New societal challenges for the European Union : new challenges for social sciences and the humanities : thinking across boundaries : modernising European research

Our modern world cannot live on fragmented knowledge and policies, and "business as usual" in research in social sciences and the humanities won't help. The European Commission is going a step further in addressing today's and tomorrow's major societal challenges that affect our citizens, the countries we cooperate with, and of course future generations of European citizens. The European Commission is launching large research cooperative projects of several million euros in social sciences and the humanities (at least EUR 6 500 000 for 2010) to address these societal challenges. This booklet explains how major changes will be required in the way researchers manage their projects, steer their interdisciplinary research and valorise their results in society at large.