Welcome to the ISSC Newsletter
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Science for the future: the latest on the ISSC-ICSU Transition Planning Process
Just over a month ago, at a joint General Assembly of the ISSC and International Council for Science (ICSU), members of the ISSC and ICSU agreed, in principle, to pursue a merger between the two organizations. The vote was a resounding endorsement for the two organizations' executives to take the next steps in developing a joint vision and structure for a new, merged organization that convenes the collective strengths of ISSC and ICSU to increase the role and impact of science at the global level. Members of both organizations attending the General Assembly - virtually and in-person - mandated a Transition Task Force (TTF) to develop detailed plans towards this end. They further agreed that a Strategy Work Group (SWG) should be appointed to develop a high-level, broad strategy for a new, merged organization.
As the next step in the Transition Planning Process, the Presidents of ISSC and ICSU have written to members with an outline of an overall planning process, and a call for nominations of members to the TTF and SWG. All members for the two groups need to be nominated by an ICSU or ISSC member, and nominations are requested by December 15 2016.
You can access all documentation relating to the Transition Planning Process - now and in the future - on the ISSC website. There'll be regular opportunities to check in with us about the process and ask questions, and we'll keep in touch with the main updates in these newsletters.
The outputs of the TTF and SWG will be submitted to ICSU and ISSC members for discussion and approval during their next joint meeting, which will be held on 25 and 26 October 2017 in Taipei. The final decision on whether or not to merge the two organizations will only be taken during this meeting.
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What are the impacts of warming at 1.5°C? What would 1.5°C warming mean for responding to climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty? And what kind of social science research is needed to help answer these questions? Catch up with our recent webinar on opportunities for social science in the forthcoming Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the impacts of global warming 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways.
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The third Transformative Knowledge Workshop to take place under the ISSC's Transformations to Sustainability (T2S) programme was hosted by the partners of the PATHWAYS network at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, from 5 to 8 November 2016.
The workshop involved representatives of all the Transformative Knowledge Networks (TKNs), and was a chance to deepen connections between the TKN projects and partners and build skills in managing complex projects. Participants took advantage of the location and moment to learn about transformational change from the struggles and successes of social movements in India, and from the knowledge collected in the recently published World Social Science Report 2016, “Challenging Inequalities: Pathways to a Just World”. One day of the workshop included a launch of the World Social Science Report and a seminar focusing on the intersection between the themes of the Report and the T2S programme – inequalities, transformational change and sustainability. A full report will be included in a future newsletter.
The four-day workshop was hosted by partners of the PATHWAYS network at Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Indian Council for Social Science Research (ICSSR), with the support of the German Research Foundation (DFG). The T2S programme is supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agenda (Sida).
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Did you miss the 'On the Move: Global Migrations, Challenges and Responses' conference that took place on the fringes of our recent General Assembly? Watch plenary speakers such as Saskia Sassen and Anna Triandafyllidou in the video recording available now. The conference also included parallel sessions focussing on migrations in different regions of the world, with presentations from a number of our World Social Science Fellows. You can find their presentations and those of other speakers on SlideShare.
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What's the role of education in addressing inequalities and injustices? Professor Marius Busemeyer explores the links between skills and inequality in a recorded keynote address to celebrate the presentation of the 2015 Stein Rokkan Prize. Listen now. The 2015 Stein Rokkan Prize was awarded to Busemeyer for his book Skills and Inequality: Partisan Politics and the Political Economy of Education Reforms in Western Welfare States (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Nominations for the 2017 prize are open - see below.
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A new prize is offering US$100,000 and a book deal with Cambridge University Press to whoever can best answer the question ‘Are digital technologies making politics impossible?’ The Nine Dots Prize is designed to promote and encourage innovative thinking to address problems facing the modern world. Its heartland is in the social sciences, but entries from all disciplines are encouraged. The Prize will be judged anonymously by a board of internationally recognized academics, authors, journalists and thinkers. Apply by January 31 2017.
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Co-design in practice on the agenda for the Future Earth European Alliance workshop
The ISSC contributed to this year's European regional workshop for Future Earth, with Vivi Stavrou giving a plenary talk on locating transdisciplinary (TD) research within integrated science. The two-day workshop included discussion on what TD is, when TD is relevant and appropriate, and what some of the challenges of TD are. Watch the video.
Pre-Announcement: An International Call for Proposals on Transformations to Sustainability (T2S)
The Belmont Forum and NORFACE network, in cooperation with the ISSC, are launching a call for proposals for international, transdisciplinary projects addressing transformations to sustainability, based on the ISSC’s existing T2S programme. The official launch of the call for outline proposals is expected in mid-December 2016.
Call for nominations: 2017 Stein Rokkan Prize
The ISSC, ECPR (European Consortium for Political Research), and the University of Bergen are pleased to announce that the nomination process for the 2017 Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research is now open. The prize is open to works in comparative studies from all social science disciplines. Nominated works can be an unpublished manuscript of book length, a printed book, or collected works published no more than two years before the award year. The winner receives a diploma and a $5000 award. Nominations should be made before February 15 2017.
Two decades' discourse about globalizing social sciences – concepts, strategies, achievements
A call for abstracts or full papers has been issued by organizers of an international scientific conference taking place at Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran, between April 26 and 27 2017. The conference will reflect on what has been learned from two decades' discourse about the globalisation of the social sciences, and many other questions about what globalizing social sciences are or should be. A call for abstracts or full papers is open until December 15 2016.
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Vacancies
Executive Secretary, CODESRIA (Re-advertising)
The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites applications from suitably qualified senior African scholars for the position of Executive Secretary in its pan-African Secretariat located in Dakar, Senegal. This position, which will fall vacant in 2017, is the most senior management post in the Executive Secretariat. The successful candidate will be expected to function as the leader of the institution and a diverse team of staff under the overall supervision of the Executive Committee of the Council.
All applications must be received by December 5th 2016.
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Dates for your diary
2016 Nairobi Conference on Earth System Governance: "Confronting Complexity and Inequality"
Starts: December 7, 2016
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
State, Sovereignty and Social Space in the Arab Region: Emerging Historical and Theoretical Approaches” The Arab Council for the Social Sciences Third Conference
Starts: March 10, 2017
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Ethnografilm Festival
Starts: April 11 2017
Location: Paris, France
WorldSSH Net Conference: "Two Decades' discourse about Globalising Social Sciences - Concepts, Strategies, Achievements"
Call for abstracts open - submit by December 15, 2016
Starts: April 26 2017
Location: Tehran, Iran
Globalization, Growth and Sustainability – 18th World International Economic Association (IEA) Congress
Call for papers open - submit by November 30, 2016
Starts: June 19 2017
Location: Santa Fe, Mexico
Transformations 2017
Starts: August 30, 2017
Location: Dundee, UK
Depths and Surfaces: Understanding the Antarctic Region through the Humanities and Social Sciences
Call for papers open - submit by March 3, 2017
Starts: July 5, 2017
Location: Hobart, Tasmania
POLAR 2018 - Joint SCAR and IASC conference
Call for session proposals open - submit by November 30, 2016
Starts: June 19, 2018
Location: Davos, Switzerland
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