Data Card - Cohesion, science and our future
On November 10, the United Nations celebrates World Science Day for Peace and Development. Proclaimed in 2001 by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), it aims to highlight the significant role of science for the development of society and the need to involve a wider public in debates on emerging scientific issues.
The theme for 2023 is building trust in science: in order to enable science to shape our collective future, according to UNESCO, it is necessary to foster a feeling of trust. “It is trust in science that fuels the development and application of evidence-based solutions to our world's many challenges. Trust in science is a complex issue. It affects the way in which scientists operate and the way in which science is perceived by society" explains the document that introduces the day's celebrations, including a round table scheduled for November 13th called to address a topic "on the border between science , politics and society” (“Building Trust in Science at the Nexus of Science, Policy and Society”). “Improving trust in science - adds the analysis available on the UNESCO website - strengthens political decisions based on knowledge and society's support for their application”.
On the occasion of the World Science Day for Peace and Development 2023, OpenCoesione publishes a Data Card focused on projects financed by the European cohesion policy within the NOP ERDF ESF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION Programme, which in the 2014-2020 programming period financed in Italy 3,334 projects in ongoing implementation as of data at 31 August 2023, with a monitored public cost of 2.5 billion euros (and monitored payments of 1.5 billion). One of the objectives of the NOP, managed by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), is in fact the strengthening of research, technological development and innovation, with actions and interventions throughout Southern Italy (Abruzzo, Molise and Sardinia, classified as regions in transition, and Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily, as less developed regions).
The areas of specialization in which the programme invests are 12 as follows : Aerospace, Agrifood, Blue Growth (sea economy), Green chemistry, Design, Creativity and made in Italy , Energy, Smart factory, Sustainable mobility, Health, Smart, Secure and Inclusive Communities, Technologies for Living Environments, Technologies for Cultural Heritage.
The projects described in this Data Card see as beneficiaries the National Research Council (CNR), a public national research body with multidisciplinary skills, supervised by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and that is organized in different territorial branches with specific research areas , and the Anton Dhorn Zoological Station of Naples, which deals with research on the fundamental processes of biology, with specific reference to marine organisms and their biodiversity, and depends on the MUR.