SSH HORIZONS

"Horizons for Social Sciences and Humanities, Lithuanian EU Presidency’s Conference"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'During the Lithuanian EU Presidency Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania) proposes to organize an international conference “Horizons for Social Sciences and Humanities“ in Vilnius on 23-24th September, 2013. The Steering Committee of the conference will include distinguished European scientific leaders from different fields of social sciences and humanities, chaired by Professor Helga Nowotny, Professor emeritus of ETH Zurich and currently President of the European Research Council. Prior to the conference a scientifically guided consultation with leading European researchers, universities, research organizations and societies is envisaged. The conference is dedicated to the relations of social sciences and humanities and science / research policy, in particular “Horizon 2020”. The first day of the conference will be organized along three thematic topics: 1) Diversities and Common Grounds, 2) Evaluation and Assessment, 3) Education and Training. Following these topics, the second day of the conference will focus on the questions, what is the role of SSH in “Horizon 2020”, and what capacities are needed to meet the challenges addressed in it? The conference is organized in order to bring together scholars from SSH and other disciplines, business companies and policy makers, industry and media representatives, about 400 people, and work towards a better visibility, integration, and implementation of SSH into science and research policies. Based on the results of the consultation process and conference discussions, a declaration will be prepared. The conference homepage will be developed which will serve not only as the main site for information but will be also used as repository for all documents submitted to the consultation. A special issue in one of the prestigious journals on research policy and extensive media coverage of the conference is foreseen.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

One of the three pillars of the EU's Horizon 2020 research Framework Programme is 'Societal Challenges'. An EU-funded project organised a conference to address concerns that social sciences and humanities (SSH) research will be diminished as a result of this pillar's integrative approach.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The project 'Horizons for social sciences and humanities, Lithuanian EU Presidency's Conference' (http://horizons.mruni.eu/ (SSH HORIZONS)) focused on the relations of SSH and science/research policy in Horizon 2020.

Three thematic topics were outlined for the first day of the two-day conference: Diversities and Common Grounds, Evaluation and Assessment, and Education and Training.

The second day was dedicated to the role of SSH in this Framework Policy (FP) and the capacities needed to meet identified challenges.SSH HORIZONS sought to counter the threats perceived to SSH research under Horizon 2020 and offer ways to deal with the new FP's opportunities and shifting conditions.

The project's organisation aimed at impacting both the researcher community and policymakers.Open consultation carried out with researchers in all SSH fields and disciplines before the conference resulted in the drafting of an informed declaration.

This was used for the thematic design of the conference.

Paticipants adopted a final Conference Declaration, which is the formal result of the conference.With a target audience of some 400, the event attracted academics, industry, state institutions, media, business companies, civil society groups and others.

Bringing together different communities and stakeholders ensured the conference represented the voices from each 'side' of the debate for eventual mutual benefit from the integrative approach.Following the conference, a report was published highlighting contributions from keynote speakers, information on parallel sessions and the consultation report.

Other outreach activities included representation on official websites, media briefings and press releases, TV and radio appearances, and a strong social media presence.The consultation exercise, the parallel sessions and general conference outcomes helped highlight the potential of SSH-related research in addressing societal challenges.

Laying the conditions for the successful integration of SSH in Horizon 2020, the project also strengthened the interdisciplinary context of the FP, the EU's largest to date.