The key orientations for the JRC’s multi-annual work programme 2016-17 support the priorities set out by the Juncker Commission.

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The JRC’s key orientations are:

• organised according to the 10 areas set out in the agenda for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change;
• based on the Horizon 2020 work programme for 2016-17;
• funded either by institutional resources (i.e. operational funding for the JRC from Horizon 2020) or competitive resources (i.e. additional funding from policy DGs and grant funding from Horizon 2020). The JRC benefits from its participation in Horizon 2020 and its predecessor, FP7, not just financially, but primarily in terms of valuable access to European and international research networks;
• in line with the overall objective set out in Horizon 2020 for the JRC’s non-nuclear work, which is ‘to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support to EU policies, while flexibly responding to new policy demands’ and the general objectives of the Euratom programme relating to the JRC’s nuclear work, which are ‘to pursue nuclear research and training activities with an emphasis on continuous improvement of nuclear safety, security and radiation protection’.

In support of the new Commission’s objective of improving the way it manages knowledge, the JRC will set up a number of pilot knowledge and competence centres. Knowledge centres will create, collate, validate and structure internal and external scientific knowledge for a specific policy field or across policy fields. Competence centres will bring together analytical expertise such as modelling or data mining which are independent of theme, and can be applied across policy areas.

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