Conference on the “Impact of Social Sciences and Humanities for a European Research Agenda - Valuation of SSH research in mission-oriented research”

Project Information

SSH Impact

Grant agreement ID: 814729

DOI

10.3030/814729

Project closed

EC signature date 4 April 2018

Start date 1 March 2018

End date 28 February 2019

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Europe In A Changing World - Inclusive, Innovative And Reflective Societies

Total cost

€ 199 950,00

EU contribution

€ 199 950,00

Coordinated by

ZENTRUM FUR SOZIALE INNOVATION GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SSH Impact (Conference on the “Impact of Social Sciences and Humanities for a European Research Agenda - Valuation of SSH research in mission-oriented research”)

Reporting period: 2018-03-01 to 2019-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

• What is the problem/issue being addressed?
The Conference on ‘Impact of Social Sciences and Humanities for a European Research Agenda – Valuation of SSH in mission-oriented research’ (“SSH Impact Conference”) gathered experts from all over the world to debate and forward valuation and impact generation of SSH in disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary research settings for the benefit of socially more robust Research and Innovation (R&I) policies, R&I processes and R&I solutions to better address grand challenges.
• Why is it important for society?
As set out in the concept note, entitled “Impact Re-loaded”, drafted by the Chair of the Scientific Committee, Ms. Helga Nowotny together with Thomas König (IHS) and Klaus Schuch (ZSI), “impact” of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) should be understood in a broad and holistic way. More precisely, impact of SSH should not be limited to the obvious “use value” that SSH research may provide for certain user groups but the transformative relationship between science and society should be considered in-depth. Transformative science should raise the claim to exert influence in society while being open to get influenced by society and its needs at the same time. The conference offered a unique setting for an intensive reflection of the role that the social sciences and humanities can play in facing the challenges, European societies are confronted with.
• What are the overall objectives?
The “SSH Impact Conference provided a European format
• to identify and appraise valuation pathways and impact generating processes of SSH research,
• to showcase, learn from and discuss structures and policies which are beneficial for an enhanced impact-orientation of SSH research at various levels,
• to make a significant contribution to tracing and assessing the use and impact of SSH research to the benefit of a mission-oriented European research and innovation agenda.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

A summarised documentation of the work performed is presented in the table 1 below. The documentation was created on basis of the gantt chart, presented in the Annex 1 of the project application (Annex 1 – Description Of Action (part B), p. 23).
WP1: Programme Development and Fine-Tuning: Implemented between March 2018 and February 2019
T1.1: Contacting and fixing key note speakers and panellists: The key note speakers and panellists were invited in spring 2018 in coordination with the programme development, which was done in close cooperation with the BMBWF, the Scientific Committee, as well as with the Advisory Board of the project.
T1.2: Programme fine-tuning and briefing of chairs, discussants, key notes and panellists: The detailed conference programme was presented on the conference website in June 2018: https://www.ssh-impact.eu/programme
The programme brochure is available here: https://www.ssh-impact.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Booklet_WEB_30112018.pdf
Briefing notes were sent to all actively involved conference actors in the run-up of the conference.
T1.3: Working paper and vade mecum preparation/finalisation: A draft version of the vade mecum was presented and further developed at the conference (“Vade mecum workshop”). In addition, the draft was presented on the conference website. Feedbacks and comments could be sent to [e-mail]. The vade mecum was completed in January 2019 and is available here: https://www.ssh-impact.eu/guidelines-on-how-to-successfully-design-and-implement-mission-oriented-research-programmes/
A “close-to-final version” of the working paper was completed in February 2019 and is presented in deliverable D1.2: ‘Working Paper on SSH Impact Pathways’. It will still undergo editorial editing to be published in the Conference Proceedings, issued by the Austrian Platform for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation.
WP2: Stakeholder and Call Management: Implemented between March 2018 and February 2019
T2.1: Contacting and fixing board members: The potential members of the Scientific Committee were contacted/invited in March 2018. The board members could be fixed in April 2018. The Local Advisory Board was already established in Spring 2017. Further information is available here: https://www.ssh-impact.eu/committees
T2.2: Call for extended abstracts and posters and peer review: The deadline for the submission of papers and posters ended on 17 June. Each submitted extended abstract (46 were submitted) and each submitted poster (18) were reviewed by two members of the Scientific Committee. The 29 accepted papers and 11 accepted posters were selected through a peer review process.
T2.3: Submission and QA of full papers and preparation of conference proceedings: The deadline for the submission of the full papers ended on 31 October 2018. The editorial work (incl. QA rounds, layout) was conducted between December 2018 and February 2019 and is still going on (autonomous work of the editors of the fteval Journal for Research and Technology Policy Evaluation, which is not part of the grant agreement). Publishing of the Conference Proceedings is planned in May 2019.
T2.4: Call for videos and selection of videos: The schedule for the call for videos can be summarised as follows:
04 April 2018: Publication of the call for videos: The deadline for the submission of videos ended on 15 August. 17 videos were submitted. All of them were shown at the conference. The three best videso were awarded with an impact price: https://www.ssh-impact.eu/research-film-wins-impact-award/
WP4: Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation: Implemented between March 2018 and February 2019
T4.3:Continuous media and PR work: Information about the conference and its main topics was continuously provided on the conference homepage https://www.ssh-impact.eu on the twitter channel https://twitter.com/ssh_impact.
Austrian media was informed as well. A press article (in German) about the conference is available here: https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20181129_OTS0253/fassmann-geistes-sozial-und-kulturwissenschaften-leisten-zentralen-beitrag-zur-loesung-gesellschaftlicher-herausforderungen. During the conference, live streaming was offered. The stream is still available here: https://vimeo.com/album/5587484
A conference video was made as well. It is available here: https://vimeo.com/305706443
Pictures are available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eu2018at/sets/72157704093031695

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The conference contributed to a better understanding of how to integrate SSH research across the EU’s next framework programme for research and innovation (‘Horizon Europe’) in order to generate more socially robust research outcomes.
The main tangible conference outputs (e.g. the “Working Paper on SSH Impact Pathways” and the document “Social Sciences and Humanities Research Matters. Guidelines on how to successfully design, and implement, mission-oriented research programmes”) are continuously promoted. These outputs also serve as link for follow up activities, like the meeting “Social Sciences and Humanities in Horizon Europe”, which took place on 8 March 2019 in Vienna. Further information is available here: https://www.ihs.ac.at/events/event-reviews/social-sciences-and-humanities-in-horizon-europe-2019/
The conference proceedings will be published in May 2019.

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