Recently, the Standing Committee for the Humanities has proven to be a very successful incubator of cutting edge research activities at the interface of the Humanities and the Natural, Social, Life and Computational sciences. These successes bear witness to the important contributions Humanities has to offer in this area. However, in general, Humanities research in this field is often by-passed and humanities researchers are typically under-represented in existing programmes.
The present strategic initiative, launched March 2010, aims at strengthening the ESF portfolio of activities in this area and reinforcing the integration of Humanities research in the medium to long-term development of the field.
Around three activities will be selected, each in the realm of another Standing Committee, for which collaboration with the Humanities holds particular promise. To these events, Humanities researchers will be invited who will afterwards report as to the desirability to integrate Humanities research in this area, as well as to what they see as the requirements, obstacles and accelerators to get there. On this basis, early 2011 a proposal for follow-up actions will be drafted which could e.g., take the form of a Forward Look, a Position Paper or a Science Policy Briefing.
In agreement with the relevant Unit and Committee, two activities have yet been selected:
EMRC:
PESC:
ESF provides the scientific, administrative and technical secretariat for COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).