LETTERA APERTA alla Commissione Europea – Direzione Generale per la Ricerca e l’Innovazione – segnalazione di Paolo Ramat e Emanuele Banfi
Open Letter to the European Commission on Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities research in the new FP, 2014-2020
Dear colleagues,
with this message we would like to invite you to sign an Open Letter addressed to the European Commissioner for Research and Innovation (www.eash.eu/openletter2011 ), alerting her to the vital insights that Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) contribute to address Europe’s and the world’s Grand Societal Challenges.
In view of legislative decisions to be taken on the next 100-Billion-worth EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020 (2014-2020), the letter stresses the necessity for a varied and strong research programme in the Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH): it argues that neglecting such potential contributions as SSH research risks undermining the EU strategy to develop innovative, inclusive and sustainable societies. Yet, there still is a distinct danger of insufficient funding in Horizon 2020 for research areas such as cultural change, demography, education, the economy and globalisation, identity politics and social cohesion, and many others. For background information on these matters see: www.eash.eu/openletter2011.
The Open Letter initiative has grown out of deliberations among a number of European umbrella organisations in the area of SSH, and seeks to bring to the attention of the European Commission and national governments the concerns of the largest research community in Europe.
If you agree, that a substantial and independent SSH-centered research programme should be included in all future European Framework Programmes, we invite you to sign the Open Letter online at www.eash.eu/openletter2011. Please also kindly spread this invitation to sign in your institutions and among your networks.
First results of this initiative will be presented to Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn on 10 November 2011. We hope to be able to point to a high number of signatures as an expression of a groundswell of support and concern among SSH communities. The collection of signatures will, however, continue after this specific date, as the legislative decision process will last for longer.
Thank you in advance for signing and for supporting this initiative. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions: SSH-letter@net4society.eu.
On behalf of the Inter-agency Task Group on SSH.
Professor Milena Zic-Fuchs (Chair ESF Standing Committee for the Humanities)
Sir Roderick Floud (Chair ESF Standing Committee for the Social Sciences)