Directorate-General for Employment, social affairs and inclusion (DG EMPL), together with Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) and Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) (hereafter partner DGs), have agreed to co-finance the longer-term development and maintenance of EUROMOD. Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) has the responsibility for the model maintenance and update with Directorate-General Eurostat (DG ESTAT) acting as main data provider.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Essex, DG JRC and DG ESTAT regulates the principles of the EUROMOD transfer. The signatory parties agree to follow best practices to provide guidance and technical oversight to the model development and dissemination during the transfer and in the longer term. The envisaged governance structure foresees the creation of a Steering Committee, allowing partner DGs to monitor the process of EUROMOD update, and a Scientific Advisory Board to monitor and guide the scientific development of the model.
The respective roles of the Scientific Advisory Board and of the Steering Committee are explained hereafter.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is the decision making body for all the matters related to the public release version of EUROMOD, responsible for monitoring the progress of EUROMOD against the stated aims, objective and mission.
It will have 7 members: 1 representative from DG JRC, 1 from DG ESTAT, 1 from DG ECFIN, 1 from DG EMPL, 1 from DG REFORM, 1 from DG TAXUD, 1 from the Scientific Advisory Board, preferably its Chairperson. The Steering Committee will appoint its Chairperson among all its members, excluding the Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Board, for a period of 3 years.
The Steering Committee meets once a year, preferably in Brussels. The decisions of the Steering Committee will be taken in principle by consensus, or by majority if necessary.
The Steering Committee provides DG JRC and DG ESTAT with written recommendations on plans of action to address priorities on the proposed activities for the forthcoming years, including the long-term development strategy of the model, and on its financial perspective.
Scientific Advisory Board (Board)
The Board will provide guidance as regards to technical development plans and overall scientific strategy. It will monitor the scientific use of the model in academic and policy circles, providing advice in support of the development of EUROMOD, its documentation and dissemination, and its broad policy and academic impact.
It is composed of 7 members: the Chair of the Steering Committee, 4 representative of the EUROMOD National Teams, 1 academic, or former academic, with long experience in the development and use of EUROMOD, and 1 independent expert from academic institutions different from National Teams. Representatives of DG JRC and DG ESTAT will attend the board as rapporteurs. Partner DGs can attend the meeting with an observer status. The Steering Committee will appoint the members of the Board and its chair, which will be one of the academic members. The appointment period for members and the chair will be of 3 years, once renewable.
The Scientific Advisory Board will hold one annual meeting during the last quarter of each year, starting in 2020. Decisions on the recommendations are taken by consensus. The outcome of the meetings, in terms of recommendations, will be made public and addressed to the members of the Steering Committee.
The Board provides DG JRC and DG ESTAT with recommendations to address the priorities, challenges and opportunities in terms of EUROMOD development. The Board reports to the Steering Committee in the form of a Scientific Report summarising the state of updating process, recent developments, how previous recommendations have been addressed by the DG JRC and DG ESTAT, and the recommendations for the future. The Scientific Report of the Board will be made public.