Social Sciences

Social Sciences includes Citizens and Governance in a knowledge-based society.

Objective

The activities carried out in this area are intended to mobilise in a coherent effort, in all their wealth and diversity, European research capacities in economic, political, social sciences and humanities that are necessary to develop an understanding of, and to address issues related to, the emergence of the knowledge-based society and new forms of relationships between its citizens, on the one hand and between its citizens and institutions, on the other.

Justification of the effort and European added value

At the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000, the European Union set itself the ambitious objective of becoming "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustained economic growth providing more and better jobs and greater social cohesion".

In this perspective, the European Council in Lisbon underlined that "human resources are Europe's main strength", stressing the need for Europe's education and training systems to "adjust both to the needs of the knowledge-based society and to the need to raise the level of employment and improve quality".

Europe's transition towards a knowledge-based economy and society, and its sustainable development in the interests of the quality of life of all citizens will be all the easier if it takes place in a way which is properly understood and managed. This requires a substantial research effort concerning the issues of integrated and sustainable economic and social progress based on the fundamental values of justice and solidarity and cultural diversity which characterise the European model of society, as well as research on issues relating to entrepreneurship and the setting up, growth and development of small enterprises.

In this respect, economic, political, social and human sciences research should more particularly help to ensure the harnessing and exploitation of an exponentially increasing quantity of information and knowledge and an understanding of the processes at work in this area.

In Europe, this issue arises in particular in connection to the future enlargement, the functioning of democracy and new forms of governance, and in the general context of this. What is at stake is the relationship between citizens and institutions in a complex political and decision-making environment characterised by the coexistence of national, regional and European decision-making levels and the increasing role of civil society and its representatives in the political debate.

Issues such as these have a clear and intrinsic European dimension, and there is much to be gained by examining them from a global perspective, taking into account the historical dimension as well as the cultural heritage.

This European dimension is only just starting to be taken into account in research conducted at national level, and is not yet receiving all the attention that it requires.

It seems highly appropriate to address these aspects on the European scale. What is more, action taken at Union level will make it possible to ensure the requisite degree of methodological coherence and guarantee that full benefit is derived from the rich variety of approaches existing in Europe and European diversity.

Actions envisaged

Action by the Community will focus on the following themes:

knowledge-based society and social cohesion:

(a) research with reference to the objectives set by the Lisbon European Council and subsequent Councils, in particular systematic analysis of best methods for improving the production, transmission and utilisation of knowledge in Europe;

(b) options and choices for the development of a knowledge-based society serving the Union objectives emphasised at the Lisbon, Nice and Stockholm European Councils, in particular as regards improving the quality of life, social, employment and labour market policies, lifelong learning, and strengthening social cohesion and sustainable development with due consideration for the various social models in Europe and taking into account aspects relating to the ageing of the population;

(c) variety of transition dynamics and paths towards the knowledge-based society at local, national and regional level;

citizenship, democracy and new forms of governance, in particular in the context of increased integration and globalisation, and from the perspectives of history and cultural heritage:

- consequences of European integration and enlargement of the Union for democracy, the concept of legitimacy, and the functioning of Union institutions through a better understanding of political and social institutions in Europe, and their historical evolution,

- research on the redefinition of and the relationship between areas of competence and responsibility, and new forms of governance,

- issues connected with the resolution of conflicts and restoration of peace and justice, including the safeguarding of fundamental rights,

- emergence of new forms of citizenship and cultural identities, forms and impact of integration and cultural diversity in Europe; social and cultural dialogue involving Europe as well as the rest of the world.

In operational terms, Community activities will focus on support for:

(a) transnational research and comparative studies and the coordinated development of statistics and qualitative and quantitative indicators;

(b) interdisciplinary research in support of public policies;

(c) the establishment and exploitation on a European scale of research infrastructures and data and knowledge bases.

Links

FP6 -  social sciences
CORDIS
European Commission Research

News

20 August 2008:  When Goldie the European magpie looked in the mirror and spotted a yellow dot on her black neck feathers, she did what we all do when we see a spot of mustard on our chins: She wiped it off. Her reaction to her image--apparently recognizing the bird in the mirror as herself--has scientists excited. It's the first time that mirror self-recognition (MSR) has been found in birds or in any nonmammalian species. Read more

19 August 2008:  Indigenous children don't need number words to 'count', says new study. The study, by researchers from the University of Melbourne and University College London, is set to be published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more

13 August 2008:  Research led by UK and Australian scientists sheds new light on the role that our ancestors played in the extinction of Australia's prehistoric animals. The new study provides the first evidence that Tasmania's giant kangaroos and marsupial 'rhinos' and 'leopards' were still roaming the island when humans first arrived. Read more

5 August 2008:  It's one thing to wish for a boy or a girl when pregnant; but it's something else entirely to take steps to guarantee your wish comes true. Enter China and India, where the ratio of boys to girls is so lopsided that economists project there may be as many as 30 to 40 million more men than women of marriageable age in both countries by 2020. Read more

31 July 2008:  An experimental drug that blocks the euphoric feelings associated with drinking may prevent alcoholics from relapsing. The finding, the result of a mouse study at Oregon Health & Science University, could lead to human clinical trials within the next year. Read more

30 July 2008:  A new study of DNA from ancient and modern chickens has shed light on the controversy about the extent of pre-historic Polynesian contact with the Americas. Read more

29 July 2008:  Maybe some boys really were born to be wild. Researchers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill announced this week that they had found three genes that appear to affect the probability of a life of crime. The study looked at roughly 1,100 boys in middle school and high school, ages 12-18. Read more

24 July 2008:  "Watch out!" It's a simple phrase, but researchers have long debated whether nonhuman primates use something like it. A new study indicates that they do: Even when not threatened themselves, African blue monkeys warn neighbors of nearby predators. However, some skeptics maintain that the animals are acting out of fear, not concern for others. Read more

22 July 2008:  According to a report released July 14 by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern for kids in 2008, topping smoking and drug abuse. In 2007, childhood obesity ranked third among parents’ top 10 overall health concerns for kids. Read more

21 July 2008:  More than a quarter of a million women have been sold as wives and baby-makers in South East Asia, but they are getting a raw deal in health care and social inclusion. Read more

21 July 2008:  Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide in children, according to a new review of studies from 13 countries published in the International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health. Read more

17 July 2008:  Children have an inbuilt sense of right and wrong, researchers claimed last night. The study, which showed children are 'hard-wired' to feel empathy, is likely to rekindle the nature-or-nurture debate and may cast light on the causes of bullying. Read more

17 July 2008:  Growing evidence indicates that exposure to irregular patterns of light and darkness can cause the human circadian system to fall out of synchrony with the 24-hour solar day, negatively affecting human health - but scientists have been unable to effectively study the relationship between circadian disruptions and human maladies. Read more

16 July 2008:  In a world where economies are increasingly dependent upon high-level knowledge, higher education is a key national resource. But a Forward Look initiated by the European Science Foundation (ESF) shows that we need to know more about how universities, and other higher education institutions, are changing in the 21st century. Read more

16 July 2008:  Language without Numbers? An Amazonian language with only 300 speakers has no word to express the concept of "one" or any other specific number, according to a new study from an MIT-led team. Read more

1 July 2008:  A groundbreaking new study finds that genes significantly affect variation in voter turnout, shedding new light on the reasons why people vote and participate in the political system.  Read more

30 June 2008: The European Heads of Research Councils (EUROHORCs) and the European Science Foundation (ESF) have set out their shared vision and an action plan for the future of the European Research Area (ERA). Read more

18 June 2008: The European Commission has officially launched the network of European researchers in Japan. Read more

17 June 2008: Canada, India launch joint technology, science initiatives. Read more

16 June 2008: Significant progress has been made in research collaboration since the launch of the Responsible Partnering Initiative, a set of guidelines to aid knowledge transfer between business, research organisations and universities and academia. Read more

13 June 2008: Significant progress has been made in research collaboration since the launch of the Responsible Partnering Initiative, a set of guidelines to aid knowledge transfer between business, research organisations and universities and academia. Read more

11 June 2008: A new study conducted in the framework of the EU-funded Vision Era-net has identified future innovation governance challenges. Read more

10 June 2008: Cancer incidence and mortality in young people decreases with increasing deprivation. Read more

10 June 2008: Projects tackling the current societal preoccupations of terrorism and car pollution were the winners of this year's EUREKA Lynx and Lillehammer awards. Read more

6 June 2008: Calls for a food-aid revolution in a post-surplus world. Read more  

3 June 2008: Latest Competitiveness Council brings progress for research. Read more

3 June 2008: EU contributes EUR 40 million to fight against infectious diseases. Read more

27 May 2008: Policy Reforms May Increase Petty Corruption. Read more

27 May 2008: High Unemployment Insurance Benefits Employment and the Economy. Read more  

23 May 2008: Parliament calls for greater gender parity in science. Read more

16 May 2008: EU observatory to guide policymakers on nanotechnologies. Read more

16 May 2008: ICT to the rescue of Europe's carbon footprint. Read more

16 May 2008: Scientists identify molecule behind fat deposition and insulin release. Read more

16 May 2008: Europe sees BRIGHTER future with laser diode technology. Read more 

15 May 2008: Accounting practices ultimately affect global economy. Read more

6 May 2008: Free knowledge and technology conference, Barcelona, Spain. Read more

18 April 2008: Ministers attending an informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council have launched a new process to ensure coherency and synergy between research policies and activities across the European Union. Read more

15 April 2008: New Commission Recommendation to help harness knowledge for Europe. Read more

14 April 2008: New Commission Recommendation to help harness knowledge for Europe. Read more .

10 April 2008: EU and India to deepen biotech research ties. Read more

8 April 2008: Potocnik calls for process to modernise universities to begin. Read more

3 April 2008: Project outlines approach to the integration of female immigrant workers. Read more

27 March 2008: A global team of legal, scientific and ethics experts have put forward eight key recommendations to establish much needed guidelines for conducting human-genome sequencing research. Read more

13 March 2008: The European Commission has signalled its support for the establishment of a European Migration Policy Centre (EMPC). Read more

11 March 2008: New research has shed light on the way in which people cooperate for the common good, and what happens when they fail to. Read more

7 March 2008: What do new technologies mean for the labour market? Read more

5 March 2008: The JRF’s Alcohol Research Committee wish to fund further research on the transmission of drinking cultures. Read more

5 March 2008: The Institute for Human Sciences, Austria & ERSTE Foundation jointly invite academics to translate important works in the Humanities, Social Sciences and in the field of Cultural Studies. Read more

29 February 2008: The Aspen Institute Non-profit Sector Research Fund seeks to introduce a diverse group of students to issues relating to philanthropy, volunteerism, and non-profit organizations. Read more

29 February 2008: The Institute of International Education (IIE) is now accepting applications for the Dissertation Fellowship in population, reproductive health, and economic development. Read more

28 February 2008: ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowships provide a career development opportunity for those at a relatively early stage of their academic career who can demonstrate great potential in social science research. Read more

28 February 2008: The Heinrich Böll Foundation supports those studying and graduating who have a positive attitude towards the goals of the Green project, share the fundamental ideals of the Foundation and who take an active sociopolitical role. The foundation also provides support for art and culture, science and research, and developmental cooperation. Read more

22 February 2008: Lack of political will and the subordination of women are major barriers to tackling AIDS. Read more

20 February 2008: A huge proportion of maternal deaths worldwide are preventable. Read more

20 February 2008: Junior research fellowships in humanities and social studies at Wolfson College, Oxford. Read more

19 February 2008: Economic growth does not necessarily translate into improvements in child mortality, major new research suggests. Read more

19 February 2008: Homelessness is one of the key societal problems facing the countries of the European Union. This issue is a major challenge for the EU and a new Europe-wide project aims to improve monitoring and policies on this issue. Read more

18 February 2008: The 'Humanities in the European Research Area' (HERA) initiative is holding a matchmaking event in Paris, France, on 19 April. Read more

18 February 2008: Increased life expectancy may mean lower fertility. Read more

14 February 2008: A new approach to combating poverty is being studied in a research project led by the University of Cologne. Following the success of their international project 'Strengthening micro health insurance units for the poor in India', the university is now working on a similar initiative for Africa. Read more

14 February 2008: The Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Embassy of France in Australia are offering four fellowships for scholars who need to travel to France in 2009 to undertake research. This grant is available to scholars resident in Australia and working in the field of the Humanities who require access to resources held in France. Read more

8 February 2008: The largest study of suicidal behaviors ever conducted has found that 9.2 percent of the world's population has contemplated suicide, but fewer than 3 percent actually make an attempt. Read more

5 February 2008: The governing body of St. Anne’s College invites applications for the Biegun Warburg Junior Research Fellowship. The fellowships provide an opportunity for individuals at the early stages of their academic careers to pursue research. The fellowship is offered for research in the social sciences, and will be offered this year for geography, politics, economics and law. Read more

8 January 2008: The European Commission has released details of the first projects to be financed under the 'Socio-economic sciences and humanities' and 'Science in society' programmes of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Read more

18 December 2007: The European Commission's Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs has issued a call for tenders for studies and pilot projects for carrying out the Common Fisheries Policy. Read more

17 December 2007: A conference entitled 'Impact assessment for better governance of regional innovation policies' will be held in Bilbao, Spain, on 29 to 30 January. Read more

13 December 2007: A conference entitled 'Governance by evaluation: institutional capacities and learning for sustainable development' will be held in Vienna, Austria, from 11 to 14 March. Read more

13 December 2007: A workshop on the governance of the EU: theories, practices and myths will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 25 to 26 January. Read more

11 December 2007: Enhancing science and technology (S&T) capacity and cooperation on space technology were named priority actions at the Africa-EU summit in Lisbon, Portugal, on 8 and 9 December. Read more

11 December 2007: German-American collaboration in the field of radio astronomy is set to get a boost thanks to a new agreement between Germany's Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) and the US' National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). Read more

10 December 2007: Following the analysis of the state of medical research in Europe, the European Medical Research Council (EMRC) has called for a doubling of public spending on medical research to a minimum of 0.25% of GDP over the next 10 years. Read more

10 December 2007: A seminar on opportunities and challenges for EU-Russia research, technology and development (RTD) cooperation will take place in Vienna, Austria, on 30 January to 1 February. Read more

5 December 2007: Two climate change conferences are taking place this week: the United Nations forum in Bali, Indonesia and a second meeting gathering animated creatures on an island in cyberspace. Read more

5 December 2007: Researchers who study severe weather and climate change joined forces to study the effects of global warming on the number of severe storms in the future and discovered a dramatic increase in potential storm conditions for some parts of the United States. Read more

5 December 2007: Electric and hybrid cars could act as energy stores for the power grid while not being driven, say US researchers. Read more

5 December 2007: Research on hydrogen-fueled cars may be one step closer to application thanks to a new form of hydride discovered by scientists at the ESRF. Read more

4 December 2007: Leaders from the EU and China agreed to move towards more strategic scientific cooperation through the launch of EU-China joint research projects when they met at the China-EU Summit on 28 November. Read more

3 December 2007: The Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) is organising an international colloquium on science and technology for development in Granada, Spain, on 17 and 18 December.  Read more

30 November 2007: In order to provide the EU's citizens with prosperity, a sound environment and a fair society, Europe has to become a leading knowledge-based economy, EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik told members of Ireland's National Forum on Europe (NFOE) on 27 November. Read more

28 November 2007: Slovenia's Government has approved a decree allowing regional tax incentives for research and development (R&D). Read more

28 November 2007: A conference on new migration dynamics: regular and irregular activities on the European labour market, will be held in Nice, France, from 6 to 8 December. Read more

22 November 2007: European industry has asked for a change of emphasis for the European Research Area (ERA). The European Commission's Green Paper, on which stakeholder consultation has just been closed, has too narrow a focus in that it concentrates on public research systems, said industry representatives at a public hearing in the European Parliament on 20 November. Read more

22 November 2007: Climate change may be one of the most significant threats facing humankind. A new study shows that long-term climate change may ultimately lead to wars and population decline. Read more

21 November 2007: Twelve European knowledge-based organisations have joined forces with the goal of establishing a European infrastructure to help preserve and provide permanent access to digital scientific information. Read more

21 November 2007: The Finnish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, together with the Nordic Innovation Centre, will hold a conference on 'New trends in Nordic innovation' in Oulu, Finland, on 29 and 30 November. Read more

8 November 2007: The SEE-ERA-NET has published a raft of recommendations aimed at bringing the scientific community in the Western Balkans closer to that of the EU. Proposals include the establishment of a Regional Programme for Cooperation with South-East Europe. Read more

1 November 2007: Boosting the participation of Danish researchers from the socio-economic sciences and humanities (SSH) in the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is the goal of a new initiative set up by the Danish Business Research Academy (DEA).  Read more  

29 October 2007: The Members of the European Parliament have supported a draft resolution to establish a European Qualification Framework for lifelong learning (EQF), calling for EU-wide recognition of job qualifications. Read more

29 October 2007: More and more governments are providing businesses with tax breaks in order to stimulate innovation, according to the latest science, technology and industry scoreboard from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Read more

25 October 2007: Negotiations are underway for the first projects to be funded under the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and Science in Society (SiS) thematic areas of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Read more

23 October 2007: A group of 56 EU-funded Networks of Excellence (NoEs), representing more than 13,000 researchers, has drafted an opinion paper calling for action from the European Commission to secure the long-term future of the most successful integrated networks. Read more

23 October 2007: The European Commission's Directorate-General for Information Society and Media has issued a call for tenders for a study on the development of the information society in EU rural development and regional policies. Read more

19 October 2007: The European Commission has launched a new partnership to help the EU's automotive industry better anticipate and manage change in the face of global challenges. Read more

17 October 2007: Germany and Russia signed an agreement on closer cooperation in research and education on 15 October. Read more

12 October 2007: Most of those familiar with the EU's Barcelona goal of investing 3% of GDP in research by 2010 will also know that its designers intended for two-thirds of this investment to come from the private sector. Read more

11 October 2007: Integrating the three pillars of the knowledge triangle - research, education and innovation - is often cited as key in a knowledge-based society. Industry plays an important part in this process. The Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) has managed to implement close cooperation between universities and the financial industry in the area of finance research. Read more

10 October 2007:'The OPEN DAYS is a unique success story which proves the added value and potential of EU cohesion policy. Read more

9 October 2007: Nuffield College intends to appoint a number of Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellows for graduates wishing to undertake research in any area of the social sciences except economics, for which there is a separate competition (applicants who wish to undertake interdisciplinary research that includes economics will also be considered). Read more

8 October 2007: The Jacobs Foundation is an international charitable foundation, with a base in Switzerland, whose mission is to use science-based knowledge, understanding and education to foster the welfare, social competence and human potential of future generations of young people. Read more

3 October 2007: The European Commission has issued a call for proposals for 'International Cooperation' activities under the Capacities programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Read more

2 October 2007: Researchers within the EU-funded Peace-Com project have identified the different 'dimensions' of community conflicts and created a monitoring tool that can show whether a conflict is escalating or de-escalating. Read more

2 October 2007: An international team of researchers including an MIT graduate student has demonstrated for the first time that genes exert influence on people's behavior in a very common experimental economic game. Read more

28 September 2007: Poland and Norway have launched a joint research fund with the goal of boosting bilateral research cooperation between the two countries. Read more .

28 September 2007: A high-level group of experts presented its final report on multilingualism in the European Union on 26 September - the European Day of Languages. Read more

26 September 2007: The Institute of Advanced Studies in Human and Social Sciences, to be known as the Lyon Collegium, has opened its doors to applications with the aim of launching pioneering research and participating in the creation of a community of scientific excellence recognised internationally. The first researchers will arrive in September 2008. Read more

20 September 2007: EUREKA has responded to the European Commission's communication on bolstering the European Research Area (ERA) with a call for more emphasis on the involvement of the business sector in the ERA. Read more

18 September 2007: Swedish ethics researchers at the Center for Bioethics (CBE), together with leading biobank researchers, have put together a set of practical ethical guidelines for biobank research. Read more

18 September 2007: A new database designed to boost cooperation between researchers from the EU and Eastern Europe has been launched by the EU-funded NIS-NEST (New and Emerging Science and Technology in NIS [Newly Independent States] countries) project. Read more

17 September: A conference on 'peace processes in community conflicts: from understanding the roots of conflicts to conflict resolution' will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on 28 September 2007. Read more

17 September: The importance of cooperation at all levels was emphasised by EU Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini at the inaugural meeting of the European Security Research and Innovation Forum (ESRIF). Read more

14 September 2007: No one says marriage is easy – but an international group of 16 natural scientists and social scientists, including three from Michigan State University, are saying the wedding of natural sciences and social sciences is called for. Read more

13 September 2007: The EU Member States and Europe's regions must do more to exploit synergies between the EU's regional policies and research and innovation programmes, according to a new Commission communication on using research and innovation to boost regional competitiveness. Read more

13 September 2007: Two alternative ways in which to assess the success of European research policy and its accompanying framework programmes were proposed by the European Research Advisory Board (EURAB) at its final meeting. The alternatives involve an assessment of goal attainment, and assessing the evidence base for research policy-making. Read more

13 September 2007: An open workshop on the future of innovation policy knowledge bases in the European Research Area (ERA) will be held in Vienna, Austria, on 23 and 24 October. Read more

13 September 2007: A global meeting between higher education leaders has resulted in a Statement of Principles intended to promote and guide international collaboration, and to raise the quality of graduate education across countries and regions. Read more

11 September 2007: The European Commission's Green Paper on the European Research Area (ERA) is a 'good start', but overlooks many important players and so misses important opportunities, according to the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the Heads of the European Research Councils (EUROHORCS). Read more

3 September 2007: Negotiators from 158 countries reached basic agreement Friday on rough targets aimed at getting some of the world's biggest polluters to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Read more

23 August 2007: Pounded and strained by heavy traffic and weakened by missing bolts and cracking steel, the failed Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River also faced a less obvious enemy: pigeons. Read more

23 August 2007: U.S. technology product imports exceeded exports for the first time in 2002 starting a trend that left a $38.3 billion trade deficit in 2006 after reaching a high of $44.4 billion in 2005. Read more

22 August 2007: A research dive will begin Wednesday to recover a cannon and other artifacts from a sunken ship some believe belonged to the pirate Blackbeard. Read more

22 August 2007: Besides leaving the hospital with a birth certificate and a clean bill of health, baby Mila Belle Howells got something she won't likely use herself for several years: her very own Internet domain name. Read more

22 August 2007: In response to federal banking regulators' concern about community banks' increased participation in commercial real-estate lending, a University of Arkansas researcher has developed a system that allows banks to perform stress tests on their commercial real-estate portfolios. Read more

21 August 2007: The long-held notion that girls prefer pink while boys prefer blue may hold some truth, suggests a new study. And moreover, there might be a biological basis for why women prefer pink  or at least more reddish colours than men, say researchers. Read more

21 August 2007: Could a computer predict your next move in a game of strategy based only on observations of your past behaviour? The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) certainly hopes so. It has funded a project led by computer scientist H. Van Dyke Parunak to explore the idea. Read more

21 August 2007: A Swiss woman who fell off her bicycle has yielded a unique insight into how auditory hallucinations are generated. Read more

21 August 2007: Egyptian archaeologists have found what they said could be the oldest human footprint in history in the country's western desert, the Arab country's antiquities' chief said on Monday. Read more

16 August 2007: Australian scientists have discovered a giant underwater current that is one of the last missing links of a system that connects the world's oceans and helps govern global climate. Read more

10 August 2007: The German and Polish governments are to fund joint neurological and neuropsychiatric research with around three million euro over the next three years. Read more

10 August 2007: The Portuguese Deputy Minister for the Economy has called for collaboration between ministries and the dismantling of barriers to innovation in order to meet the Lisbon objectives. Read more

10 August 2007: The German institute for ecological economy research (IOEW) and the Akademie Frankenwarte are organising a summer academy entitled 'From government to governance: the case of integrated product policy (IPP)' from 7 to 11 September in Würzburg, Germany. Read more

8 August 2007: The INNO-Learning Platform has published a call for applications for the identification and selection of good practices in six innovation policy areas. Read more

8 August 2007: Portugal hopes to stimulate initiatives in three key areas during its stint in the EU's Presidency seat: publishing and scientific information; nanosciences and nanotechnologies; reform and modernisation of universities. Read more

7 August 2007: The European Commission's Regional Policy DG has published a call for tenders for a study on governance methods for regional innovation strategies. Read more

3 August 2007: COST, the European Cooperation in Science and Technology, will continue to be managed by the European Science Foundation (ESF) under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The European Commission and ESF signed a contract to this effect at the end of July. Read more

31 July 2007: Research Councils UK (RCUK), the body which brings together the country's seven research councils, has launched its first international strategy covering all research disciplines. Read more

26 July 2007: The European Commission Research Directorate-General has published a call for tenders for a study and a conference to assess the factors which influence the scale, conduct and development of international research cooperation, including the development of international research policy.  Read more

23 July 2007: A letter asking the UK Government not to abolish the Parliament science and technology select committee has been signed by numerous renowned UK academics. Read more

20 July 2007: The Commissioner spoke of a desire to create a single labour market for research, making knowledge the 'fifth freedom' of the EU. Read more

19 July 2007: The EDCTP was established in 2003. It was set up using Article 169 of the Treaty, which provides a legal basis for the European Community to support the integration of national research programmes by means of participation in programmes undertaken by several EU Member States. Read more

18 July 2007: The European Union and Israel have agreed to renew their science and technological cooperation, giving Israeli researchers, universities and companies full access to the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). Read more

17 July 2007:  The European Group on Ethics (EGE) in Science and New Technologies has issued an opinion setting out guidelines for use during the ethics review of EU-funded research projects involving human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Read more

17 July 2007:  Poland's contribution to European research and development (R&D) looks set to increase, following the signature of a Memoranda of Understanding with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). Read more

16 July 2007: Lorentz Fellowships in Humanities and Social Sciences.Due: this is perpetual, applications may be submitted at any stage.  The programme was established in 2005 to promote interdisciplinary research in the fields of the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Lorentz Fellowships are awarded to scholars who are engaged in fundamental research across the bounderies of these fields. Read more

16 July 2007: Research Fellowship in Courts and Public Policy. Due: Friday 10th August 2007. The Research Fellowship in Courts and Public Policy has been created in order to initiate a programme of research at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, the subject of which will be the courts as social and political institutions. Read more

13 July 2007: A conference entitled 'communities building knowledge: innovation through citizens' science and university engagement' will take place from 30 August to 1 September in Paris, France. Read more

13 July 2007: Innovation is seen by many as an important driver of economic growth. Recognising this, EU Member States have in recent years stepped up their efforts to implement policies aimed at raising their innovation performance. These policies are now being to bear fruit. Read more

11 July 2007: Now that Spain has completed its cohesion journey, it is now time to focus on competitiveness, said EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner on a visit to Cantabria on 9 July. Key to remaining competitive are research, development and innovation, she said. Read more

9 July 2007: The 'Fourth Ministerial eGovernment Conference' will take place from 19 to 21 September in Lisbon, Portugal. The conference will aim to demonstrate the positive impact of e-government on the European economy and citizens' welfare. Read more

9 July 2007: In research that will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) in Chicago (July 7-11, 2007), scientists implemented a successful bioeradication program of an invasive water weed in Africa's Lake Victoria. Read more

9 July 2007: The head of the U.N. Environment Program said on Wednesday Cuban leader Fidel Castro and others are justified in raising concern about the potential for ethanol production to threaten food supplies for the poor. Read more

4 July 2007: The EU-funded technology research project GUIDE (Government User Identity for Europe) offers a technological, institutional, policy and socioeconomic forum for secure and interoperable e-government electronic identity services and transactions for Europe. Read more

3 July 2007: Researchers need to engage in more meaningful exchanges with society and take public concerns about their work more seriously, according to a report from the European Research Advisory Board (EURAB).Read more

2 July 2007: Hungary is to receive EUR 165 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for research, development and innovation dissemination projects.  The loan will be used to implement the 2005 to 2007 investment programme of the Hungarian Research and Technology Innovation Fund. The money will help the Hungarian Government to fulfil its commitment of increasing research investment in the context of the Lisbon Strategy. Read more

2 July 2007: War, refugee crises and large-scale rape of women in sub-Saharan African nations have not spawned higher HIV infection rates in this region hard hit by AIDS, according to a study contradicting a common belief. Read more

28 June 2007: Africa is tired of hand-outs from the West that take it nowhere, and is instead looking for support to help strengthen its research base so that science can be used to spearhead development. Read more

28 June 2007: The European Commission has received the green light to draft a new charter for the management of intellectual property rights.  The 'IP Charter', would comprise a set of non-legally binding basic principles and guidelines, upon which research partners could voluntarily base their research cooperation.  Read more

28 June 2007: The fourth annual conference of the EU-funded project CHALLENGE (Changing Landscape of European Liberty and Security) will take place from 4 to 6 July in Brussels, Belgium.  The conference will discuss the new institutional framework for the EU, as well as other issues closely related to the role played by democratic oversight and judicial control in the building of a common European space of freedom, security and justice. Read more

27 June 2007: After months of negotiations, ministers attending the EU's Competitiveness Council on 25 June reached agreement on a 'general approach' to a draft regulation to establish a European Institute of Technology (EIT). Read more

26 June 2007: A conference and a series of workshops on cutting-edge reading and writing research will take place from 30 August to 5 September in Stavanger, Norway. read more

26 June 2007: Europeans have set their sights on providing some of the best research in the world. In particular, the European Science Foundation (ESF) aims to offer scientific leadership via its networking expertise. With this in mind, the ESF is now supporting 10 countries from central and eastern Europe to become active in the European Research Area (ERA). Here, they will have the opportunity to share their field of social sciences with 17 other nations and secure their share of funding. The big challenge here is cooperating with countries that all have diverse traditions in social sciences, unlike the more conventional and 'hard' sciences of medical research and physics. read more

26 June 2007: The Australian Academy of the Humanities is offering up to ten Fellowships to improve the capacity of Australian scholars to conduct research in all parts of the world. Travelling Fellowships of up to $4,000 for short-term - not less than two weeks - research abroad in the coming year, are available to permanent resident scholars in Australia and working in the field of the Humanities (The Arts, Asian Studies, Cultural & Communication Studies, Classics, Literature, European Languages & Cultures, History, Linguistics, Philosophy & Religion, and Prehistory & Archaeology) who require access to resources held overseas. Applications, including references, are due by 31 July of each year. read more

22 June 2007: The Nancy Keesing Fellowship aims to promote the State Library of NSW as a centre of research into any aspect of Australian life and culture, to provide a readily accessible record of the research undertaken and to promote the use of the collections of the State Library. Applications are invited from any subject area. The sum of $10,000 is available for the Fellowship. read more

20 June 2007: The Member Forum ‘ESF Member Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe’ (MOCEE) bring together ESF member organisations in CEE countries : Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia to develop a ‘catching up’ strategy for the social sciences in Central and Eastern Europe. The aims of the Forum are: to study the research needs of CEE countries in the social sciences ; to promote the dialogue between CEE and other European scientific communities; and to develop a ‘catching up’ strategy, including effective use of the instruments of ESF, the EU and others. read more

19 June 2007: 'The competition for creative people, innovative companies, young researchers - the assets which are key to innovation capacity - is taking place today at the regional and sometimes local levels,' EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner told participants at the IANIS+ annual conference in Spain on 15 June. read more

19 June 2007: The Actuarial Profession offers grants to fund research aimed at the development or application of actuarial techniques. The research may be original in nature or may involve a review of existing techniques and a demonstration of their application to new problems. read more

19 June 2007: A one-day workshop entitled 'ICT for active ageing at work' will take place on 5 July in Brussels, Belgium. read more

18 June 2007: The Millennium Technology Prize is a biannual award given to a groundbreaking innovation that promotes people’s quality of life, contributes toward the realization of humane values and encourages sustainable development. It is Finland’s tribute to life-enhancing technological innovation. At the one million euro level, the Millennium Technology Prize ranks among the worlds most prestigious awards in its class. The Prize is awarded by the Millennium Prize Foundation, an independent fund established by Finnish industry and the state of Finland in partnership. read more

14 June 2007: A radical new approach to science teaching is needed if we are to reverse European schoolchildren's declining interest in science, according to a report from the High Level Group on Science Education. read more

14 June 2007: Training world-class researchers is essential to the development of a powerful science base for the European knowledge economy, and must therefore form a major part of European research and development (R&D) policy in the coming years. But a top-down regulatory framework for doctoral training that might hinder rather than help universities to compete globally should be avoided, according to the latest report from the League of European Research Universities (LERU). read more

14 June 2007: The Finnish Cultural Foundation awards grants for promoting and developing culture and economy in Finland. read more

14 June 2007: Reacting to the shortage of physics, chemistry and mathematics in the UK's secondary schools, the Campaign for Science and Engineering in the UK (CaSE) has made a number of recommendations and set targets for the Government. read more

12 June 2007: The Science and Society programme of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) has given new impetus to the relationship between scientists and citizens in Europe. Under FP7, more must be done however to broaden the scope of the programme and better coordinate its activities with those taking place at national level. These are just some of the conclusions of a new report from the European Commission assessing the programme's achievements and weaknesses. read more

1 June 2007: Concern about the rise of extreme right-wing parties has brought together partners from seven EU nations to study the reasons behind this phenomenon. Most commentators had postulated that right-wing extremism usually manifested itself among those sectors of society unable to adapt to social change – the so-called ‘modernisation losers’. European social scientists established the SIREN project to determine employment’s influence on the worrying trend. read more

31 May 2007: A seminar on the Framework Programmes and the European Social Fund for Education and Employment in Europe will be held in Warsaw, Poland, on 19 June. read more

31 May 2007: A number of five-day training courses on the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme will take place in Malta between July and December. read more

31 May 2007: A new EU-funded project is using robots to help disabled children learn how to play. Playing is an important part of childhood; through play, children learn about the physical and social environment, the self and how to develop social relationships. However, children with cognitive, developmental or physical disabilities may find it harder to play. This affects their learning potential and can result in them becoming socially isolated. read more

30 May 2007: As a growing number of baby boomers retire, our society will have more older adults than ever before, so it is crucial to determine what predicts quality of life in older age. A joint study from the University of Alberta and University of Victoria, recently published in Research in Nursing & Health, has uncovered that there are predictors of quality of life for older adults. read more

30 May 2007: The Centre for Ethics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs offers visiting fellowships to scholars engaged in an area of philosophy relevant to the work of the centre (this requirement is broadly interpreted). Fellowships are open to all suitably qualified people, but are intended primarily for professional philosophers and social or political theorists on study leave from their own institutions. Fellows are expected to take part in centre activities that take place during their tenure of the fellowship. In addition, fellows will participate in and contribute to research seminars in the Department of Moral Philosophy. read more

30 May 2007: The School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HuSS) at the University of Exeter is pleased to offer four full studentships in History or Classics, Ancient History, Politics and International Relations, Sociology, Philosophy, Theology and Arab and Islamic Studies. Innovative interdisciplinary awards are particularly welcomed given the close academic synergies supported throughout the School. read more

30 May 2007: Funded by the European Commission, the Max Weber Programme is the largest postdoctoral programme in the social sciences in Europe. The Max Weber Fellowships are open to candidates who have recently received their doctorates in economics, social and political sciences, law, or history, and who wish to pursue a career nationally or internationally as academics. read more

28 May 2007: A conference on the role of science and scholarship in intercultural dialogue and the development of modern Europe will take place in Toledo, Spain, from 2 to 5 September. read more

23 May 2007: The International Graduate College at the University of Jena (Germany), supported and financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, awards three Fellowships for Doctoral Students starting October 1, 2007 (tenable for up to 3 years). The International Graduate College was established in 2001 as a collaboration of research from four European centres in the area of intergroup relations: Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, University of Kent at Canterbury and University of Sussex, United Kingdom, and the Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium. The scope of the research program is concerned with the antecedents, underlying processes and effects of change in the relations between social groups. The change perspective covers such fundamental issues as outgroup devaluation, intergroup discrimination and cooperation, tolerance towards outgroups and multicultural diversity. read more

21 May 2007: The European Regional Economic Forum (EREF) will take place from 31 May to 2 June in Nova Gorica, Slovenia. The focus of this year's event will be the public funding of research and development (R&D), as well as communication, and the role of the EU's Structural Funds in supporting knowledge-based competitiveness. read more

18 May 2007: Europe has spent the past 50 years earnestly constructing a single political identity. A single economic zone has been created, a single currency instituted, and a European Union Minister of Foreign Affairs drafted into the yet-to-be ratified constitution. So as progress is being made towards a Europe-wide system of governance, how well are citizens’ views being taken into consideration to guide that governance? How good are national political parties at ‘europeanising’ their platforms? Well, not very, according to a collaborative research project funded by the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and undertaken by social scientists there and in Germany. The project has surveyed both traditionally Eurosceptic countries and those more sympathetic to the EU, and found that in both political parties rarely consider EU affairs a priority for their constituents. read more

18 May 2007: The AAH is offering up to ten Fellowships to improve the capacity of Australian scholars to conduct research in all parts of the world. Travelling Fellowships of up to $4,000 for short-term research abroad in the coming year, are available to permanent resident scholars in Australia and working in the field of the Humanities who require access to resources held overseas. read more

17 May 2007: Promoting active citizenship has become an increasingly important issue on the political agenda at local, national and EU levels. With the growth of immigrant populations in recent years, more attention has been given to better engaging immigrants and ethnic minorities in governance activities and other participatory processes. read more

17 May 2007: Ministers and scientists from developing countries asked for help from the European Union in developing their approach to research ethics at a conference in Brussels on 15 May. Speakers emphasised the need for assistance in capacity-building, training, and ultimately the drafting of guidelines. In response, EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik emphasised the EU's strong research collaboration with partner countries, and said that it would get even stronger in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). He also noted the EU's experience of assisting with capacity-building, particularly in the context of helping candidate countries to prepare for accession to the EU. read more

16 May 2007: Finding consensus is the way forward, a collection of scientists and ethicists from developing and developed countries agreed, following discussions on the complex issues of informed consent and double standards in science at a conference on ethics, research and globalisation on 14 May. read more

15 May 2007: The European Commission's Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has issued a call for tenders for a study on labour mobility within the EU in the context of enlargement and the functioning of transitional measures. read more

14 May 2007: The future success of the UK's knowledge economy will rely on skills and better education, a new report by the UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has found. The report by the Information Age Partnership's i2010 Working Group, a joint DTI and industry forum, outlined the UK's contribution to the i2010 initiative, part of the EU's Lisbon Strategy to become the most competitive knowledge based economy in the world by 2010. read more

10 May 1007: EU Regional Policy Commissioner Danuta Hübner homed in on one specific sentence in the Berlin declaration on the EU as she accepted an honorary doctorate in Bulgaria on 7 May. 'One sentence of the declaration stands out clearly for me and is of particular relevance for all of us here today who have a close involvement in the academic world. The sentence reads: 'Europe's wealth lies in the knowledge and ability of its people; that is the key to growth, employment and social cohesion',' said the Commissioner. read more

9 May 2007: The EU's new EUR7 billion Lifelong Learning Programme was given the go ahead at a conference organised by the German EU Council Presidency in Berlin on 7 May. The German Federal Minister for Education and Research, Annette Schavan, the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figel', and the President of the Conference of Länder Ministers of Education (KMK), Professor Jürgen Zöllner, were all on hand to launch the seven year education programme. read more

9 May 2007: Germany and Portugal have entered into an agreement for the advancement of applied research on emerging technologies. These two EU Member States will explore mutual interests concerning the social well-being, economic growth and quality of life in science and technology. The partners are targeting the foundation of a collaborative framework endorsing uninterrupted and systematic cooperation actions between Fraunhofer institutes and Portuguese research and development centres. read more

8 May 2007: The Government of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium, has adopted a series of measures to boost research and innovation in the region to create more growth and jobs. read more

8 May 2007: APRE, the Italian agency for the promotion of European research, is organising a two-day training course on communicating science from 4 to 5 June in Rome, Italy. The aim of the event is to train researchers and those responsible for communication to effectively communicate scientific and technological innovation. read more

7 May 2007: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a set of principles and guidelines designed to make access to publicly funded research data easier. read more

4 May 2007: Identifying the benefits of Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) and promoting their development is the goal of a new Communication adopted by the European Commission on 2 May. The right to the protection of personal data is enshrined in Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the Data Protection and ePrivacy Directives set out in detail the obligations of the data controller as well as what happens if a data subject's rights are breached. read more

4 May 2007: 'How?' was the focus of an open hearing on the proposed European Institute for Technology (EIT) in the European Parliament on 2 May. Joining the hearing at the end, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, Ján Figel' applauded this shift away from 'whether', and said that he is hoping for a common orientation agreement on the EIT within the Council in June. read more

4 May 2007: European integration has had little impact on national party politics in the EU, and EU specialists, including MEPs, are often excluded from internal party politics. These are two of the major findings from new research looking at the phenomenon of 'Europeanisation', the process whereby national political parties adapt to change brought about by European integration. read more

4 May 2007: Two meetings to present the key results of the project POLITIS: 'Building Europe with New Citizens' will take place on 16 May in Brussels, Belgium. Funded under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), POLITIS seeks to improve our understanding of different factors that promote or inhibit the active civic participation of immigrants. read more

3 May 2007: Ministers attending an informal meeting of the Competitiveness Council have called for political consensus on the establishment of the European Institute of Technology (EIT) by the end of Germany's tenure of the EU Presidency in late June. read more

3 May 2007: Nicholas Negroponte's much hyped 'One Laptop Per Child' (OLPC) scheme inspires or infuriates according to taste. The idea of revolutionizing education by distributing millions of '$100 laptops' to children in the world's poorest countries can be seen as Soviet-style social engineering or as visionary California dreaming, mass empowerment or pointless frivolity. However you see it, though, the project is facing real problems — and competition. read more

1 May 2007: South African science is on the up. Thanks to strong support from the highest levels of government, in the last few years the science budget has increased dramatically, and the country has set itself the goal of become a preferred destination for science and technology. Earlier this year the South African Government announced plans to further boost its science budget to €331 million, and the country hopes to be spending 2% of GDP on science by 2017. At an event in Brussels to promote South Africa-EU science cooperation, Dhesigen Naidoo Deputy Director-General of the South African Department of Science and Technology outlined his country's science and technology ambitions. read more

1 May 2007: Migrants from outside of the EU are more likely to live in poverty in the EU than the indigenous population, researchers from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research have found. read more

1 May 2007: The Lord Kelvin/Adam Smith Scholarships have been established to enable the University of Glasgow to recruit outstanding postgraduate research students to a range of innovative, boundary-crossing research developments. The scheme is intended to create new partnerships between members of staff and will offer scholars the opportunity to be instrumental in the establishment of new research collaborations involving the development of exciting cross-discipline research ideas. read more

30 April 2007: The further development of a single economic zone in Europe inevitably led to a spate of cross border mergers in the 1990s. The mergers were seen as a way of trimming the fat off large firms by combining complementary expertise to give shareholders a better return on their investment. The EU-funded EMEP project (European mergers and employee’s participation: Industrial economic and anthropological study of Franco-German cases) decided to take a closer look at what such mergers meant for the work force of each original company. They wondered to what degree the success of such mergers was impacted by the employees’ willingness to accept the work model imposed not only by a different company, but by a different country. Prior to EMEP, comparative studies usually involved investigation of the Anglo-Saxon and ‘Continental European’ models. So to better understand the dynamic in an era of unprecedented cooperation between former rivals, the EMEP consortium chose to focus their sights solely on French and German companies. read more

27 April 2007: Applications are invited for Smuts Visiting Fellowships in Commonwealth Studies in association with a Visiting Fellowship at Wolfson College, to be held during the academic year 2008/2009. Fellowships are available for research in the field of Commonwealth studies, including the Commonwealth related aspects of archaeology, anthropology, economics, history, human geography, law, literature, oriental studies, sociology, politics, and social psychology. read more

26 April 2007: A sure-fire way for people to survive in northern Polar Regions is to migrate and resettle, and local conditions typically affect the decisions and directions they take. But their survival does not hinge solely on the conditions they face. External factors, like changes in state policies, affect their movements and concentration; these play havoc with the social fabric of these societies. The European Science Foundation (ESF), is tackling this issue with the EUROCORES BOREAS Collaborative Research project 'Moved by the State: Perspectives on Relocation and Resettlement in the Circumpolar North’ (MOVE), launched in November 2006. read more

26 April 2007: A workshop on future e-inclusion themes for the work programme of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) will take place on 15 May in Brussels, Belgium. read more

23 April 2007: RXP is British Council's contestable international fund for young researchers. Awards of up to £5,000 are available to fund collaborations between NZ and UK scientists. RXP is designed to help develop new research links between higher education institutions and research laboratories in the UK and other countries. RXP funding can cover travel and living costs for a short-term collaboration of between one week and three months duration. The research link can be in any area of science, engineering and technology, including social sciences and humanities. RXP is open to 'early stage researchers'. This means applicants must either obtained a doctoral qualification or be within twelve months of completing one; have no more than two years full tenure in a university or research institute; have no more than six years overall active researcher experience.See http://www.britishcouncil.org/nz-opportunities-rxp.htm

23 April 2007: One-in-four Australians don't want gay neighbours. Interpreting statistics from the Human Beliefs and Values Survey, conducted in 24 Western countries between 1999 and 2002. read more

23 April 2007: Eurostat has issued a call for tenders for statistics in the field of education, science and culture statistics. read more

16 April 2007: The French Embassy in Australia and the Academy of the Social Sciences provide a funded grant to initiate and enhance joint research activity in social sciences through an annual joint call for proposals. read more

10 April 2007: Europe is renowned for its multilingualism as nearly 50% of the 27-bloc's citizens are capable of speaking at least two languages. Now comes research from Goldsmiths, University of London, and funded by the Economic Social and Research Council, that suggests bilingual learning shows that children who speak at least two languages actually strengthen their identities as learners and boosts their cognitive development. read more

10 April 2007: The University of Edinburgh is calling for applications for three postdoctoral bursaries which it is offering in the broad area of humanities and social sciences. Each award is worth £5,000 and is tenable for a period of three to nine months from 1 September 2007 through 31 August 2008. read more