support on ad-hoc requests by DG RTD on the topics analyzed in this proposal; and (e) to carry out a Counterfactual Impact Evaluation study in order to evaluate the impact of DG RTD research funding schemes on the knowledge basis, innovation activities and economic performance of private enterprises. The project builds on work carried out in the context of the INNOVA MEASURE I (FP7, 2013-14) and INNOVA MEASURE II (H2020, 2015-17) projects.