ONCE-CS Thematic Research Schools

Key Objectives and Deliverables

The purpose of Work Package 3 of ONCE-CS is to support the development of a coherent set of Thematic Research Schools in Europe with an interdisciplinary focus on complex systems and a clear IST (Information, Society, and Technology) orientation. Good organisational models of the types of Schools we wish to encourage and support are provided by the Summer and/or Winter schools run by the Santa Fe Institute and at Les Houches. ONCE-CS support for Summer and Winter Schools can take three different forms:

1. ONCE-CS Community Building

2. ONCE-CS Accreditation

3. ONCE-CS Financial Support

Under the ONCE-CS Community Building initiative, local organisers are encouraged to provide details of relevant events for listing on the ONCE-CS website. Our aim is to make the ONCE-CS website a reliable and comprehensive source of information about education and training events, and to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts and scheduling conflicts. The ONCE-CS Accreditation initiative allows local organisers to submit the details of thematic research schools that they intend to run to the Scientific Steering Group of ONCE-CS for peer-review. Workshops accepted under this scheme will be publicised on the ONCE-CS website, and endorsed as an official ONCE-CS approved activity. The ONCE-CS Financial Support initiative enables ONCE-CS to provide financial support of up to 50% of the total costs for a select number of Thematic Research Schools that meet all the criteria outlined below and are endorsed following the review process.

Background

The main motivation for establishing Thematic Research Schools in Complex Systems is that many European universities and research institutions are currently still building experience and capacity in this new area, and hence can’t provide such training entirely in house. Also, interdisciplinary research in particular often needs to draw on knowledge and resources that cannot be found in any one institution. The summer (or winter) school format is an effective way to address these issues. There are three key objectives that ONCE-CS Schools should address. First, to augment existing research training for early stage researchers by the provision of new interdisciplinary courses. Second, to help integrate research and training in complex systems across Europe, and to create an interconnected cohort of doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. Third, to seed new research collaborations and training arrangements (such as co-supervision of doctoral students).

Accreditation and Financial Support for ONCE-CS Thematic Schools

Conditions and Procedures for Reviewing Proposals The conditions and procedures outlined here follow from the Description of Work (Annex I) of the ONCE-CS Contract, which is available for consultation from the ONCE-CS website.

Basic conditions which any submitted proposal will need to satisfy:

(1) Thematic Research Schools should make a significant contribution to education and research training in Europe, should exhibit an interdisciplinary focus on Complex Systems, and reflect the importance of information and communication technology in Complex Systems research.

(2) The minimal duration for a ONCE-CS School will be one week, and the maximum duration four weeks.

(3) ONCE-CS Thematic Research Schools must be genuinely interdisciplinary, and proposals that restrict themselves to one core discipline will not be supported under any circumstances. The requirement for interdisciplinarity applies both to the proposed group of lecturers who will deliver the teaching material at Thematic Research Schools, and to the strategies of the organisers to ensure a good disciplinary mix among workshop participants.

(4) Proposals should have a clearly articulated strategy for attracting and supporting early stage researchers (i.e. postgraduate students and early stage post-docs).

(5) Proposals should include dissemination plans which indicate how the course material can be made available more widely following the Thematic Research School. Organisers are strongly encouraged to try to ensure that the course material can be made available free of charge, and the ONCE-CS website should be used for this purpose.

(6) ONCE-CS will typically only cover up to 50% of the costs of any Thematic Research School, so all proposals must demonstrate the ability to secure significant amounts of local, regional, or national funding and/or support from industry.

Information required for any proposal:

(1) Organisers (including institutional affiliation and 5 indicative publications)

(2) Date and location of proposed Thematic Research School

(3) Topic and motivation for Thematic Research School

(4) Preliminary programme and indication how the Thematic Research School will be structured

(5) Tentative list of invited lecturers (including 5 indicative publications for each lecturer)

(6) Indication of likely participants (expected number, relevant disciplines, geographical origin)

(7) Plans for publicising the School, and subsequent dissemination

(8) Draft budget with an indication of funding from other sources

Reviewing process:

(1) All proposals will initially be screened by the Thematic Research Schools Work Package Leader (Felix Reed-Tsochas, Oxford), to see if they meet the stipulated formal criteria.

(2) Under normal circumstances proposals that meet the formal criteria will be forwarded to 2 referees for review. Reviewers are requested to respond within 3 weeks.

(3) Felix Reed-Tsochas will inform the ONCE-CS Management Committee of the outcome of the reviewing process, and the decision that has been reached as a result of the referees’ reports.

(4) Successful proposals will be publicised on the ONCE-CS website.