HERA website: www.heranet.info

Deliverable number HERA D 5.2.1

Title Conference Report 2006

Work Package WP5

Actual submission date March 26 2007 (month 23) – final version (contractual date)

Organisation name(s) of lead (AKA) contractor for this deliverable

Author(s) Kustaa Multamäki

With the help of

Nature Report

Status Final version

Dissemination level public

Abstract This is the formal deliverable report of the 2006 HERA Conference. It contains a short description of the contents of the conference, the final programme and the guest list. In the course of 2007 a full report will be made available.

Contract no: ERAC-CT-2005-016179

2006 HERA Conference Present into Future: The Role of the Humanities in Foresight Exercises 23 November 2006 Finlandia Hall, Helsinki

In his introductory remarks Professor Arto Mustajoki, Chair of the Research Council for Culture and Society at the Academy of Finland, referred to a wider context in science policy discussion in which the theme of this year’s conference, The Role of the Humanities in Foresight Exercises, can be seen. To clarify his point on this matter, Mustajoki described isolation policy on the one hand, and integration policy on the other. Isolation policy can be seen as a tendency to emphasise the special nature of the Humanities in comparison to other fields of science. An inevitable consequence of this attitude is the inability to cooperate with “the others”. On the other hand, the supporters of integration policy are also fully aware of the special nature of the Humanities, but they feel that underlining this issue leads to a situation where the voice of the researchers within the Humanities is not heard in decision-making on European or national research funding policy. That is why integration policy supporters think that it is wiser and more useful for the Humanities to try to cooperate with other fields. This means that, in some cases, it is necessary to accept principles widely used in other fields, but it is also possible to bring one’s own views and values into the discussion.

According to Professor Mustajoki, the theme of the conference is an example of the latter kind of thinking, but there is a host of other examples of this thinking as well. The FinnSight 2015 report completely differs form the common way to do foresight exercises. Although a joint effort of the Academy of Finland and Tekes – Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, it represents a very broad understanding of the important research topics of the future covering many questions directly connected to humanistic and social science research.

Another example of a new role of the Humanities is the attitude to the socio-economic impact and relevance of research. As a new way of thinking gradually emerged, it occurred that the concept itself is acceptable and even useful for the Humanities, but its content should be redefined. Most importantly, Mustajoki points out, one has to bear in mind the significance of the human factor. Briefly put, both the private and public sectors are run by human beings. It is also necessary to bear in mind that a much longer time span needs to be applied if we really want to get an impression of the influence of research to society.

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Despite the fact that foresight exercises have typically been dominated by the Natural Sciences, Mustajoki stressed that there are already a number of examples of the new way of thinking. For example, The European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) was an initiative of the Standing Committee of Humanities at the ESF, but recently it has proceeded as a task of the HERA consortium. The new interpretation of the concept of research infrastructure is another example. According to the new understanding, not only physical equipment but also libraries, archives and electronic databases belong to research infrastructure. A concrete example is the fresh roadmap produced by ESFRI. The fact that the Humanities has been almost totally neglected in the European framework programmes, Mustajoki concluded, makes us not only accuse the decision-makers but also look at ourselves in the mirror. This has largely been due to the inability to get hints for prioritised research topics. However, a new kind of thinking is emerging also in this respect. Within the HERA consortium, five thematic reports about topical research areas have been compiled. Of these five reports, two will be chosen to form a basis for a pan-European call for research appropriations within the Humanities.

Maurice Biriotti, CEO of the London-based SHM Company, stressed in his keynote speech that – perhaps to the surprise of the sceptics – the Humanities has a lot to give to business life. SHM specialises in understanding people’s motivations and combines approaches from the Humanities, Social Sciences and Creative Arts with a range of strategic questions. Professor Biriotti has managed to turn his interests in the Humanities – he has written extensively on Literature, Philosophy, Anthropology and the dynamics of cultural change – into a flourishing business. His clients include some of the world’s most prominent companies in search of new solution regarding customer and public relations as well as personnel. As a fascinating example, Biriotti described how literary criticism can be used to enhance customer satisfaction in Internet merchandising.

In her keynote speech Professor Liisa Salo-Lee gave a concise picture of the multifaceted FinnSight 2015 project and its Humanities viewpoint in particular. The project comprised 120 leading Finnish experts in research and industry. The experts formed ten panels each and wrote a combined foresight report on their subject areas. The aim of the project was to identify areas of competence needed in science, technology, society, business and industry as well as to establish priorities among them. Particularly acute was also the need to foster multidisciplinary debate and discussion. FinnSight 2015 was a particularly fruitful exercise in the latter respect since projects of such magnitude are, as Professor Salo-Lee pointed out, inherently interdisciplinary. The panel Understanding and Human Interaction, which was co-chaired by Professor Salo-Lee, consisted of

HERA Conference 2006 Report – March 26 2007 – p. 3/8 experts from various fields, such as Social Psychology, Philosophy, History, Linguistics, Communication Sciences, Cultural Studies, Psychiatry and Brain Research. Within the Humanities, the panel identified several major issues for further investigation. These included several approaches to language, such as speech technology, language industry, plurilingualism and lingua franca. Another worthwhile field of study could be human interaction and dialogue. On the other hand, multicultural competence, History and, above all, the human being itself could also be important themes for further study.

Assistant Director Karl Cunion from the UK Office of Science and Innovation presented the theme of his keynote speech, the use of the UK Foresight exercise in national policy-making, within the context of ForSociety, an ERA-NET project focused on the development of European research and innovation systems. ForSociety is a sustainable and dynamic network where national foresight programme managers coordinate their activities and regularly develop and implement efficient transnational foresight programmes. In addition to networking, its activities include benchmarking, exchange visits, policy conferences and future dialogue on strategic themes such as nutrition, energy, transport and innovation systems. Evaluation mechanisms and toolkits, dialogue between science and society, and pilot transnational programmes are also touched upon. Based on the highly interdisciplinary UK experience of foresight programmes within the Humanities, Cunion concluded by stating that key stakeholders have been unanimously positive about their success and the necessity for the project. According to Cunion, it could even be questioned whether the same kind of resource mobilisation could have been achieved by conventional ministerial or research council programmes.

The keynote speeches were concluded after the lunch break by Dr Pascal Dissard, National Expert to the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research (DG RTD), where his main task is to promote the integration of the Humanities in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7, 2007– 2013). In a most helpful manner, Dr Dissard shed light on the opportunities for the Humanities in the forthcoming framework programme. According to Dissard, there is a lot to be discovered for researchers within the Humanities, provided that sufficient attention is paid to cooperation and networking. With regard to the ERA-NET Plus scheme in particular, it is also worth bearing in mind that these opportunities may emerge between traditional disciplinary boundaries.

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The concluding session of the conference was a panel discussion on the theme Future visions for and from the Humanities: the use of foresight exercises for national policy-making and European cooperation. The discussion was moderated by Professor Philip Esler, Chief Executive of the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, whereas the panel was formed by Mr Cunion, Dr Dissard, Poul Holm, Professor of Maritime and Regional History at the University of Southern Denmark and Rector of Roskilde University Center, as well as Gretty Mirdal, Professor of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen and Chair of the Standing Committee for the Humanities at the ESF. In the discussion, several and at times even contradicting viewpoints to the theme foresight and the Humanities were presented. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that in so far as foresight exercises can be seen as a means to achieving better cooperation between disciplines and countries, there are very few – if any – who would disagree about their beneficial effects for the Humanities. Therefore, Professor Mustajoki’s concluding remarks – we all place ourselves rather on a certain point between “total isolation” and “total cooperation”, than on either of the two extremes – summed up the sprit of the conference.

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APPENDIX 1

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME 09.00 Registration

09.45 Welcome Professor Arto Mustajoki, Chair, Research Council for Culture and Society, Academy of Finland

10.00 Keynote speeches Professor Maurice Biriotti, Chief Executive, SHM Company, London Humanities and the Bottom Line: Exploiting Arts and Humanities for Business

Professor Liisa Salo-Lee, University of Jyväskylä Multidisciplinary approaches to foresight: FINNSIGHT 2015 Project

Assistant Director Karl Cunion, Office of Science and Innovation, UK The use of the UK Foresight exercise in national policy-making

12.00 Buffet Lunch

13.30 Keynote Speech Dr Pascal Dissard, European Commission, Directorate-General for Research Opportunities for the Humanities in FP7

14.00 Panel discussion: Future visions for and from the Humanities: the use of foresight exercises for national policy- making and European cooperation Mr Karl Cunion Dr Pascal Dissard Professor Philip Esler (Moderator) Professor Poul Holm Professor Gretty Mirdal

15.30 Coffee Break

16.00 Wrap-up

16.30 Conclusion

17.00 Guided tour to National Museum/Opportunity to retire to hotel

19.30 Pre-Dinner drinks

20.00 Dinner

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APPENDIX 2

A LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Petter Aaslestad Norwegian University of Science and Technology Taina Alameri Academy of Finland Antti Arjava Finnish Cultural Foundation Kristi Auli Archimedes Foundation, Estonia Maurice Biriotti SHM Company, UK Jan Bolin Swedish Research Council for Humanities & Social Sciences Olga Borisova KCSTD, Russia Annemarie Bos Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Natalia Bragina Regional Association of Educational Establishments “EdNet” Karl Cunion UK Foresight Programme Aliya Dairabayeva Almaty Academy of Economic and Statistic Alice Dijkstra Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Pascal Dissard European Commission Carl Dolan Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK Kirsten Drotner Danish Research Council for the Humanities Sheena Duffy IRCHSS, Ireland Eili Ervelä-Myréen Academy of Finland Philip Esler Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK Adolf Filacek Academy of Science Czech Republic Astrid Forland University of Bergen Audrone Glosiene Vilnius University Library Mirdal Gretty European Science Foundation Murad Haitov Business School of Enterprises’ Association, Turkmenistan Liisa Hakamies-Blomqvist NordForsk Eila Helander Marjatta Hietala University of Pirjo Hiidenmaa Academy of Finland Koen Hilberdink Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Netherlands Poul Holm Roskilde University Center Jon Holm University of Oslo Vesa Hottinen Academy of Finland Päivi Hovi-Wasastjerna University of Art and Design Helsinki Satu Huuha Academy of Finland Sanna Hytönen Academy of Finland Maunu Häyrynen Academy of Finland Ilpo Ihanamäki Tekes – Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation Dovlet Jumakuliev Initiative group of teachers and researchers, Turkmenistan Marja Järvelä University of Jyväskylä Ivana Kadlecová Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Nina Kancewicz-Hoffman European Science Foundation Seppo Kangaspunta Ministry of Trade and Industry, Finland Sune Kaur-Pedersen Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation Ainash Kenzhegaliyeva West Kazakhstan State University Imronsho Khikmatov Tajik State Languages Institute Lyudmila Kim Uzbek National University

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Grete Kladakis Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation Rüdiger Klein European Science Foundation Davor Kozmus Ministry for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Slovenia Algis Krupavicius Kaunas University of Technology Joep Leerssen University of Amsterdam Tuomas Lehtonen Finnish Literature Society Tomi Lintonen Police College of Finland Peter Lodberg University of Aarhus Minna-Riitta Luukka University of Jyväskylä, Centre for Applied Language Studies Ilhomiddin Makhmadiev Tajik State National University Monika Maruska Austrian Science Fund Birgitte Mazohl-Wallnig Austrian Academy of Sciences Päivi McIntosh European Science Foundation Kari Melby Norwegian University of Science and Technology Päivi Messo-Lindén Academy of Finland Luule Mizera Estonian Science Foundation Kustaa Multamäki Academy of Finland Ülle Must Archimedes Foundation, Estonia Arto Mustajoki Academy of Finland Urpo Nikanne Åbo Akademi University Guðrun Nordal Science and Technology Council, Iceland Nina Nordvik Research Council of Norway Lisa Lena Opas-Hänninen University of Oulu Marianne Paasi European Commission Karl Pajusalu Council of the Estonian Science Foundation Jaroslav Panek Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Louise Perbal Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands Heli Rahka Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Finland Solbjørg Rauset Research Council of Norway Andreas Roepstorff University of Aarhus Tatiana Rybina American University in Central Asia Sean Ryder IRCHSS, Ireland Liliya Safarova Uzbek National University Liisa Salo-Lee University of Jyväskylä Dominic Scott Cambridge University/SHM Eirikur Sigurdarson RANNÍS – The Icelandic Centre for Research Information on Iceland Heikki Solin University of Helsinki Martin Stokhof University of Amsterdam Reija Tuomaala European Science Foundation Pia Vaajakallio Academy of Finland Monique van Donzel European Science Foundation Jan Wesseling Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands Maria Wikse Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation Giedrius Viliunas Ministry of Education and Science, Lithuania Risto Vilkko Academy of Finland Jerca Vodušek Staric Institute of contemporary history, Slovenia

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