Individuals, Societies, Cultures and Health By Dr Constantinos N Phellas DC Vice-Chair

1. 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. The COST mission 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.

3. COST main characteristics • Enabling agent – focus on Early Stage Researchers • Pan-European dimension • Scientific scope incl. pre-normative and public utility research & technologies • Focus on multidisciplinary cooperation fostering innovation • Equal access / Open Call • Transparent procedures • “Bottom-up” - no fixed programmes / priorities • À la carte participation -Coordination of national efforts through networking • Networks based on funded (research) projects – national responsibility • Open to global cooperation in the mutual interest • Building bridges between research communities

4. 36 COST Countries The 27 EU Member States EFTA Member StatesIcelandNorway Switzerland Acceding & Candidate Countries Croatia  FYR of Macedonia Turkey Potential Candidate CountriesBosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Serbia COST Co-operating StatesIsrael

5. COST countries Neighbouring countries Reciprocal agreements countries COST Actions: global participation(status: November 2009)

6. What is funded by COST? • COST Actions: A network of (nationally) funded projects(min. 5 participating COST countries) receive a financial contributionbased on a joint work programme (4 years) for: • Science management / working group meetings • Scientific workshops and seminars • Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) • Training Schools and Research Conferences • Dissemination and Publications • Average funding +/- 100 000 € per year per Action • Exploratory/Strategic Workshops: to explore future scientific or societal needs, support policy developments or stimulate innovative activities

7. Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences (BMBS) Food and Agriculture (FA) Forests, their Products and Services (FPS) Materials, Physical & Nanosciences (MPNS) Chemistry and Molecular Sciences & Technologies (CMST) Earth System Science & Environmental Management (ESSEM) Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) Transport & Urban Development (TUD) Individuals, Societies, Cultures & Health (ISCH) COST Domains

8. COST Open Call Collection Dates Relative demand by Domain and Collection Date EligiblePreliminaryProposals 695 406 475 386 378 481 469 28/09/2009

9. 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. 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 ISCH History

11. ISCH Portfolio

12. ISCH Actions – Some examples (1) IS0801 Cyberbullying: Coping with Negative and Enhancing Positive uses of New Technologies, in Relationships in Educational Settings (UK), 2008-2012 • 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. ISCH Actions – Some examples (2) IS0802 The Transformation of Global Environmental Governance (DE), 2008-2012 • 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. ISCH Actions – Some examples (3) IS0807 Living in Surveillance Societies (UK), 2009-2013 • 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. ISCH Actions – Some examples (4) IS0902 Systemic Risks, Financial Crises and Credit: the roots, dynamics and consequences of the Subprime Crisis (DE), 2010-2014 • 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. Strategic activities – Example Knowledge Management in Contemporary Europe (30 May - 1 June 2010) • 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. 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” . Cost Open Call for proposals (1/4)

18. COST Open Call: 2010-1 Mar 26,2010 132 eligible preliminary proposals were assessed by DC-ISCH, outof 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. TheEG’s report on the assessment and ranking of the proposals was circulated to the full DCon 21 September. Cost Open Call for proposals (2/4)

19. 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 – methodologicalchallenges, 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 fullcitizenship of deaf signers and to the protection of their linguistic heritage(proposing country: ES) # TD7139: Pain Assessment in Patients with Impaired Cognition, especiallyDementia TDP (BMBS ISCH) (proposing country: DE Cost Open Call for proposals (3/4)

20. 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 Cost Open Call for proposals (4/4)

21. Evaluation of completed Actions 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

22. 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 1st) June in Brussels Update on strategic initiatives

23. COST Exploratory Workshop on “The Ethics ofDeveloping Robots for Battlefield Operations” The Academia Europaea “Reason and Unreason in 21st 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. New ideas for strategic activities

24. 10th MEETING OF THE ISCH DC WILL BE HELD IN LIMASSOL, CYPRUS 15TH NOV 2010

25. 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 ISCH contacts

26. Thank you for your attention Contact Details Dr Constantinos N Phellas DC ISCH Vice-Chair Phellas.c@unic.ac.cy