Director and President of the Board of the National Centre for Social Research (E.K.K.E.), 1999-2002. Towards a Vision

I am convinced that EKKE must play an enhanced role in strategic planning and the promotion of research areas arising from the development needs of the country, as well as in facilitating collaboration among research centres, universities, and bodies that institutionalise change.

In responding to the challenge of European integration, two closely related dimensions acquire particular political and social significance. First, the recognition and interpretation of national particularities. Second, research that contributes to the creation of institutions of self-governance in various spatial and social ‘spheres’.

In planning its presence and role in the new era, the organisation developed and launched an Operational Action Plan 2001–2006 in 2000. This initiative acquired particular social, political, and ideological significance because it connected the real needs of Greek citizens with research work and consequent policy formulation. It became abundantly clear that the research specifications and their implementation could not depend solely on the research opportunities provided by the European research area. Rather, they depend primarily on political will, national policies, and research strategies. Notably, there are no convincing indications that European policy has chosen flexibly adaptive funding geometry harmonised with the needs of individual countries. Networks of excellence should be developed to connect research institutions of varying scale in order to contribute more effectively to technological development and research activity at regional, national, and European levels. It remains, however, primarily the responsibility of national policies to implement appropriate changes suited to each country’s specific circumstances (See EKKE, ref. no. 764, 5/6/2001 – 1089, 11/9/2001 – 240, 6/3/2002, 303, 22/3/2002 – 333, 1/4/2002).

The response to the challenge of European integration requires dialogue, transparency of information, the ‘politicisation’ of science, participatory processes, strategic planning, and the selection of appropriate levels and sectors for application. To achieve this transformation, we require: new research culture and policy; an environment of institutional security; new frameworks of operation; networks between research centres and the public; new patterns of education and policy design; a strengthened role for media; processes of foresight and evaluation; and a new role for the private sector and businesses in forming technology transfer networks.

In connection with the above, we communicated our views to the General Secretariat of Research and Technology, research centres, universities, and other relevant bodies. We advocated for the necessity of strategically strengthening and financing the integration of social sciences across sectors of national importance—including health, welfare, education, social exclusion, rural development, and political and social institutions. This strategy necessarily entails multiple consequences for the country’s development planning, the restructuring of the productive base and service sectors, the development of technological innovation, and the modernisation process in general.

During this same period, in parallel with extensive horizontal research activity, the Institute of Social Policy of EKKE submitted a proposal and subsequently received Excellence funding for research on Poverty, Social Exclusion, and Social Inequalities.

Concurrently, I represented Greece at the European Science Foundation, served as a member of the ESF core group for the social sciences, and participated in a multitude of working groups and meetings. I subsequently shared and promoted these experiences through formal communications to EKKE, the National Institute of Research, and the General Secretariat for Research and Technology, informing their deliberations.