EASAC brings together the National Academies of Science of the EU Member States, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as Academia Europaea (a pan-European Academy) and ALLEA (the federation of all academies in geographical Europe) to provide independent science advice to European policymakers. EASAC was founded in 2001 at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

EASAC’s main mission is to inform both national and European Union policymakers on evidence to take policy decisions – on questions of relevance regarding environment, energy, biosciences and public health. EASAC’s views are independent of commercial or political bias, and follow open and transparent processes to arrive at science-based analysis and recommendations.

EASAC is also part of a global network of science academies: As the regional affiliated member for Europe of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), EASAC is closely connected to – and collaborates with – (regional networks of) national science academies across the world.

EASAC's main governing body is the Council, made up of representatives from member academies and networks. The EASAC President and Vice-Presidents work together in the EASAC Board, while day-to-day operations are managed by a Secretariat. EASAC’s work of independent science-based advice for policymakers focuses on three core programmes: Biosciences and Public Health, Energy, andEnvironment. Each programme is run by a Programme Director. A Programme Steering Panel consisting of experienced scientists nominated by EASAC member academies and networks, functions as central body overseeing the Programme and gives advice on the scientific scope, strategic significance, value and viability of proposed reports.

The main procedures and structures of EASAC are outlined it its Statutes.

After a project has been scoped and recommended by a Steering Panel and approved by the Council, a working group is formed through nominations by EASAC member academies and networks. The group holds meetings to compile a report, which then undergoes a rigorous peer review process before being circulated to all EASAC member academies for endorsement. When there is not much time to produce advice or when EASAC wants to address a relatively narrow topic, EASAC may produce a shorter document called a statement. Sometimes, key messages of EASAC’s work form the basis of EASAC articles in scientific journals (see here for a list of all EASAC publications).

EASAC activities include:

• Producing high-quality advisory reports for EU policy-makers to inform political decisions;
• Collecting scientific evidence on pressing societal challenges from expert scientists across the EU;
• Hosting workshops to identify current scientific thinking about major European policy issues;
• Facilitating network activities to strengthen collaboration among Europe’s science academies;
• Building and maintaining relationships with EU bodies and other organisations and initiatives in the science-for-policy landscape;
• Engaging in a global network of science academies through the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) as the regional member for Europe;
• Conducting outreach activities such as report launch and briefing events that inform policymakers, scientists, journalists, representatives of NGOs or other interested stakeholder groups on science-for-policy issues;
• Engaging non-expert audiences on important scientific and policy issues through EASAC’s communication channels.

Learn more about EASAC’s latest science-for-policy work here: https://science-advice-europe.eu/

Most of EASAC’s funding comes from its members, European science academies, who pay an annual contribution. Furthermore, they make substantial in-kind contributions by funding travel expenses for participation of their nominated experts in EASAC's Steering Panels and working groups. These experts give their time free of charge. EASAC receives support as the “Regional Affiliated Network for Europe” of IAP, which is in turn funded by UNESCO. EASAC may also apply for project-specific funding from non-profit foundations, such as the United Nations Foundation. Additional contributions from independent foundations are possible.

Furthermore, EASAC Foundation invites donations and serves as a conduit for donors to support particular activities of the EASAC network, such as particular thematic projects or the dissemination and communication of the results.

EASAC works closely with European and global organizations to advance science-based policy-making. Key partners include the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the Network of African Science Academies (NASAC), and ALLEA (All European Academies), among others. These cooperations strengthen EASAC’s science-for-policy efforts.