Actualités

Seminar and Book Launch « Knowledge Production in the Arab World: The Impossible Promise », 1st February 2016

On the occasion of the publication of the book by S. Hanafi and R. Arvanitis, “Knowledge Production in the Arab World: The Impossible Promise” (London: Routledge) and in Arabic by Editions of the Center for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS), Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) organises a Seminar and Book Launch on February 1, 2016 at 5 – 7 pm.

Opening notes :

-­ Nasser Yassin, Director of Research, IFI
-­ Mouïn Hamzé, Secretary General, National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS)  -­ Ziad Hafez, Acting Director, CAUS

Speakers:

-­ Rigas Arvanitis, Senior researcher CEPED-­?IRD and Director, Institut Francilien Recherche Innovation  Société(IFRIS)

-­ Sari Hanafi, Professor of Sociology, American University of Beirut

Discussants :

-­ Hassan Charif, CNRS advisor on science policy
-­ Seteney Shami, Director-­?General, Arab Council for the Social Science

Seminar and Book Launch « Knowledge Production in the Arab World: The Impossible Promise », 1st February 2016

On the occasion of the publication of the book by S. Hanafi and R. Arvanitis, “Knowledge Production in the Arab World: The Impossible Promise” (London: Routledge) and in Arabic by Editions of the Center for Arab Unity Studies (CAUS), Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) organises a Seminar and Book Launch on February 1, 2016 at 5 – 7 pm.

Opening notes :

-­ Nasser Yassin, Director of Research, IFI
-­ Mouïn Hamzé, Secretary General, National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS)  -­? Ziad Hafez, Acting Director, CAUS

Speakers:

-­ Rigas Arvanitis, Senior researcher CEPED-­?IRD and Director, Institut Francilien Recherche Innovation  Société(IFRIS)

-­ Sari Hanafi, Professor of Sociology, American University of Beirut

Discussants :

-­ Hassan Charif, CNRS advisor on science policy
-­ Seteney Shami, Director-­?General, Arab Council for the Social Science

 

 

IFRIS Call for Applications for Post-Doctoral positions 2017

Five (5) post-doctoral positions are available at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Society (ifris.org).

IFRIS welcomes science, technology and society scholars in all social science disciplines: history, sociology, political sciences, anthropology, economics, management sciences or law.

STS is understood in a broad sense of issues related to the production and use of science and technologies in societies. The post-doc candidates should propose original research projects on specific issues that relate to public health, biomedicine, agricultural sciences, food security, climate change, biodiversity, environmental questions, ICT, “big data” and internet, historical and social construction of technologies, risk and regulation, development and research policies, global distribution of knowledge, intellectual and property rights and global commons, circulation of knowledge, construction of public research policies, multilevel governance of science and technology, knowledge and local development, regimes of regulations and production of sciences and innovation in society.

See the list of projects funded by IFRIS to date for your information.

Selected candidates will be attached to one of the following IFRIS research units (name and acronym are followed by the scientific organisation to which the unit is attached). See the website links for more details on these units.

Candidates do not need to have previous knowledge of these research groups. Nonetheless, it might be useful for them to consult their websites or take contacts that might help them designing their research project. Contacts can be made through the IFRIS Secretariat: rust[at]ifris.org 

Selected candidates are eligible for a 24-month contract, under the French standard in relation to salary and work status. Contracts will start as soon as possible after selection, according to candidates’ previous obligations and engagements, and on January 1st, 2017 at the latest.

Requirements :

To be eligible, post-doc candidates should hold a Ph.D. or doctoral degree as on the date of December 15th, 2016 at the latest and should have already fulfilled all the obligations for the acquisition of their Ph.D. or doctoral degree.

In case the candidate do not have their degree by the date of this submission, he/she should present a reference letter from their doctoral supervisor certifying that he/she will hold his/her Ph.D. or doctoral degree as on the date of December 15th, 2016 at the latest.

Candidates cannot apply for a post-doc position within a research group where they have prepared their doctoral research work.

Applications:

Candidates should fill out the form below and send their research proposals by March 15th, 2016, consisting of:

  • A cover letter written by the candidate to indicate the way she/he believes her/ his project contributes to IFRIS research agenda. The candidate should indicate her/his former relations to IFRIS research units, in case they exist. Candidates are not requested to indicate in which IFRIS research unit they would like to be hosted, but nevertheless can do so.
  • A one page Curriculum Vitae. The Vitae should indicate diplomas, trajectory, places and institutions where the candidate has worked and studied. Previous post-docs should be indicated in case there has been any.
  • A research project (no more than 8 pages). The project should be written in English, including a plan of activities for the whole 24-month period and a tentative budget. The project should clearly state its objective, methodology, theoretical position, type and mode of collection of empirical material, research strategy, and expected outcomes. It should also indicate the type of expected production out of this period of time (workshops, book, articles, or any other envisioned material).
  • A complete list of publications.
  • In case the candidate do not have their degree by the date of this submission, he/she should present a reference letter from their doctoral supervisor certifying that he/she will hold his/her Ph.D. or doctoral degree as on the date of December 15th, 2016 at the latest. For the French candidates, their viva report is also required (“rapport de soutenance”).

Selection criteria :

  • Quality of the research project
  • Relevance in relation to IFRIS agenda
  • Potential of the topic to favour the integration of the candidate to the hosting research group
  • Quality of the candidate’s academic and research trajectory

The application will be sent in one single file, pdf format, and should be saved under the following name: Name_appelpostdoc_IFRIS.pdf (where “name” is the last name of the candidate)

Usefulates :

Deadline: March 15th, 2016  
–          December 15th, 2015: Launch of the call
–          March 15th, 2016: Receipt of proposals
–          June 15th, 2016: Acceptance decision sent to the candidates

Pierre-André Juven: Lauréat du Prix Le Monde de la recherche universitaire 2015 en sciences humaines et sociales

Lors de la cérémonie organisée dans le locaux du journal « Le Monde » le 18 novembre 2015, Pierre-André Juven a reçu d’Edgar Morin, président du jury pour les sciences humaines et sociales, le Prix Le Monde de la recherche universitaire 2015 pour sa thèse  « Une santé qui compte ? Coûts et tarifs dans la politique hospitalière française » en socio-économie de l’innovation, dirigée par Vololona Rabeharisoa et soutenue en octobre 2014 au CSI – Mines ParisTech.

Les instruments d’action publique ont profondément transformé l’hôpital en une entité de gestion et de finances. La T2A, ou tarification à l’activité, en particulier y a joué un rôle central. Pierre-André Juven analyse la T2A comme un instrument de qualcul, au sens où elle est employée pour quantifier et qualifier les patients, les séjours, les maladies, voire l’hôpital public lui-même.

Pierre-André Juven s’est attaché à montrer comment ces transformations de l’hôpital se sont opérées en une entité gestionnaire à partir des années 1980, à travers une approche qui associe sociologie politique des instruments de gouvernement et sociologie des techniques et de l’innovation. En se penchant sur des dispositifs de quantification comme l’étude de coûts des séjours et le mécanisme tarifaire, son travail montre comment les mesures sont inventées et transforment les objets qu’elles mesurent. La thèse se penche également sur les controverses nées de ces quantifications, portant principalement sur les modalités de calcul des coûts.

Le-Monde-19-nov-15-249x300

Call for papers special issue Science and Public Policy (SPP)

Basic motivation:

This special issue seeks to bring together various strands of current policy thinking and practice that share an orientation towards directionality of innovation, embracing the idea that the generation and diffusion of innovation needs to be oriented towards responding to societal needs and demands. As yet, these strands of policy thinking and practice have not been interacting sufficiently, both conceptually and in terms of policy practice. Bringing those strands together, as depicted in Figure 1, promises to inform our understanding of the opportunities and challenges of a new generation of innovation policy. As such, this special issue seeks to make a leap forward in conceptualising 21st century innovation policy.
The first strand of policy thinking is associated with an increasing trend to design and implement demand-based innovation policy instruments. These are instruments targeting stakeholders as buyers and users of innovation as part of established science and innovation policy, designed and implemented through generic innovation or economy ministries. The rationale here is to boost innovation on the supply side by providing better demand conditions, and in so doing also contribute to societal well-being as innovations are developed to satisfy articulated demand.

Second, there is continuous interest in and application of innovation policy measures, most notably on the demand side, to support policy goals of sectoral ministries, whereby improved and enhanced demand for innovative solutions are supposed to contribute to achieving sectoral policy goals.

Third, and most radically, we increasingly see political claims to tackle grand societal challenges and develop mission-oriented policies. In contrast to traditional sectoral policies, those missions cut across established political responsibilities and constituencies and require much more long term and coordinated approaches. Designing policy to deal with those challenges is highly complex, and it is far from clear how demand-side (innovation) policy is best mobilised in the portfolio of measures to help steering societies and innovation systems in socially desired directions.

The special issue seeks to spark a new debate on the meaning of and conditions for directionality of innovation policy, with a specific focus on the role of demand-based measures to support it, be it in generic innovation policy, in sectoral policy or in mission-oriented policy which cuts across policy areas. The special issue seeks to mobilise contributions in any of those three strands concerned with directionality. In particular, however, we welcome work that bridges those strands.

Theoretical, conceptual, empirical and methodological contributions are invited. The following lead questions illustrate the broad remit and ambition of the special issue:

1) Understanding directionality in innovation policy

  • What theories and concepts can help us to understand the conditions and challenges for directionality of innovation policy?
  • What theories help us to understand the political processes and institutional structures that determine the relationship between innovation policy, mission/challenge policy and traditional sectoral policy? What is the specific role of the state in innovation policy that defines direction for innovation?
  • How can we understand and improve processes to organise and govern agenda-setting in the context of demand-oriented policies, which starts with or focuses on needs and demands and thus is by definition closer to citizens and end-users than supply policies? Can we learn from user innovation literature about how to organise and set up user-producer interactions in the context of mission-oriented and sectoral programmes?
  • How can we better understand the demand for, challenges and effects of demand-based policies to support directionality in innovation policy, traditional sectoral policy (energy, health etc.), and in mission oriented policies?
  • Are there any new models of organising innovation policy for missions and sectoral policy goals, and for the governance of the relationship between innovation policy and sectoral-/mission-oriented policies?
2) Understanding the role of demand-based instruments in directional innovation policy
  • What do we know empirically about the effects of demand-oriented policies and instruments within and across the three strands, both on innovation generation and diffusion, and in terms of their contribution to achieving sectoral and mission goals?
  • What do we know about sector-based and/or mission-oriented agencies and the portfolio of instruments they use to achieve their missions? What are organisational models for successful mission orientation mobilising demand-side instruments?
Submission, revision and decision process:Deadline for first full drafts or extended abstracts (1500 – 2000 words) is January 15. The editors of the special issue will then review. Authors of papers accepted will then be invited for a workshop in Manchester late March / early April 2016. For this workshop, full drafts of the papers are expected.After this workshop, final drafts of the revised papers will be expected May 20.Final inclusion of each contribution, and indeed the entire special issue, is subject to approval of the established SPP review process. The revised papers will thus be reviewed by the editors as well as by anonymous reviewers of Science and Public Policy.

– *Jakob Edler, University of Manchester, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, AMBS, Harold Hankins Building, Manchester, UK M13 9PL (jakob.edler@mbs.ac.uk)
* Contact person

– Wouter Boon, Utrecht University, Innovation studies group, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands (w.p.c.boon@uu.nl)

 

figure 1

Call for papers special issue Science and Public Policy (SPP)

Basic motivation:

This special issue seeks to bring together various strands of current policy thinking and practice that share an orientation towards directionality of innovation, embracing the idea that the generation and diffusion of innovation needs to be oriented towards responding to societal needs and demands. As yet, these strands of policy thinking and practice have not been interacting sufficiently, both conceptually and in terms of policy practice. Bringing those strands together, as depicted in Figure 1, promises to inform our understanding of the opportunities and challenges of a new generation of innovation policy. As such, this special issue seeks to make a leap forward in conceptualising 21st century innovation policy.
The first strand of policy thinking is associated with an increasing trend to design and implement demand-based innovation policy instruments. These are instruments targeting stakeholders as buyers and users of innovation as part of established science and innovation policy, designed and implemented through generic innovation or economy ministries. The rationale here is to boost innovation on the supply side by providing better demand conditions, and in so doing also contribute to societal well-being as innovations are developed to satisfy articulated demand.Second, there is continuous interest in and application of innovation policy measures, most notably on the demand side, to support policy goals of sectoral ministries, whereby improved and enhanced demand for innovative solutions are supposed to contribute to achieving sectoral policy goals.Third, and most radically, we increasingly see political claims to tackle grand societal challenges and develop mission-oriented policies. In contrast to traditional sectoral policies, those missions cut across established political responsibilities and constituencies and require much more long term and coordinated approaches. Designing policy to deal with those challenges is highly complex, and it is far from clear how demand-side (innovation) policy is best mobilised in the portfolio of measures to help steering societies and innovation systems in socially desired directions.

The special issue seeks to spark a new debate on the meaning of and conditions for directionality of innovation policy, with a specific focus on the role of demand-based measures to support it, be it in generic innovation policy, in sectoral policy or in mission-oriented policy which cuts across policy areas. The special issue seeks to mobilise contributions in any of those three strands concerned with directionality. In particular, however, we welcome work that bridges those strands.

Theoretical, conceptual, empirical and methodological contributions are invited. The following lead questions illustrate the broad remit and ambition of the special issue:

1) Understanding directionality in innovation policy

  • What theories and concepts can help us to understand the conditions and challenges for directionality of innovation policy?
  • What theories help us to understand the political processes and institutional structures that determine the relationship between innovation policy, mission/challenge policy and traditional sectoral policy? What is the specific role of the state in innovation policy that defines direction for innovation?
  • How can we understand and improve processes to organise and govern agenda-setting in the context of demand-oriented policies, which starts with or focuses on needs and demands and thus is by definition closer to citizens and end-users than supply policies? Can we learn from user innovation literature about how to organise and set up user-producer interactions in the context of mission-oriented and sectoral programmes?
  • How can we better understand the demand for, challenges and effects of demand-based policies to support directionality in innovation policy, traditional sectoral policy (energy, health etc.), and in mission oriented policies?
  • Are there any new models of organising innovation policy for missions and sectoral policy goals, and for the governance of the relationship between innovation policy and sectoral-/mission-oriented policies?
2) Understanding the role of demand-based instruments in directional innovation policy
  • What do we know empirically about the effects of demand-oriented policies and instruments within and across the three strands, both on innovation generation and diffusion, and in terms of their contribution to achieving sectoral and mission goals?
  • What do we know about sector-based and/or mission-oriented agencies and the portfolio of instruments they use to achieve their missions? What are organisational models for successful mission orientation mobilising demand-side instruments?
Submission, revision and decision process:Deadline for first full drafts or extended abstracts (1500 – 2000 words) is January 15. The editors of the special issue will then review. Authors of papers accepted will then be invited for a workshop in Manchester late March / early April 2016. For this workshop, full drafts of the papers are expected.After this workshop, final drafts of the revised papers will be expected May 20.Final inclusion of each contribution, and indeed the entire special issue, is subject to approval of the established SPP review process. The revised papers will thus be reviewed by the editors as well as by anonymous reviewers of Science and Public Policy.

– *Jakob Edler, University of Manchester, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, AMBS, Harold Hankins Building, Manchester, UK M13 9PL (jakob.edler@mbs.ac.uk)
* Contact person

– Wouter Boon, Utrecht University, Innovation studies group, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands (w.p.c.boon@uu.nl)

 

figure 1

Eu-SPRI Forum call for proposals for Early Career Researcher Conferences (ECC) and Early Career Research Training Schools (ECS) in 2016-2017

Early Career Researcher Conferences (ECC)

ECC gather outstanding early career researchers with established academics for a series of exchanges about on-going and new research in research and innovation policy. Within the SPRI field ECC normally have no narrow theme, rather there are thematically open. Early career researchers can network with one another, across institutions and countries, and with established researchers, and gain critical feedback on their work, as well as experience in critiquing the work of peers.

The Eu-SPRI Forum supports one or two conference per year. An ECC will normally have 25-30 participants. The maximum support for a conference amounts to 15.000 EUR (for organisation and all actual incurred costs for participants once present, not their travel costs).

Submission deadline: 15 January 2016

Early Career Research Training Schools (ECS)

The Eu-SPRI member organisations are invited to submit proposals for Early Career Research Training Schools (ECS) in 2016 and 2017

Their field of research and innovation policy studies is diverse and has homes in different disciplinary areas. Young SPRI researchers need dedicated events to acquire and exchange knowledge in two directions:

• Methods-based schools for acquiring new capabilities

• Topic-based schools.

ECS will be hosted by one or more Eu-SPRI member organisations and will be offered by senior scholars in the field. The Eu-SPRI Forum supports one summer and one winter school per year with some 25 students each. The maximum support for a school to 15.000 EUR (for organisation and all actual incurred costs for participants once present, no travel costs).

Submission deadline:  15 January 2016

Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to Eu-SPRI Forum secretariat: u.m.kemppainen@utwente.nl, by 15 January 2016.

Examples of the formats for ECC and ECS proposals:

Eu-SPRI Forum call for proposals for Early Career Researcher Conferences (ECC) and Early Career Research Training Schools (ECS) in 2016-2017

Early Career Researcher Conferences (ECC)

ECC gather outstanding early career researchers with established academics for a series of exchanges about on-going and new research in research and innovation policy. Within the SPRI field ECC normally have no narrow theme, rather there are thematically open. Early career researchers can network with one another, across institutions and countries, and with established researchers, and gain critical feedback on their work, as well as experience in critiquing the work of peers.
The Eu-SPRI Forum supports one or two conference per year. An ECC will normally have 25-30 participants. The maximum support for a conference amounts to 15.000 EUR (for organisation and all actual incurred costs for participants once present, not their travel costs).
Submission deadline: 15 January 2016

Early Career Research Training Schools (ECS)

The Eu-SPRI member organisations are invited to submit proposals for Early Career Research Training Schools (ECS) in 2016 and 2017

Their field of research and innovation policy studies is diverse and has homes in different disciplinary areas. Young SPRI researchers need dedicated events to acquire and exchange knowledge in two directions:

• Methods-based schools for acquiring new capabilities

• Topic-based schools.

ECS will be hosted by one or more Eu-SPRI member organisations and will be offered by senior scholars in the field. The Eu-SPRI Forum supports one summer and one winter school per year with some 25 students each. The maximum support for a school to 15.000 EUR (for organisation and all actual incurred costs for participants once present, no travel costs).

Submission deadline:  15 January 2016

Proposals should be submitted by e-mail to Eu-SPRI Forum secretariat: u.m.kemppainen@utwente.nl, by 15 January 2016.

Examples of the formats for ECC and ECS proposals:

 

International Conference: « The Transformation of Research in the South : policies and outcomes », 21-22 Jan. 2016

International conference organised by :

How countries support public scientific research has a direct bearing on the capability of researchers to generate scientific knowledge, and of organizations to adapt or apply such knowledge. While many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are characterized by weak scientific capacity, there are signs of change in how governments support research and promote science.

In this dynamic context, some evident signs of change include the emergence of new or restructured organizations to steer public research or promote innovation; new programmatic directions within such organizations; increased funding dedicated to research in academic settings; and, new domestic and international partnerships seeking to expand participation in and application of research. A multiplicity of organizations and funding sources have appeared, creating a complex web where resources circulate with knowledge in ways that are reshaping research systems in the South.

 Presentations :

Panel 1: RESEARCH POLICY FRAMEWORKS

  • Arvanitis, Hanafi et Currie-Alder : « Research policy in Arab countries:  international cooperation,  competitive calls, and career  incentives »
  • Mari?a Balarin, Grade, Peru? Miguel Vera & Natalia Pe?res – Fundacio?n Aru, Bolivia Fernando Masi, Bele?n Servi?n & Ignacio Gonza?les – CADEP, Paraguay
  • Nguyen Thi Thu Oanh and Michael Braun,  Vietnamese German University, Vietnam
  • Solange_Martinez, Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, Argentina
  • Mouton_Johann, Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology at Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  • Daniel Villavicencio, Posgrado en Economia y Gestión de la Innovación, UAM-­ Xochimilco, Mexico

Panel 2: STRENGTHENING ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Panel 3: ASSESSING RESEARCH PERFORMANCE AND IMPACT

Panel 4: EXPANDING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH

Panel 5: TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION IN RESEARCH

 

Contacts :

 

For more information:

 

 

(CALL FOR PAPERS)

 

Eu-SPRI Forum PhD Circulation Award| Call for proposals for doctoral researchers

Eu-SPRI Forum PhD Circulation Award| Call for proposals for doctoral researchers

Fourteenth submission deadline: 11 November 2015

EU-SPRI Forum  invites PhD researchers to apply for the next round of PhD circulation. This call is open to doctoral researchers in their second year of PhD thesis or beyond
(and early stage researchers, who have completed their PhD within the past 12 months, in exceptional circumstances).

Topic Areas supported

This mobility call is restricted to research topics relating to science, technology and innovation policy including studies of science, technological innovation processes and entrepreneurship which may have relevance for policy.

How to apply

1. You must first discuss your proposed visit with a potential supervisor at your chosen host institution. Both the ‘PhD Home’ institute and ‘PhD Host’ institute must be members of the Eu-SPRI Forum Network. You must confirm that they are prepared to accept you if your proposal is selected.

2. Send the following documents to siobhan.drugan@mbs.ac.uk:

  • A completed application form (download from Eu-SPRI Forum web site). This does not need to be signed by all parties at application stage.
  • A Curriculum Vitae
  • Letter / email of support from Host Supervisor
  • Letter / email of support from Home Supervisor
  • 1 other academic reference

3. Your application will be evaluated by a committee from the Eu-SPRI Forum Training Group.  You will be informed of the outcome when a decision has been made (within 1 month).

Application guidelines

  • The proposed location should be in a different “national system” so that the PhD researcher experiences a different institutional environment.  An application to move, for example, within the Netherlands would not be accepted.
  • Length of circulation visit should be at least 3 months.
  • In the Letter of Intent, be as specific as possible about what you intend to do at your host institute.  Detail why you wish to visit that particular institute; how it will contribute to your research; what you hope to achieve.
  • Prepare your proposal thoroughly, look at the criteria for selection, and make a good case. The awards are competitive, and you need to present yourself well.  Have a specific objective of the stay.  This could be to work on an area of theory with experts, or to undertake fieldwork in a different country, for example.  Think about the potential benefits which may arise in the longer term.  Make sure you put in sufficient material to convince the reviewers
  • Ensure that the place you want to visit is a good match for you and your work, and make sure that the researcher(s) you want to work with will actually be there and are willing to host you.  Making preliminary enquiries about practical arrangements is also a good idea. However, if someone at another institution has agreed in principle to accept you, your proposal may still be subject to a request for further revision or rejected.
  • Ask someone (perhaps your supervisor) to review your proposal before you submit it.
  • Your research must be relevant to the Eu-SPRI Forum Network.  For more information see web site.
  • Both the ‘PhD Home’ institute and ‘PhD Host’ institute must be members of the Eu-SPRI Forum Network.  Therefore, you may only apply to institutes that are ‘PhD Hosts’ within Eu-SPRI Forum Network.  See web site.
  • The criteria for evaluating proposals are:- Quality of the candidate
    – Quality of the PhD project
    –  Relevance of the project to Eu-SPRI
    – Expected benefits of stay for host institution
    – Expected benefits of stay for research career and PhD studies – Balance of student flows

Further details

  • Eu-SPRI will award a lump sum of 2,000 Euros per candidate (for travel expenses and accommodation).
  • If the application is successful, the letter of Intent must then be signed by all parties who must agree to the terms outlined in it.
  • On completion of the circulation  an evaluation report must be provided to the Eu-SPRI network, which will be placed on the website.

Contacts

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