1. www.cost.esf.org European Cooperation in Science and Technology COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH Individuals, Societies, Cultures and Health By Dr Constantinos N Phellas DC Vice-Chair STANDING COMMITTEE FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (SCSS) Autumn Plenary Meeting Copenhagen, Denmark, 9-10 November 2010

2. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 1 Strengthen Europe in scientific and technological research for peaceful purposes through the support of cooperation and interaction between European researchers The COST programme, based on an inter-governmental agreement, is a long-running, economical and highly successful way to spread awareness and build networks between Europe’s researchers. It reflects the human dimension of science, helping researchers to share not only the results of their work but also their aims and methods. The COST mission

3. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 2 COST main characteristics Enabling agent – focus on Early Stage ResearchersEnabling agent – focus on Early Stage Researchers Pan-European dimensionPan-European dimension Scientific scope incl. pre- normative and public utility research & technologiesScientific scope incl. pre- normative and public utility research & technologies Focus on multidisciplinary cooperation fostering innovationFocus on multidisciplinary cooperation fostering innovation Equal access / Open CallEqual access / Open Call Transparent proceduresTransparent procedures “Bottom-up” - no fixed programmes / priorities“Bottom-up” - no fixed programmes / priorities À la carte participation - Coordination of national efforts through networkingÀ la carte participation - Coordination of national efforts through networking Networks based on funded (research) projects – national responsibilityNetworks based on funded (research) projects – national responsibility Open to global cooperation in the mutual interestOpen to global cooperation in the mutual interest Building bridges between research communitiesBuilding bridges between research communities

4. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 3  The 27 EU Member States  EFTA Member States  Iceland  Norway  Switzerland  Acceding & Candidate Countries  Croatia  Acceding & Candidate Countries  Croatia  FYR of Macedonia  Turkey  Potential Candidate Countries  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Republic of Serbia  COST Co-operating States  Israel 36 COST Countries

5. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 4 COST Actions: global participation (status: November 2009) COST countries Neighbouring countries Reciprocal agreements countries

6. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 5 Exploratory/Strategic Workshops:Exploratory/Strategic Workshops: to explore future scientific or societal needs, support policy developments or stimulate innovative activities What is funded by COST? Science management / working group meetingsScience management / working group meetings Scientific workshops and seminarsScientific workshops and seminars Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs)Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) Training Schools and Research ConferencesTraining Schools and Research Conferences Dissemination and PublicationsDissemination and Publications Average funding +/- 100 000 € per year per ActionAverage funding +/- 100 000 € per year per Action COST Actions: A network of (nationally) funded projects (min. 5 participating COST countries) receive a financial contribution based on a joint work programme (4 years) for:COST Actions: A network of (nationally) funded projects (min. 5 participating COST countries) receive a financial contribution based on a joint work programme (4 years) for:

7. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 6 COST Domains 1.Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences (BMBS) 2.Food and Agriculture (FA) 3.Forests, their Products and Services (FPS) 4.Materials, Physical & Nanosciences (MPNS) 5.Chemistry and Molecular Sciences & Technologies (CMST) 6.Earth System Science & Environmental Management (ESSEM) 7.Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) 8.Transport & Urban Development (TUD) 9.Individuals, Societies, Cultures & Health (ISCH)

8. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 7 COST Open Call Collection Dates Relative demand by Domain and Collection Date 28/09/2009 695406475386378469 Eligible Preliminary Proposals 481

9. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 8 ISCH Domain Description Scope: Coordinating long-term research within Social Sciences and Humanities on: The development and behaviour of individuals and groups Social, economical, political, cultural, historical and technological structures and processes Cultural diversity and a common European future

10. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 9 ISCH History Brief history: 1971: COST 1989: Social Sciences 2003: Social Sciences & Humanities 2006: Individuals, Societies, Cultures & Health Currently approx. 30 running Actions, gathering 1.000 institutions and 3.000 researchers

11. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 10 ISCH Portfolio

12. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 11 IS0801 Cyberbullying: Coping with Negative and Enhancing Positive uses of New Technologies, in Relationships in Educational Settings (UK), 2008-2012 ISCH Actions – Some examples (1) Refers to bullying and haressment of others by means of new electronic technologies Share expertise on cyberbullying in educational settings, develop measurement techniques across researchers Also include expertise from outside the research community (legal experts, mobile phone companies, internet providers, etc.) Increase awareness of the issue and move towards a common set of guidelines applicable in Europe http://www.gold.ac.uk/is0801/

13. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 12 IS0802 The Transformation of Global Environmental Governance (DE), 2008-2012 ISCH Actions – Some examples (2) Governance for sustainability is one of the great current challenges for political decision-makers all over the world The Action focuses on the causes and consequences of the transformation of global environmental governance as well as on its effectiveness, legitimacy and robustness Increase the ability of policy-makers, business representatives and civil society to understand and influence current environmental governance

14. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 13 IS0807 Living in Surveillance Societies (UK), 2009- 2013 ISCH Actions – Some examples (3) Deepen knowledge about living and working in surveillance societies, to better understand the consequences of technologically enhanced surveillance for social questions, such as equity, cohesion and trust Raise awareness of surveillance in society Help improved surveillance policy and practice Make recommendations about its future governance and practice http://www.liss-cost.eu

15. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 14 IS0902 Systemic Risks, Financial Crises and Credit: the roots, dynamics and consequences of the Subprime Crisis (DE), 2010-2014 ISCH Actions – Some examples (4) Provide comprehensive documentation and state- of-the-art analysis of the current Subprime Crisis and its consequences Reach a better understanding of financial crisis in general Develop a completely new approach to financial stability Formulate specific policy goals to make financial markets more secure

16. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 15 Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe (30 May - 1 June 2010) Strategic activities – Example Set up an agenda of the current and strategic solutions in the field of knowledge management Allow for fundamental discussion along four major issues: the role of knowledge creation in a networked society; knowledge infrastructures; knowledge dissemination and transfer; the future of higher education institutions Affect policy development at European, national and local level and achieve conclusions and recommendations for action of use to policy- makers as well as for researchers and the management and leadership of universities and in the educational policy and for the population at large

17. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 16 Cost Open Call for proposals (1/4) Collection Date 2009-2. –CSO, at its meeting in May 2010 had approved 3 new Actions : IS1001 :”Bio-objects and their boundaries: governing matters at the intersection of society, politics and science” IS1002: “Modernet – a network for development of new techniques of discovering trends in occupational and work-related diseases and tracing new and emerging risks” IS1003: “International law between consitutionalisation and fragmentation: the role of law in the post-national constellation”.

18. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 17 Cost Open Call for proposals (2/4) COST Open Call: 2010-1 Mar 26,2010 –132 eligible preliminary proposals were assessed by DC-ISCH, out of 583 in all COST Domains May, 2010 –Invitation of 11 Full Proposals in ISCH Sept 6-7,2010 –The ISCH External Expert Panel (EEP) recommends 6 of the 11 Full Proposals Sept 13-14,2010 –The DC ISCH Executive Group (EG) interviews representatives of the 6 proposals. The EG’s report on the assessment and ranking of the proposals was circulated to the full DC on 21 September.

19. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 18 Cost Open Call for proposals (3/4) Sept 29,2010 –Science in Society Cluster Chairs Consensus Meeting (ICT, ISCH and TUD) 4 ISCH proposals and one TD proposal are recommended: –# 6399: WEBDATANET: web-based data-collection – methodological challenges, solutions and implementations (proposing country: ES) –# 6726: Medieval Europe – Medieval Cultures and Technological Resource (proposing country: IT) –# 7402: Investigating Cultural Sustainability (proposing country: FI) –# 7047: Unravelling the grammars of European sign languages: pathways to full citizenship of deaf signers and to the protection of their linguistic heritage (proposing country: ES) –# TD7139: Pain Assessment in Patients with Impaired Cognition, especially Dementia TDP (BMBS ISCH) (proposing country: DE

20. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 19 Cost Open Call for proposals (4/4) COST Open Call: 2010-2 DC-ISCH received 99 eligible preliminary proposals to be assessed In total 480 proposals were received across the nine COST domains

21. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH Final Reports to be approved in Nov: A28: Human Rights, Peace & Security in EU Foreign Policy A33: Cross-Linguistically Robust Stages of Children’s Linguistic Performance A35: Programme for the Study of European Rural Societies Evaluation of completed Actions

22. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 21 Update on strategic initiatives COST/ESF Synergy Initiative “Cultural Literacy in Contemporary Europe” COST/ESF High-Level Conference “Future Internet and Society: A complex systems perspective” (October 2010) COST/ESF High-Level Conference “Digital Humanities: Art History and Web”: (October 2010) COST Exploratory Workshop “Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe” (30th May and 1 st ) June in Brussels

23. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 22 New ideas for strategic activities COST Exploratory Workshop on “The Ethics of Developing Robots for Battlefield Operations” The Academia Europaea – “Reason and Unreason in 21 st Century Science” which will be held in April 2011 in Cambridge –“The Role of Trust in Higher Education – Ethical and Quality Standards in Research and Teaching” which will take place in November 2010 in Stockholm.

24. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 23 10 th MEETING OF THE ISCH DC WILL BE HELD IN LIMASSOL, CYPRUS 15 TH NOV 2010

25. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 24 ISCH contacts ISCH DC-Chair: Dr Marc Caball Marc.Caball@ucd.ie ISCH DC Vice-Chair: Dr Constantinos N Phellas Phellas.c@unic.ac.cy ISCH Science Officer: Dr Julia Stamm jstamm@cost.esf.org

26. COST is supported by the EU RTD Framework Programme ESF provides the COST Office through an EC contract ISCH ISCH - 25 Thank you for your attention Contact Details Dr Constantinos N Phellas DC ISCH Vice-Chair Phellas.c@unic.ac.cy