NORFACE ERA-NET "Welfare State Futures"

The NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Cooperation in Europe) Network is pleased to announce the new research programme on the topic of Welfare State Futures. The call text and specifications are now available, as well as the application form and the instructions. The deadline for submitting an Outline Proposal is April 16, 2013, 11.59 (noon) Central European Time/10.59 Greenwich Mean Time.

Summary of the funding opportunity

The NORFACE Network invites proposals for innovative research addressing the theme Welfare State Futures that involve researchers from at least three different eligible countries. Projects with duration of up to three years can be proposed.

Applications to the NORFACE research programme will be processed in two stages. In the first stage, project Outline Proposals are invited with a deadline of April 16, 2013, 11.59 (noon) Central European Time/10.59 Greenwich Mean Time. You can submit your application to the programme via this link.

Applicants invited to the second stage will receive a notification by late July 2013 inviting them to submit a Full Proposal before January 16, 2014.

If you have any question regarding the national eligibility rules, please contact your own funding agency. For national contacts in the NORFACE countries, see the Call for Proposals.

Themes and objectives of the programme

Welfare states are at a critical turning point. The development of welfare systems was one of the defining characteristics of the 20th century, especially in Europe. However, in times of change, it will be important to re-think ‘the welfare state’ with a programme of innovative research designed to ask, and answer, fundamental questions about the design, delivery and experience of welfare in the 21st century.

This programme will have three major objectives:

• To advance globally excellent theoretical and methodological disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and comparative research on Welfare State Futures which builds synergetically on a pan-European basis.
• To motivate and support excellence and capacity building for research on welfare state futures on a cross-national basis throughout the NORFACE countries.
• To develop understanding and promote research-based knowledge and insight into Welfare State Futures for issues of societal, practical and policy relevance, with theoretical foundations but worked on jointly with relevant users and experts.

NORFACE

NORFACE is a network of fifteen research-funding organisations and has been active since 2004. Welfare State Futures is the third joint research programme that NORFACE will fund. Previous programmes have been about Migration in Europe - Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics, and the Re-emergence of Religion as a Social Force in Europe. Partners from the following countries have committed to the NORFACE Welfare State Futures programme: Austria, Denmark, Estonia Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.