NORFACE gives boost to European research on migration
03.04.2008
The ERA-NET project NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Co-operation in Europe) provides funding agencies and researchers in Europe with an opportunity to participate in new kinds of research endeavours in the social sciences.
In April–May 2008, NORFACE will step things up a notch and launch a call for proposals in its new €20-million research programme. “The theme is ‘Migration in Europe’. Selected projects will be funded with at most four million euros, and the maximum duration of the funded projects is four years,” says Programme Manager Eili Ervelä-Myréen from the Academy of Finland.
The deadline for outline proposals is 10 September 2008. The final funding decisions will be made in the spring of 2009, with projects scheduled to start in August 2009. “There’s also a possibility that the European Commission will allocate additional funding to migration research. Later this spring we’ll organise information events to inform the Finnish scientific community of the new programme.”
“As it’s a European research programme, each funded project should as a minimum include research teams from three different NORFACE countries,” Ervelä-Myréen explains.
Off to a cautious start
NORFACE is one of the ERA-NET projects coordinated by the Academy of Finland. “NORFACE has started modestly,” says Ervelä-Myréen. “The three previous years we’ve mostly funded various workshops and meetings, for example on migration and ageing in Europe as well as on how to better disseminate research knowledge on venture capital to decision-makers.”
NORFACE has also funded a three-year and €5.4-million research programme under the topic “Re-emergence of Religion as a Social Force in Europe?”.
Decision-making requires new knowledge
The new NORFACE research programme on migration receives funding from a common pot to which 13 national funding agencies have contributed, among them the Academy of Finland.
“The topic ties in well with comparative, multidisciplinary and complex research. I also hope that migration will be examined from the perspective of both society and individuals”, Ervelä-Myréen says.
An interesting addition to the research is that the countries in Europe are at very different stages in their migration policies. New research knowledge about migration in Europe is also needed as support for decision-making.
Economists and lawyers to join in
Immigration is at present a hot topic across Europe. Whereas the European Union needs immigrants to solve the shortage of labour, the EU countries want to examine migration more closely.
The EU is now home to more than 40 million resident immigrants, about 9 per cent of the total population. “I’d also very much like to see some fresh blood in migration research, economists and lawyers, for instance,” Ervelä-Myréen says.
What is intended is as much interaction as possible between the funded projects. “NORFACE is in the process of recruiting a director to be responsible for the new programme.”
Text: Tiina Ruulio
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