HERA: The ERA-net for the Humanities

NEWS: HERA Matchmaking event

A Matchmaking event will be convened in Paris, on Saturday, 19 April 2008. 200 travel grants are available for attending the event. The HERA JRP matchmaking event will take place in the Maison de l'Amerique Latine and will start at approximately 9 AM and end at approximately 5 PM. The venue is located at the 217, Boulevard Saint Germain, 75007 Paris. For more information click http://www.heranet.info

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General Information

Launched on 1 March 2005, the ERA-Net project “HERA – Humanities in the European Research Area” (ERAC-CT-2005-016179) is carried out by 13 European research councils and ESF (Hera participants, PDF).

More general information about the project:
HERA website
HERA Work Programme (PDF)

ESF representatives in HERA

Member of the HERA Network Board

ProfessorGretty M.MirdalE-Mail

University of CopenhagenInstitute of Clinical PsychologyDepartment of PsychologyCopenhagenDenmark

Member of the HERA Steering Committee / Management Team / Work Package Leader WP9

Dr.RüdigerKleinE-Mail

Senior Science Officer – Research & Foresight & EUROCORES Coordination

Science Officer for HERA

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Objectives of HERA

The main objective of HERA is to ensure that the European Research Area can fully benefit from key contributions consequent on humanities research. Because of the varied and yet essential nature of the field, a Europe-wide structuring initiative is particularly important for attaining such objectives. This aspiration will be accomplished through a number of supporting gen

• to stimulate transnational research cooperation within the humanities
• to enable the humanities to play an appropriate and dynamic role in the ERA and within EU Framework Programmes
• to overcome fragmentation of research in the humanities
• to advance new and innovative collaborative research agendas
• to improve cooperation between a large number of research funding agencies in Europe
• to attract more funding to research in the humanities by raising the profile of the humanities

 These general objectives are complemented by a number of specific objectives:

• to serve as a forum for the exchange of operational expertise and policy initiatives between research councils for the humanities, leading to a systematic exchange of information on research policies, procedures, best practice, infrastructures, etc.
• to initiate activities aimed at developing efficient and accessible research infrastructure initiatives in the humanities by making full use of ICT developments
• to coordinate existing national research activities 1) through closer cooperation between existing nationally funded research programmes, 2) by topping-up funds for parallel programmes that add a comparative or European dimension to nationally focused programmes, 3) through preparation of joint calls for transnational research programmes

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Organisation of the final HERA conference (Work Package 5)

ESF is responsible for organising the final, 2008 HERA conference.

The annual HERA conferences are networking platforms that will serve as a general forum for academics and executives involved in or associated with the HERA network. The objectives of the annual HERA conferences ar

• To raise awareness of HERA in the humanities research community
• To attract the attention of policy makers, universities and media
• To collect inspiration from the research communities regarding the future of HERA
• To discuss the priorities and strategies of HERA
• To discuss issues of relevance to the humanities in a broad sense:
         - the humanities’ contribution to the ERA
         - the possibilities offered by EU’s Framework Programmes for research

For more information about WP5, see the work-package description  or contact the Work-package leader, 

For information about specific conferences, please see:

• 2005 HERA Conference: " Past Into Present: Understanding Policy and Innovation in Europe" (London, British Library, 8 Dec. 2005)  - PDF
• 2006 HERA Conference: details to be provided in due course

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Research Infrastructures (Work Package 7)

The workpackage dedicated to research infrastructures in the Humanities has the following objectiv

• increase the accessibility and availability of relevant data for humanities researchers
• develop the basis for joint research infrastructures in the humanities, including the knowledge of tools and new methods. The joint data sharing for the benefit of humanities research will be developed
• compile a categorised list of reference journals in the Humanities in order to develop bibliometric tools to be employed by research managers and researchers alike

For more information about WP7, see the work-package description  (PDF) or contact the Work-package leader, 

Fore more information on ERIH (European Reference Index for the Humanities, sub-task 7.2.1) please refer to ERIH pages.

Contact for ERIH:

Ms.PäiviMcIntoshE-Mail

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Preparation of two joint research programmes (Work Package 9)

The ESF is Work Package leader for the HERA. See work package 9 (PDF)

• Task 9.1: Survey on legal barriers to joint research programmes in the Humanities. Deliverable 9.1.1. Synthesis report (PDF, 256 KB)
• Task 9.2: Design of a programme management structure and procedures
• Task 9.3: Implementation of a joint research-funding initiative I
• Task 9.4: Implementation of a joint research-funding initiative II

The time scale for is 38 months from 1 March 2005.

 Contact for HERA: 

Dr.RüdigerKleinE-Mail

Senior Science Officer – Research & Foresight & EUROCORES Coordination

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Further activities

ESF participates also in the preparation of most other work-packages, notably:

• WP3    Exchange of information: Surveys in best practice (WPL: IRCHSS).
  See Peer Review Workshop_Schedule  (PDF)
• WP 4   Impact & quality assessment in humanities research(WPL: AHRC)
• WP 6   Thematic reports (WPL: AKA)
• WP 7   Research infrastructures

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