News from the SSH centre: Empowering cross-sectoral collaboration for more sustainable cities

News

Climate, Energy & Natural Resources

13 Dec 2024

Friends of Europe is part of the consortium for the SSH CENTRE project, the new centre of excellence for the social sciences & humanities (SSH) across the Horizon Europe Cluster 5: Climate, Energy and Mobility. It will bring SSH insights to the fore in transition-related policy and practice to accelerate the EU’s transition towards carbon neutrality.

Supported by 13 leading organisations from across Europe, the project engages directly with stakeholders – including researchers, policymakers, business representatives and citizens – to strengthen social innovation, SSH-STEM collaboration and transdisciplinary policy advice. Issues related to open science, inclusivity and diversity – especially with regards southern and eastern Europe and different career stages – are at the heart of the project.

The SSH CENTRE project aims to ensure that the concerns of citizens aren’t left behind and that SSH thinking is introduced to policymakers working on the European Green Deal.

The SSH centre is thrilled to share the success of their Knowledge Brokerage online course, which has attracted nearly 50 participants within the first five weeks of its launch. Another free course for researchers and policy professionals has just been released. The Social Science and Humanities (SSH) Knowledge Brokerage programme will equip participants with the skills to transform complex sustainability ideas into practical solutions for city-level policymakers. By enrolling, participants can learn how to unlock the power of Knowledge Brokerage – the set of activities required to support the interaction among researchers and end-users to foster the use of scientific knowledge in decisionmaking processes, and strengthen research impact.

Co-developed by Energy Cities and hosted on the Local Transitions learning platform, the training is made of two lessons, both of which are already available. Through short videos and interactive activities, people will gain skills to foster impactful collaborations.

A short, engaging course to upskill your competencies while optimising your time

What participants will learn in a nutshell:

Why Social Sciences and Humanities is important for sustainability policy
Recognise the key challenges policy workers face in their daily roles
Avoid common mistakes in the research-policy interface
Identify what knowledge brokerage is, and what it is not!
Decide what type of knowledge broker you want to be
Choose appropriate brokerage activities depending on the resources available
Overcome challenges in real-life knowledge brokerage challenges
Overall, you will be able to plan and implement knowledge brokerage initiatives better!

Are you interested in joining the training? Enrol here by 20 December to have at least four weeks to complete the learning tasks and gain certification.

This course was developed in the framework of the EU-funded project Social Sciences and Humanities for Climate, Energy and Transport Research Excellence. The project supports cross-sector collaborations and empowers citizens and networks to develop socially innovative solutions for the EU’s climate transition. Find out more here.

This article is a contribution from a member or partner organisation of Friends of Europe.