I am interested in understanding the meaning people attach to the environment and the way in which this meaning is conveyed in (policymaking) interactions. I think that social interactions are always embedded in a social environment, which is why I prefer qualitative methods because of their contextual nature. Nonetheless, I believe that the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods can deliver fruitful results. This forms the basis for my openness to collaboration with quantitative-oriented scholars within my discipline, as well as scholars from other disciplines. In addition, teaching represents an important part of my scholarly identity.

S4D4C

Using Science for/in Diplomacy for Adressing Societal Challenges

Science diplomacy can be described, in its broadest sense, as all those activities that span the spheres of science, on the one hand, and diplomacy, on the other. Science advice to multilateral climate negotiations is one example, seeing international research infrastructures as a bridge for foreign relations is another. Activities and research around the topic of science diplomacy have increased since the seminal 2010 AAAS/Royal Society Report “New frontiers in science diplomacy“. The European Union is interested in finding its own way and style of science diplomacy.

This is why the EU funds three projects looking into the subject. The first, EL-CSID, ended in early 2019. It collected evidence on EU science diplomacy and provided conceptual groundwork investigating EU actors in science diplomacy. As of 2018, two additional projects will support the development of an EU science diplomacy: InsSciDE, coordinated by Sorbonne University, and S4D4C, coordinated by the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI). In S4D4C, we make use of case-based research to develop a governance framework for EU science diplomacy, training and capacity-building measures as well as online knowledge resources for science diplomats.

The task of supporting the development of EU science diplomacy is exciting for a number of reasons. For instance, the multi-level governance system of the EU, with its regional, national and supranational layers, offers both challenges and opportunities: coordinating Member State activities can be difficult, but the supranational EU layer can also offer added value (in certain topics, for certain groups of Member States, etc). Besides these governance aspects, there are developments in the EU research landscape as well as in its foreign policy institutions that can be harnessed for an effective science diplomacy: open science, public diplomacy, etc. S4D4C is set up to harness these opportunities.