Sex-Specific Reporting of Scientific Research

NAS. The number of women participating in clinical trials has increased over the last two decades, but women are still underrepresented in clinical trials in general. Some of the overall increase can be attributed to the greater number of women-only trials (of therapies for diseases that affect only women). Even when women are included in clinical trials, the results are often not analyzed separately by sex.

On August 30, 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice hosted the workshop Sex-Specific Reporting of Scientific Research. The workshop explored the need for sex-specific reporting of scientific results; potential barriers and unintended consequences of sex-specific reporting of scientific results; experiences of journals that have implemented sex-specific requirements, including the challenges and benefits of such editorial policies; and steps to facilitate the reporting of sex-specific results. Presenters and participants included current and former editors of scientific journals, researchers, and scientists and policymakers from government, industry, and nonprofit organizations. Presentations and discussions highlighted the importance to both women and men of having sex-specific data, the problems with sample size and financial constraints for conducting the research, the appropriateness of sex-specific analyses, and the limitations of journal policies to  ange experimental designs.

Sex-Specific Reporting of Scientific Research summarizes the presentations and discussions by the expert panelists during the IOM workshop. The workshop's first session focused on why sex-specific reporting is important. Panelists highlighted historical and current events that have hindered or helped to advance the study of women. In the next session, panelists in academe discussed the challenges of collecting, analyzing, and reporting sex-specific data from the researcher's perspective. That was followed by two panels of leading journal editors who shared their experiences in developing and implementing editorial policies and the implications of sex-specific reporting policies for journals. 

OECD (2012), “ICT Applications for the Smart Grid: Opportunities and Policy Implications”, OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 190, OECD Publishing.

Sex-Specific Reporting of Scientific Research

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Council of The European Union.Launching of five joint programming initiatives for research

Council of The European Union.Brussels.6 December 2011. EMPHASISES that Joint Programming in research in the areas of the five proposed initiatives:'Healthy and Productive sea and Oceans','Urban Europe - Global Urban Challenges, Joint European Solutions','Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe','Water Challenges for a Changing World','The Microbial Challenge - An Emerging Threat to Human Health'.

will contribute to the reduction of fragmentation of research efforts of Member States and will step up the mobilisation of skills, knowledge and resources, with a view to advancing and strengthening Europe's leadership and competitiveness of research and innovation in these fields. INVITES the Member States, participating in the framework of the five initiatives respectively, to:

i.Develop a common vision, based on a multidisciplinary approach, on how cooperation and coordination in the field of research at the European level can improve addressing the challenges presented in the initiatives in order to ensure the efficiency of the joint efforts of Member States. ii. Develop a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) establishing medium to long term research needs and objectives in the areas of the five initiatives. The Strategic Research Agendas should be further developed towards an implementation plan establishing priorities and timelines and specifying the actions, instruments and resources required for its implementation. The contents, work programmes and implementation plans should take into account the scientific, technological, societal and innovation impacts of the supported research.

iii. Jointly implement the Strategic Research Agenda, including via their national research programmes taking into account the Voluntary Guidelines on Framework Conditions for Joint Programming in Research developed by the High Level Group on Joint Programming (GPC) or other national research activities.

iv. Set up and maintain an efficient common management structure in the field of the five initiatives respectively, with a mandate to establish appropriate conditions, rules and procedures for cooperation and coordination and to monitor the implementation of the Strategic Research Agenda. Such management structure should be lean, efficient and flexible and should take account of the Voluntary Guidelines on Framework Conditions for Joint Programming in Research developed by the GPC.

v. Build on the existing expertise within the Commission and take into account the voluntary guidelines on framework conditions when developing and implementing the Strategic Research Agenda with a view to coordinating the joint programming initiatives and ensuring overall coherence with other relevant programmes and initiatives, while avoiding unnecessary duplication with existing and future Union initiatives in these areas.

3133rd COMPETITIVENESS (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space) Council meeting

Launching of five joint programming initiatives for research,

Council of The European Union.Conclusions on partnering in research and innovation

Council of The European Union.Brussels.6 December 2011. UNDERLINES the need to a) deliver added value at the European and Member States level through the partnering approach; b) improve conditions allowing and encouraging all interested Member States and other stakeholders to participate in different forms of partnering, while maintaining their voluntary nature and taking account of national approaches to research funding; c) increase and maintain the commitment and active participation of all partners including the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in publicprivate partnerships; d) develop synergies and complementarities between Horizon 2020 and the Common Strategic Framework for Cohesion Policy when developing partnering activities, while recognising that these instruments have different purposes; e) reduce the administrative burden for all participants in partnering instruments and pursue the effort of simplification of rules and procedures.

EMPHASISES the need to create a transparent and accessible overall landscape of programmes and instruments for all parties involved. To this end, NOTES the need for rationalisation, including mergers when deemed appropriate, to avoid unnecessary duplication and overlapping, and LOOKS FORWARD to discussing this issue further in the context of, amongst others, the Commission proposals for Horizon 2020 and the ERA Framework.

As regards the Public-Public Partnerships (P2Ps)

EMPHASISES the need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of existing partnering instruments and TAKES NOTE of the Commission's intention to merge existing instruments, such as ERA-NETs and ERA-NET Plus, to form a single, more flexible and ERA-NET-like instrument and LOOKS FORWARD to discussing this aspect in the context of Horizon 2020.

EMPHASISES the nature of Joint Programming as a Member States led voluntary process and its significant potential for R&I in Europe and contribution to address major societal challenges; CALLS for considering synergies between JPIs and Framework Programme instruments, in particular for the use of its P2P instruments, where the area being addressed by a JPI fits with Horizon 2020 priorities; ENCOURAGES the Member States participating in JPIs to make best use of the Voluntary Guidelines on Framework Conditions for Joint Programming and RECALLS the need to regularly review these guidelines based on the experience of the JPIs with the aim to improve their applicability.

ACKNOWLEDGES that, in order to ensure strong, long-term partnerships, questions related to issues such as IP management, funding and improvement of cross-border cooperation and knowledge circulation need to be addressed also in the context of the development of the ERA Framework and that this process must fully recognise the voluntary nature of individual partnerships and the need to respect national competence.

3133rd COMPETITIVENESS (Internal Market, Industry, Research and Space)

Council meeting Council of The European Union.Conclusions on partnering in research and innovation,