Social Sciences
Un investissement pour demain

SOCIAL SCIENCE, THE SCIENCE OF TODAY

"In today's world, competition is raging in research", said Thierry Mandon, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research, on the July 4th, 2016 during a meeting between researchers, institutional representatives, and figures from civil society. The objective of the meeting - to promote the contribution of social sciences (SHS) to social, economic, and political life.

From collective psychology and media studies to philosophy of communication and management of human resources, social sciences are interesting for both the private and public sectors. In public health, for instance, an interdisciplinary understanding of medical science and social sciences allows officials to improve the living conditions of a population, as well as reduce health disparities.

PROMOTING THE KNOW-HOW OF GRADUATES

However, holders of a master's degree in social sciences are less likely to find a job (81% up to 18 months after graduating) than their counterparts in hard sciences and law (86%) or economics (84%). The Insee also identified that the unemployment rate for doctors in social science is about 8% three years after their thesis defence, compared with 3 to 4% for engineers.

Many players in the field have taken action to change this. Take CVT Athéna, for example, which is a consortium for topical promotion. It was created in 2013 by public authorities to facilitate the bond between social science research laboratories and socioeconomic institutions, be they enterprises, communities or societies. To this end, CVT Athéna became a skill base for over 1,500 laboratories throughout France. The institution also acts as a promotional vehicle of social sciences, as it will, for example, at the May 2017 "Innovatives SHS" fair in Marseille.

Implementation of language processing for e-commerce, use of "Big Data", urban modelling using geography and informatics... social sciences are the vector of many innovations, benefiting society as a whole.

AN AMBITIOUS GOVERNMENT PLAN

Ten steps were announced on the 4th of July by the French Ministries of Education, of Higher Education and of Research to maintain this momentum. These steps are designed to encourage exchanges between universities offering careers in social science and the corporate world, and to create a "digital humanities" licence (a research sector rooted in both IT and in social science). Funding for research projects will also be granted.

During his closing speech, Thierry Mandon asked for an improved intervention on the part of politicians in favour of social sciences. He also mentioned his decision to strengthen the French graduate school École nationale d’administration (ENA, for National School of Administration) and its research.

Globalisation is also a major focus of development for social science research. To face the challenge, the Réseau français des instituts d’études avancées (RFIEA, for French Network of Advanced Studies) launched the website Fund it in May 2016, in collaboration with the Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH, for Centre of Social Science Foundation) and the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). The platform allows access to over 90 research missions in France and other countries, to over 40 means of financing of individual research projects, and to over 200 subsidies for collaborative projects.

[Photo credits]

Banner and body © MENESR