Key Action seeks to improve socio-economic knowledge base
The European Commission has announced a call for proposals under the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (RTD) activities for the period 1998 to 2002. The call invites proposals for indirect RTD actions under the specific programme for RTD relating to "Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-Economic Knowledge Base" in the field of the Key Action "Improving the socio-economic knowledge base". The call texts, together with all the documentation necessary to make a proposal, are accessible via: URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/improving The call relates to proposals with a fixed deadline, following which evaluation will take place. Only proposals submitted before this deadline will be considered under the call notice. Those eligible to participate in indirect RTD actions under the specific programme are invited to submit proposals. The objective of this Key Action is to improve our understanding of the structural changes taking place in the European society in order to identify ways of managing change and to involve European citizens more actively in shaping their own futures. This will involve the analysis of the main trends giving rise to these changes, the analysis of the relationships between technology, employment and society, the re-appraisal of participation mechanisms for collective action at all levels of governance and the elaboration of new development strategies fostering growth, employment and economic and social cohesion. The Tasks contained in this present call are intended to address specific issues and challenges within the overall framework of this Key Action and, in particular, its objectives and four interrelated themes (Council Decision on the specific programme). The present call may be implemented by RTD projects and Thematic Networks only. Proposals should clearly address the whole or a specific part of a Research Task specified below; in some cases a proposal may address more than one Task but should do so in a coherent way. Proposals should consist of innovative and high quality research. The Tasks governed by this call are as follows: - Task 1: Social and economic challenges of changing family structures; - Task 2: Changes in work and their effects on quality of life; - Task 3: Challenges to European welfare systems; - Task 4: Emerging concepts of work; - Task 5: The implications of societal change for education and training; - Task 6: The relationship of the financial sector to the rest of the economy and society; - Task 7: The dynamics of knowledge in the economy; - Task 8: Internationalization, technology and employment in different geographical environments; - Task 9: The relationship between employment and growth; - Task 10: European integration and European identity; - Task 11: European construction and multi-level governance; - Task 12: Governance and media. RTD projects will, in general, involve less than 1.5 million euro EU contribution and cover a period of one to three years. Community funding of thematic networks will normally not exceed 0.02 million euro, on average per partner and per year. When submitting a proposal for an RTD project, proposers may include an application for a "Bursary for young researchers from Developing Countries". Further information on this scheme is given in the Guide for Proposers. The indicative budget available for this call is 30 million euro. Information on the rules for participation in the Programme and how to prepare and submit proposals is given in the European Commission's Guide for Proposers, which can be obtained, along with the work programme and other information relating to the call, from the address below. For more information, please contact: European Commission Directorate General XII Science, Research, and Development Directorate XII/F/4 Socio-Economic Knowledge Base Rue de la Loi 200 B-1049 Brussels Fax +32-2-2963270 E-mail: research@ec.europa.eu URL;' http://cordis.europa.eu/improving