Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines have a significant potential to foster inclusive, innovative and reflective societies and help all forms of innovation transform European economies and societies. However, valorisation of SSH is in its infancy. Until now, a clear identification of the impact of SSH research has been difficult because knowledge transfer to policy-making, development of products and services or to any kind of innovation activities using SSH research has hardly been actively and systematically pursued. Besides, the existing methods and instruments used in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are hardly applicable for SSH research and there are thus important barriers to the valorisation of SSH which still need to be understood in detail.

Scope:

The action will analyse the potential and the challenges of SSH valorisation at the European level and will develop solutions for advancing the practical application of research results, methods and expertise of SSH into products and services. To reach these goals, the action should develop a platform that will bring together SSH researchers and economic and social actors, including within an interdisciplinary setting. This platform should foster a dialogue between SSH researchers and relevant stakeholders with the aim to identify the structural requirements and conditions that must be created to ensure an effective valorisation of SSH research. In particular this should include such issues as research design, research communication, training of SSH researchers and their employability in the wider economy or any other relevant social field where SSH should be integrated in innovation endeavours, as well as production and use of data.

The action will also develop a valorisation concept for the systematic exchange and dissemination of SSH research results, which will include the earlier and deeper integration of SSH research across the innovation value chain. The developed concept will also need to be tested in a subsequent step. To achieve this, the action will take into account the existing experiences with enabling knowledge transfer and valorisation of SSH at national, European and international level. Therefore, it is expected that the platform will enable sharing and combining existing knowledge on these experiences, including the diverging positions on SSH research in various European countries, and to develop a basis for mutual learning.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the order of EUR 2 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact:

The platform developed under this topic will significantly improve the valorisation of SSH research. The knowledge transfer of SSH, including in an interdisciplinary setting, will foster the development of products and services across the innovation value chain and will raise awareness for the value of SSH research and the possibilities to integrate it across the European innovation system. By strengthening the impact of SSH research, this action will contribute to the economic and social progress and help address the societal challenges in Europe.

Type of action: Coordination and support actions