News
Results of the CO-REACH Social Science Call
04-01-2010
In August 2008, the CO-REACH network launched the first multi-lateral Sino-European research programme in the field of social science research. The aim of the CO-REACH pilot call is to stimulate joint research between Europe and China by supporting collaborative research initiatives in thematic areas in the social sciences and humanities. This multilateral Sino-European pilot call is jointly funded by 11 research funding organisations from 6 European countries and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences from China.
The outcomes of this exercise reveal that there is great interest amongst the research communities in China and Europe in developing joint research initiatives in the fields of social sciences and humanities (cultural heritage). In the pre-registration phase a total of 118 pre-registrations were received and during the subsequent full proposal phase more than 80 Sino-European research teams submitted a full proposal. All networks are truly multilateral, as the minimum requirement was that the networks should comprise at least two research groups from two different European countries and a research group from China (CASS institute).
The assessment and selection procedure of the proposals, involving a written international peer review procedure and assessment by a Scientific Evaluation Committee, was undertaken in the first half of 2009. The funding partners unanimously selected fourteen projects for funding. Interestingly enough, the fourteen projects cover all five thematic areas featured in the call for proposals:
- Demography, family and welfare
- Cultural heritage
- Law, governance and policy-making
- Participation, co-determination, employment and the quality of life
- Labour market change, migration and social cohesion
Moreover, in terms of geographical representation all participating countries are involved in at least one of the projects.
The progress and outcomes of the research projects shall be closely monitored by the funding partners. Furthermore, CO-REACH decided to organise a mid-term conference at the end of 2010 aimed at reporting on progress made by all principal investigators from China and Europe. Further information and announcements on this conference will be posted on the CO-REACH website in due course. The outcomes of this pilot call will also be considered with high priority in the development of a follow-up phase for the CO-REACH project after its initial lifetime, which will end in May 2010.
Click here or an overview of the selected proposals.