ECRP VI - 2010

Four projects from the ECRP 2010 competition have been funded. You will find below the abstracts of the projects as well as the lists of Project Leaders, Principal Investigators and Associated Partners.


 

10-ECRP-007 Cluster life cycles – the role of actors, networks and institutions in emerging, growing, declining and renewing clusters

Ample research has been done on functioning clusters. In contrast, the way how clusters evolve over time, i.e. how clusters actually become clusters, how and why they decline, and how they shift into new fields, is largely disregarded. To close this gap, the main objectives of this collaborative research project are: 

  • to analyse the processes, factors and dynamics that are responsible for the cluster life cycle and distinguish the life cycle of thecluster from that of the respective technology or industry;
  • to distinguish between endogenous drivers through the cluster life cycle and those which are exogenous, but nevertheless influence the cluster life cycle;
  • to give policy advice to develop stage-specific measures to create environments that are more targeted in order to contribute to the  emergence of new clusters, prevent existent clusters from decline and transform declining clusters into new clusters.

Project Leader

ProfessorRobertHassinkE-Mail
University of KielDepartment of GeographyKielGermany

Principal Investigators

ProfessorFranzTödtlingE-Mail
Vienna University of Economics and BusinessInstitute of Regional Development and EnvironmentViennaAustria
ProfessorJiriBlazekE-Mail
Charles UniversityFaculty of ScienceDepartment of Social Gography and Regional DevelopmentPrague 2Czech Republic
ProfessorBjørn T.AsheimE-Mail
Lund UniversityDepartment of Social and Economic GeographyCIRCLE (Centre for Innovation Research and Competence in the Learning Economy)LundSweden
Dr.OlivierCrevoisierE-Mail
Université de NeuchâtelInstitut de recherches économiques et régionales (IRER)Research Group in Territorial EconomyNeuchâtelSwitzerland

Associated Partners

ProfessorArneIsaksenE-Mail
University of AdgerFaculty of Economics and Social SciencesDepartment of Working Life and InnovationGrimstadNorway
Dr.DannyMackinnonE-Mail
University of GlasgowGlasgowUnited Kingdom




10-ECRP-008 Comparative research on interest group politics in Europe (INTEREURO)

The main purpose of this CRP (INTEREURO) is to promote a more comprehensive theoretical and empirical understanding of the role interest groups play in the European polity. Specifically, we will examine interest group mobilization; organizational maintenance and professionalization; strategies for influencing political decision-making; framing processes; and their impact on policy outcomes. The project will link the different aspects of the role of interest groups in the European policy process in an integrated theoretical framework. Our guiding intellectual tenet is the generation and strategic use of information by organized interests. To confront our theoretical contribution with empirical data, we will develop a comprehensive database that contains information on the individual
stages of the influence production process at the national and EU levels.  Employing an issue-centred sampling approach we will combine bottom-up with top-down sampling of interest groups and integrate quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Project Leader

ProfessorDavidLoweryE-Mail
University of LeidenSocial and Behavioral SciencesDepartment of Public AdministrationLeidenNetherlands

Principal Investigators

ProfessorAndreasDuerE-Mail
University of SalzburgDepartment of Political Science and SociologySalzburgAustria
ProfessorJanBeyersE-Mail
University of AntwerpDepartment of Political ScienceAntwerpenBelgium
ProfessorRainerEisingE-Mail
Ruhr-Universität BochumFakultät für SozialwissenschaftLehrstuhl für Vergleichende PolitikwissenschaftBochumGermany
ProfessorDanicaFink-HafnerE-Mail
University of LjubljanaFaculty of Social SciencesCentre for Political Science ResearchLjubljanaSlovenia
Dr.DanielNaurinE-Mail
University of GothenburgCentre for European Research at Gothenburg UniversityDepartment of Political ScienceGothenburgSweden

Associated Partner

Dr.ChristineMahoneyE-Mail
Syracuse UniversityMaxwell SchoolDepartment of Political ScienceMoynihan European Research CenterSyracuseUnited States



10-ECRP-028 International law through the national prism: the impact of judicial dialogue

This project will contribute to our understanding of how national courts engage in the interpretation, application and development of international law through transnational judicial (‘court-to-court’) dialogue. The project is induced by the widespread exchange of views on the interpretation of international standards between states and regions. Domestic courts are at the heart of this development. They engage in ‘judicial dialogues’, by referring to decisions of international and foreign courts. Transnational judicial dialogues can strengthen the rule of law, allowing domestic courts to arrive at the best responses to shared problems and clarifying shared normative frameworks. The phenomenon of judicial dialogues raises several questions, however. Unless conducted in accordance with sound criteria, transnational dialogues could undermine the role of courts as guardians of the rule of law.

The project will provide a systematic empirical analysis of the extent of judicial dialogues on international law. It will uncover methodologies of courts, as well as their motivations to engage in such dialogues. It will identify ‘best practices’ for determining when and how domestic courts should rely on foreign and international interpretations. The project will provide critical information to scholars, practitioners and policymakers in the field of the rule of law and human rights.

Project Leader

ProfessorAndreNollkaemperE-Mail
University of AmsterdamFaculty of LawDepartment of International LawAmsterdam Center for International LawAmsterdamNetherlands

Principal Investigators

ProfessorAugustReinischE-Mail
University of ViennaLawEuropean, International and Comparative LawWienAustria
ProfessorGeorgNolteE-Mail
Humboldt University of BerlinBerlinGermany
ProfessorGeirUlfsteinE-Mail
University of OsloDepartment of Public and International LawOsloNorway
ProfessorAnnaWyrozumskaE-Mail
Uniwersytet LodzkiZaklad Europejskiego Prawa Instytucjonalnego (Jean Monnet Chair of European Constitutional Law)LodzPoland

Associated Partners

ProfessorEyalBenvenistiE-Mail
Tel Aviv UniversityFaculty of LawTel AvivIsrael
ProfessorRiccardoPavoniE-Mail
Università di SienaFacoltà di GiurisprudenzaDipartimento di Diritto PubblicoSienaItaly



10-ECRP-044 Social Influence in Dynamic Networks

This proposed CRP will study social influence in networks, both methodologically and substantively in a variety of settings. Social influence is methodologically hard to study for various reasons: its reflexive nature (if A influences B, then B may also influence A); the difficulty to distinguish one actor influencing another from both actors being influenced by common contexts; the manifold ways in which social actors may be influenced by other actors to whom they are tied; the fact that networks are not static, but changing and to some extent self-selected by actors; assumptions of independence, usually made for statistical inference, are contradictory to the idea of influence.

The CRP aims to improve and apply a recently developed methodology, based on the so-called “Stochastic Actor-Based Model for Network Dynamics” for assessing social influence in networks. Development of methodology will go hand in hand with applications to the following issues.

  • Influence between adolescents with respect to delinquency, bullying, and self-harm.
  • Collaboration and coordination between health care organizations, and how this influences their performance.
  • The impact of R&D policy on collaboration between scientists and their performance.
  • Integration of immigrants and young adults into society and working life.

Project Leader

ProfessorAnuskaFerligojE-Mail
University of LjubljanaFaculty of Social SciencesCenter of Methodology and InformaticsLjubljanaSlovenia

Principal Investigators

ProfessorChristinaSalmivalliE-Mail
University of TurkuDepartment of PsychologyTurkuFinland
ProfessorAlessandroLomiE-Mail
University of LuganoFaculty of EconomicsLuganoSwitzerland

Associated Partners

Dr.MarijtjeVan DuijnE-Mail
University of GroningenDepartment of SociologyGroningenNetherlands
ProfessorJose-LuisMolina GonzalezE-Mail
Universitat Autonoma de BarcelonaDepartment of Social and Cultural AnthropologyBellaterraSpain
ProfessorMargaretKerrE-Mail
Örebro UniversitySchool of Law, Psychology and Social workDepartment of PsychologyÖrebroSweden
ProfessorTomSnijdersE-Mail
Oxford UniversityNuffield CollegeDepartment of Politics and International RelationsInteruniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS)OxfordUnited Kingdom