The operational and programmatic activities (such as drafting working papers or designing calls for proposals) of JPI Climate are carried out by Action groups (AGs) and then adopted 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 leads the AG EST on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF).
Co-lead in developing the White Paper
Austria took on the co-lead in developing the JPI Climate White Paper on "Operationalising knowledge on and for societal transformations in the face of climate change". This strategy paper forms the basis for the medium-term planning of JPI Climate's funding activities in the area of the humanities and social sciences in relation to climate change research. Five thematic areas and two cross-cutting aspects were identified as having a high need for research and are set to guide calls for proposals in the coming years. In this regard, the White Paper also served as the foundation for the SOLSTICE ("Enabling Societal Transformation in the Face of Climate Change") call for proposals.
Leading the design of the SOLSTICE call for proposals
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 White Paper mentioned above. New impulses were introduced in the areas of evaluation criteria and thematic focus (more details on SOLSTICE).
Initiating a COST Action application
In close collaboration with CSA SINCERE (Strengthening INternational Cooperation on climatE change Research), a COST Action application was initiated, for which the networking platform brought together the various stakeholders of the AG EST (submission: November 2020). Through the funded project SHiFT ("Social Sciences and Humanities for Transformation and Climate Resilience"), the international network of researchers in the field of the humanities and social sciences in relation to climate change is being strengthened.