The operational and programmatic activities (such as the preparation of working papers or the conception of calls for proposals) of JPI Climate are carried out by Action Groups (AGs) and then approved by the Governing Board. The AG EST (“Enabling societal transformation in the face of climate change”) aims to promote the humanities and social sciences as key disciplines for sustainable societal transformation in the context of climate change. The networking platform is managed by the AG EST on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF).
Co-lead development of white paper
Austria co-led the development of the JPI Climate White Paper on “Operationalizing knowledge on and for societal transformations in the face of climate change”. This strategy paper is the basis for the medium-term planning of JPI Climate's funding activities in the field of human and social sciences in connection with climate change research. Five thematic areas and two transversal aspects were identified in which there is a great need for research and which are to provide direction for calls for proposals in the coming years. In this respect, the white paper also served as the basis for the SOLSTICE (“Enabling Societal Transformation in the Face of Climate Change”) call for proposals.
Lead the conception of the SOLSTICE call
From August 2018, the networking platform led the strategic development of SOLSTICE on behalf of the BMBWF, which was developed on the basis of the above-mentioned white paper. New impetus was provided in the area of evaluation criteria and thematic focus (more details on SOLSTICE).
Initiation of a COST Action application
In close cooperation with the CSA SINCERE (Strengthening INternational Cooperation on climatE change Research), a COST Action application was initiated, in which the networking platform brought together the various stakeholders of the AG EST (submission: November 2020). The funded project SHiFT (“Social Sciences and Humantities for Transformation and Climate Resilience”) strengthens the international network of researchers in the field of human and social sciences in connection with climate change.