History

A Bridge Between Academia and the World of Practice

The Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies was launched in 1993 as an inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary research centre. Its creation followed the conclusion of a strategic review of the European University Institute (EUI), with the ‘Beyond Mainenance’ Report making several recommendations to increase the Institute’s attractiveness. One key proposal was to build on the experience of the Policy Unit, created a few years before with the objective to engage in high-quality policy-oriented and policy-relevant academic research and become a bridge to the world of practice.

The mission of building and shaping this new entity was entrusted to Yvés Meny and the initial start was modest: one director and four administrative staff. Thanks to the creation of Joint Chairs with the Departments, the Schuman Centre soon started to attract more and more academics and research fellows. The Jean Monnet Fellowship programme, the first post-doctoral programme launched at the EUI in 1983, was also adopted by the Schuman Centre in 1993.

Important steps were taken with the fusion of the Schuman Centre with the European Forum and the creation of chairs supported by national governments as well as private and public donors on specific issues. One example is the Chair of Transatlantic Relations funded by the Republic of Ireland. This not only led to further growth of the Centre, but represents also the first experience of third-party funding at the EUI.

With the new millenium, new research areas and fields were established at the Schuman Centre. The Centre reinforced its scientific engagement with policy-related topics, such as the monetary union or migration. The latter was initially integrated into the Mediterranean programme and later developed into the Migration Policy Centre.

Worth mention is the founding of the Florence School of Regulation (FSR) in 2004, which in its first years focused on energy issues and later became one of the biggest success stories of the Centre. The Schuman Centre became a space for academics to carry out their research projects and for young researchers to stabilise their careers.

With Stefano Bartolini as the new director from the end of 2006, the Robert Schuman Centre continued to grow: new projects were launched such as EUDO (European Observatory on Democracy) and the Loyola de Palacio Programme on energy.

In 2008 the Schuman Centre had already evolved into a large and well-known research infrastructure hosting more than 100 people. Its theoretical and methodological pluralism, a characteristic feature of the Centre’s research orientation since the very beginning, had remained constant over the years. The Centre is involved in basic and policy research, it collaborates with other centres of excellence in Europe, it provides opportunities for young scholars and it promotes dialogue with the world of practice.

The Centre was originally financed via the EUI budget but over time, it continued to successfully obtain external funds via competitive grant and fund applications, where the EU remains predominant but the proportion of private donors – firms and foundations – has increased.