The outcome of the 2nd European Conference on Science Diplomacy – convened by the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission in Copenhagen on 17-18 December 2025 – defined Science Diplomacy as “a connective tissue that can help foster peace, manage global public goods and commons sustainably, including spaces beyond national jurisdiction, tackling global challenges, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”. In this framework, non-state actors “have an important role to play in science diplomacy, helping to bridge divides in a fragmented world”.
In parallel, Big Science represents a broad and multi-faceted ecosystem in which non-state actors collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders to advance the most technologically sophisticated scientific enterprises. These include national and international research infrastructures, industry, laboratories, the scientific community, universities, governmental bodies, agencies and international organisations.
Against this backdrop, the Pan-European Research Infrastructure ILO Association (PERIIA) - the network of national Industrial Liaison Officers (ILOs) working with Europe’s main Big Science Organisations - and the European Union Science Diplomacy Alliance - the leading networking hub for cooperative activities in Science Diplomacy - are jointly promoting this workshop hosted by the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI ERIC) as a timely opportunity to launch a reflection on the intersections and complementarities between Big Science and Science Diplomacy.
The workshop aims to analyse current activities in the field of Big Science, explore their connections and potential synergies with the concepts and practices of Science Diplomacy, and foster dialogue among experts and practitioners operating at the interface of international relations, scientific cooperation, industry, research and higher education. Ultimately, it seeks to initiate an open and forward-looking exchange on Big Science and Science Diplomacy, while bridging their overlapping communities.
The workshop is organized by PERIIA and EU Science Diplomacy Alliance, supported by ENEA, Central European Initiative, Technology Center Prague, University of Zurich / CHEF and ELI ERIC.
