WSF

Welfare State Futures

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

Welfare states are at a critical turning point. The development of welfare systems was one of the defining characteristics of the 20th century, especially in Europe. However, in times of change, it is important to re-think ‘the welfare state’ with a programme of innovative research designed to ask, and answer, fundamental questions about the design, delivery and experience of welfare in the 21st century. It is for this reason that the NORFACE network is launching an international research programme on the topic of Welfare State Futures. This highly topical theme offers an approach from a variety of perspectives and disciplines, enables and encourages multi-disciplinarity and offers a fruitful topic for a European approach, with interesting opportunities for comparison.

Since 2004 the NORFACE Network has proved itself as a successful coordinated common action of – currently - sixteen national research funding agencies. NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Cooperation in Europe) has offered unique opportunities for participating funding agencies by developing common research funding instruments, thus creating opportunities for facilitating and building new networks of research collaboration. Major achievements up until now have been three transnational initiatives: three rounds of the NORFACE Seminar Series in 2005, 2006 and 2007, the pilot research programme “Re-emergence of Religion as a Social Force in Europe?” (€ M 5,4) in 2006 and the transnational research programme “Migration in Europe - Social, Economic, Cultural and policy Dynamics” (€ M 23 and M € 6 ERA-Net Plus contribution) in 2008. In 2010, the NORFACE Network committed itself to launching a new innovate joint research programme on Welfare State Futures. In the planning of this new programme, NORFACE builds on the valuable experience gained in developing and running these previous Calls.

Introduzione (Teaser)

NORFACE is an ERA-NET partnership of research councils tasked with increasing cooperation in research and research policy. In its latest transnational research programme, the focus is on asking and answering critical questions about the design, delivery and experience of welfare in the 21st century.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The http://www.norface.net/76 (WSF) (Welfare state futures) project has launched an international research programme on welfare, taking into consideration a wide range of perspectives and disciplines. The initiative enables and encourages multidisciplinarity. It offers unique opportunities for participating funding agencies through the development of common research funding instruments.

NORFACE partners have previously launched Seminar Schemes in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and also joint research programmes on religion and migration. This programme is now coordinating 16 national research funding agencies in social and behavioural sciences. Project actions will help facilitate and build new networks of research collaboration in the social sciences.

Initial work centred on preparing the WSF call, and development of an electronic tool for its implementation. Following this, project activities included managing the evaluation of and decision making in the Outline Proposal and Full Proposal stages. A total of 47 research teams were invited to submit a Full Proposal, 14 of which the NORFACE Network Board decided to fund in principle. Overall funding amounts to EUR 18 million, provided by 15 NORFACE partners, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte), and the European Commission.

The aim of WSF is to encourage innovative thinking, and its projects will analyse the societal, economic, political and legal contexts in which the welfare state will develop in the future. The particular topics the 14 research project teams will incorporate include health inequalities, globalisation, families, migration, social security rights and citizens' support for the welfare state.

WSF promotes research-based knowledge and insight with societal, practical and policy relevance. The programme will advance globally excellent research, promising theoretical, methodological and empirical advances in a wide range of social science disciplines.

NORFACE programmes strengthen and promote cooperation amongst member organisations and thus contribute to the European Research Area (ERA) in the social sciences. WSF is dedicated to fostering theoretical, conceptual and methodological innovation in research on welfare.