The Social Sciences, Humanities and foresight programme: evolution and future perspectives The Directorate for Research in Social Sciences, Humanities and Foresight of DG Research, European Commission
Jan 02, 2016
The Social Sciences, Humanities and foresight
programme: evolution and future perspectives
The Directorate for Research in Social Sciences, Humanities and Foresight of DG
Research, European Commission
The early steps
• EU Research policy was first included in the Single European Act in 1986.
« The Community shall have the objective of strengthening the scientific and technological bases of Community industry and encouraging it to become more competitive at international level, while promoting all the research activities deemed necessary by virtue of other chapters of this Treaty”.
• Therefore the RTD policy, as defined by the Treaty, contains a socio-economic dimension.
• Research programmes existed before 1986 but did not include research on SSH as such.
• Only FAST promoted foresight by exploring emerging domains (like ICTs or biotechnologies). Other research programmes supported mobility in the SSH disciplines.
How were SSH included into the FP?
• In 1994, FP4 created a proper domain of SSH called « targeted socio economic research » (TSER).
• Under FP4 and FP5, foresight is taken over by the JRC (IPTS in Sevilla), but also reappears as a new activity under FP6.
Issues addressed under FP4
Targeted socio-economic research
• Scientific and technology policy options.
• Education and training.
• Social exclusion and social integration.
Issues addressed under FP5
• Analysing structural, demographic and social changes, including the phenomena of xenophobia, racism and migration in Europe.
• Analysing the relationship between technological development, employment and society.
• Analysing the changing role of European institutions, systems of governance and citizenship in the process of European integration.
• Validating new development models, fostering growth, employment, social and economic cohesion and the
quality of life.
Issues addressed under FP6
• Knowledge-based society and social cohesion
* Generation, use and distribution of knowledge* Developing the Lisbon societal objectives* Variety of paths towards knowledge society
• Citizenship, democracy and new forms of governance
* Implication of EU integration/enlargement* Multi-level governance* resolution of conflicts, peace, justice* citizenship and cultural identities
Issues addressed under FP6 (Continued)
• Foresight
* Is meant to help strengthen the bases of the European Research Area
* Studies, analyses, methodology, preparation of medium and long term scenarios
• Other SSH elements
* Infrastructures
* Research and innovation
* Mobility (Marie Curie)
* Science and society
* Integration of SSH in other research priorities (e.g. environment, health, transport…)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
FP4 FP5 FP6 FP7
SSH in FP (M€) M€ per year
Evolution of SSH budget since 1994Evolution of SSH budget since 1994
Quantitative evolution of SSH EU researchQuantitative evolution of SSH EU research
FP4 FP5 FP6
Nb of projects 162 185 141
Nb of research teams
1206 1507 2350
Ratio teams per project
7,4 8,2 16,7
Average budget / proj. (M€)
0,710 0,886 1,780
Nb of countries 35 39 50
The various disciplines
in RTD consortia in FP4 and FP5 “Disciplines”
Sociology
Economics
Political Science (including public policy)
Statistics
Management/Business
Education
Psychology
Geography
History
Anthropology
Urban/Regional Planning
Demography
* Other marginal disciplines included philosophy, women´s studies, cultural studies, architecture, church history, law, communication, linguistics and technology policy
The particular nature of EU SSH research
• Issue oriented.
• Multidisciplinary.
• Significant comparative element.
• Policy relevant in the middle to longer-term as projects last up to 5 years.
• Policy relevant not only at EU level but also at national and regional levels.
The rationale of the new FP7
• Broad continuity with FP6
• Simplification is very important
• Some key novelties
* Longer period (2007-2013)
* From 17,5 to 75,8 Billions Eur
* The European Research Council
* Joint Technological Platforms
Specific Programmes
Cooperation – Collaborative researchCooperation – Collaborative research
People – Human PotentialPeople – Human Potential
JRC (nuclear)JRC (nuclear)
Ideas – Frontier ResearchIdeas – Frontier Research
Capacities – Research CapacityCapacities – Research Capacity
JRC (non-nuclear)JRC (non-nuclear)
EuratomEuratom
+
9 themes1. Health
2. Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology
3. Information and Communication Technologies
4. Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies
5. Energy
6. Environment (including Climate Change)
7. Transport (including Aeronautics)
8. Socio-Economic Sciences and the Humanities
9. Security and Space
Cooperation – Collaborative researchCooperation – Collaborative research
8. Socio-Economic Sciences and the Humanities
8. Socio-Economic Sciences and the Humanities
Growth, employment and competitiveness in a knowledge societyGrowth, employment and competitiveness in a knowledge society
Combining economic, social and environmental objectives in a European perspective
Combining economic, social and environmental objectives in a European perspective
Major trends in society and their implicationsMajor trends in society and their implications
Europe in the worldEurope in the world
The citizen in the European UnionThe citizen in the European Union
Socio-economic and scientific indicatorsSocio-economic and scientific indicators
Foresight activitiesForesight activities
What is new for SSH under FP7
• Broad strategic research agenda• Addresses challenges in medium and long term
perspective (2013 and beyond)• Greater role for culture and humanities• A more systematic approach to SSH infrastructures• Leaves a space for researchers to address challenges
facing Europe not mentioned in the research programme• Stresses international dimension of SSH• Better integration of several formerly separate activities
(coordination of national policies, international cooperation)
• The changing role of knowledge, including different types of knowledge and competences, education, lifelong learning and intangible investment
• Economic structures, structural change and productivity issues
• Institutional and policy questions, including macro-economic policy, labour markets, institutional contexts, policy coherence and coordination.
Growth, employment and competitivenessin a knowledge society
Growth, employment and competitivenessin a knowledge society
• How European socio-economic models and those outside Europe have fared in combining these objectives.
• Economic cohesion between regions and regional development in an enlarged EU, as well as social cohesion and its relation to social problems such as poverty, housing, crime, delinquency and drugs.
Combining economic, socialand environmental objectives
in a European perspective
Combining economic, socialand environmental objectives
in a European perspective
• Demographic change including ageing, births and migration
• Lifestyles, families, work, consumption, health and quality of life
• Cultural interactions in an international perspective including traditions from different societies, diversity of populations, discrimination, racism…
Major trends in society and their implications
Major trends in society and their implications
• Changing interactions and interdependencies (in areas like trade, finance, investment, migration, media, religions) between world regions and their implications for those regions, especially for the EU
• Causes and resolution of conflicts; relation between security and poverty, crime, environmental degradation and resources scarcity; terrorism; security-related policies and perceptions of insecurity
Europe in the worldEurope in the world
In the context of the future development of the EU, addressing the following issues
• Active participation by the peoples of Europe, European public sphere and media and democracy; governance, citizenship and rights
• European diversities and commonalities in cultures, institutions, history, languages, arts, religions and values
The citizen in the European UnionThe citizen in the European Union
• The use of indicators in policy, their implementation and monitoring
• How evidence-based policy might be better supported by indicators and methods, for policy coordination and regulation
• Use of indicators for evaluation of research programmes, including impact assessment
Socio-economic and scientific indicatorsSocio-economic and scientific indicators
• Foresight on key challenges and opportunities for the EU (e.g. ageing, migration…)
• Focussed thematic foresight in emerging research domains and cross-cutting domains
• Foresight on research systems, key actors and policies in the EU
• Mutual learning and cooperation between national and/or regional foresight, within the EU and internationally
Foresight activitiesForesight activities
Which instruments?
• Pursuit of ERA is still a major objective of the programme.
• Instruments should be adapted to purpose of each activity.
• « Huge » instruments like Networks of Excellence are not the solution per se but should be used if they really help the development of the ERA.