News
Founding meeting of European Alliance for the Social Sciences and Humanities, 20 December 2011, Amsterdam
20-12-2011
Hosted by ALLEA in Amsterdam, the founding meeting brought together a wide variety of actors and stakeholders in European SSH research, such as umbrella organisations of academies, research councils, ministries or universities, as well as European networks, such as ERA-Nets and Net4Society, university consortia, subject associations and selected national research performing agencies.
Chaired by ALLEA Executive Director R. Klein, the meeting helped to develop a shared view of the role that SSH research can and should play in Europe and beyond, reviewed expectations of potential members and shared experiences with similar undertakings elsewhere, agreed on its first tasks, as well as its future membership and outreach. A first area of intervention that was discussed at the meeting is the relationship between classical SSH research and security research, as contemplated for the new Framework Programme “Horizon 2020”.
EASH aims to (1) articulate a single voice for the strategic promotion of SSH research, offering, where appropriate, a single contact point and platform for interaction with the varied fields of SSH research in Europe; (2) feature achievements of SSH-research across Europe, making a case for the creativity and value of our research, and open up avenues for original, interdisciplinary and intersectorial research; (3) strengthen the capacity of SSH research communities to engage in policy discussions and to advise policy, and to encourage mutual learning between different institutional settings; (4) develop a consistent argument about the nexus, between a well-endowed, sustainably nurtured basic research environment and the capacity to produce innovating research for the use of society at large. EASH membership is open to similar organisations, and will eventually also involve other European and global non-academic stakeholders.
The EASH Planning Group had launched an Open Letter to the European Commission on the importance of SSH research for realising the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy, with the tools of the new Framework Programme “Horizon 2020” (2014-2020) and through other means of national and local research activities, see: http://www.eash.eu/openletter2011/ 
Link
q ALLEA Interest Group Social Sciences and Humanities
Documents
Programme R. Klein, "Origins, mission and vision of the European Alliance for the Social Sciences and Humanities"