Thematic Activities and Seed-Funded Research

Thematic Activities and Seed-Funded Research

Faculty, together with postdoctoral researchers and/or doctoral students in CIVICA universities (Bocconi, CEU, EUI, Hertie School, IE, LSE, Sciences Po, SGH, SNSPA, SSE) were invited to submit proposals for ‘thematic activities’ and/or ‘research proposals for seed funding’. The call aims to foster collaborative activities, to further existing links or to establish new ones. 

Six projects were selected for funding in the first round.

List of selected projects

  • Advancing Climate Economics: A Catalyst for Sustainable Development (ACE)
  • The EU’s Area of Freedom Security and Justice in the Digital Age (AFSJ 3.0)
  • Citizenship in the Global Struggles for Democracy (CITDEM 2.0)
  • Family Dynamics and Social Inequality: A Global Perspective (FDSI)
  • Knowledge and Informal Diplomacy: the Transformative Impact of CIVICA on Global Challenges (KIND)
  • Political Behavior and Institutions Revolving Conference (PoBI)

Project description

The proposed Climate Economics Conference, scheduled for September 2024, aims to accelerate advancements in climate economics by bringing together leading scholars, practitioners, and policymakers. This thematic activity addresses the urgency of understanding the economic implications of climate change and devising effective strategies for mitigation and adaptation, especially in light of new advancements within the literature. The conference will provide a platform for discussing the latest research, exchanging ideas, and tackling emerging challenges in this rapidly evolving field. This project will be part of the Societies in Transition, Crises of Earth thematic priority. 

Institutions involved 

  • Bocconi university

  • IE University

  • SSE

  • LSE

Project description

The AFJS 3.0 conference will be hosted at the EUI in the autumn term of 2024 for two days, and will bring together esteemed professors and researchers from CIVICA partner institutions to discuss their research on the EU's Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice (AFJS) in the dynamic landscape of the digital age. The conference will cover migration and asylum law, as well as criminal justice and security. The conference will serve as a vibrant forum, focusing on common themes such as securitisation, data usage, artificial intelligence, emerging actors, and new fundamental rights questions. Our goal is to facilitate an exchange of cutting-edge research among partner institutions, fostering collaboration and collectively shaping a forward-looking research agenda. This project falls under the thematic priotities Europe Revisited and Data-Driven Techonologies for the Social Sciences.

Institutions involved

  • Bocconi university
  • CEU
  • EUI
  • Hertie School
  • Sciences Po
  • SGH Warsaw School of Economics
  • LSE

Project description

The proposal builds on the CIVICA Research Project Contestations of citizenship in contexts of democratic backsliding: lessons from post-communist Europe (CITDEM). The CITDEM 2.0 workshop connects the research agendas on democratic development and citizenship regimes worldwide.

The two-day CITDEM 2.0 workshop will gather scholars from the participating CIVICA institutions in conversation with colleagues from across the world to reflect on the implications of the linkages between citizenship and the unfulfilled promise of democracy. Alongside the original focus on the so-called ‘Global East’ in the previous CITDEM project, papers presented at the workshop will highlight struggles for citizenship and democracy in the ‘Global North’ as well as the ‘Global South’, which have, so far, received limited scholarly attention. Ten comparative and case studies presented at the workshop zooming in on the Balkans, Central Asia, Central Europe, East Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe, the Gulf states, and Southeast Asia will reflect a range of contestations of citizenship resulting from the rise of populism and authoritarianism across a range of (formerly, or occasionally) democratic contexts around the globe.

This workshop is organised under the Democracy in the 21st Century thematic priority. 

Institutions involved

  • CEU
  • EUI
  • LSE

Project description

    This workshop addresses the global intersections of evolving family formation and social inequality. The workshop adopts a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating sociology, demography, economics, political sciences and statistics. It focuses on how growing family diversity (such as increase in single-parenthood, step- and same-sex families) are influenced by cultural and social factors. Further, it addresses how these dynamics influence the well-being of family members. This project falls under the thematic priotities Europe Revisited and Socieities in Transition, Crises of Earth.

    Find out more >>

    Institutions involved

    • Bocconi university
    • EUI
    • Hertie School
    • Sciences Po
    • LSE

    Project description

    This one and a half day workshop aims to unravel and delve into the specific ways in which CIVICA functions as informal diplomatic actor. The workshop will combine informative academic presentations, self-reflective roundtables and interactive activities. The workshop will deliver a report, a research-led projects showcase, and a documentation of seed ideas. A participant directory will facilitate ongoing collaboration, while communication includes blog articles for wider dissemination within the CIVICA community. This project falls under the thematic priorities Democracy in the 21st CenturySocieties in Transition, Crises of Earth; Europe Revisited and Data-Driven Technologies for Social Sciences.

    Find out more >>

    Institutions involved

    • Bocconi university 
    • CEU
    • EUI
    • SGH Warsaw School of Economics
    • LSE

    Project description

    Building off the success of the first PoBI conference, the second edition will take place at the EUI in Florence at the end of May. We aim to provide the opportunity for both bonding and bridging among a community of researchers of different levels of seniority, working on similar research themes and questions. Such a conference also provides great networking opportunities to junior researchers soon to be entering the academic labour market. In short, connecting political behavior researchers across the CIVICA institutions can result into a powerful research hub that is bound to give room to very interesting research projects. This project falls under the Democracy in the 21st Century thematic priority. 

    Read more >>

    Institutions involved

    • Bocconi university
    • CEU
    • EUI
    • Hertie School
    • IE University
    • SNSPA
    • Sciences Po