| During the ERA-NET Specific Support Action in 2004, The European Network of Research Councils in the Humanities (ERCH) has taken several initial steps towards large-scale cross-border coordination of research activities within the humanities. The network has now in cooperation with the European Science Foundation decided to continue the efforts under a new name: Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA). Building on the ERCH work, the HERA Coordination Action will be an extension of the network, in scope as well as depth. Firstly, the Consortium is being extended from three to fourteen members and, secondly, the range of activities is being widened to cover coordination of research activities, including the setting-up of joint research-funding initiatives. The main tasks of the CA will be:- Consolidation of the network by establishing new network structures and integrating new members.- Exchange of information and best practice on issues such as peer review, programme management, quality and impact assessment, and benchmarking.- The development of research infrastructures within the humanities, which will pave the way for greater efficiency and enable new perspectives by ensuring accessibility and availability for of data and information in the widest sense.-The ultimate objective of the CA-proposal is to coordinate research programmes in a cumulative process leading to the initiation of joint research-funding initiatives.By applying comparative perspectives to humanities research and enabling new transnational funding schemes, it will be possible to transcend the traditional, national focus of humanities research. |