• Governance of the A section
• Overarching conceptual issues of the data collection
• Guidelines and policies for the A section
• Delegation of issues to be decided upon by the Core Group
• Questions raised by the Data Collection group

Alexander Polte defends his PhD Proposal:
The role of international relations in global public health policy dynamics

Informed consent is usually an ethical and legal requirement for social research, and researchers are expected to obtain consent from people to participate in research and for the use of the information collected. Yet, with the new EU General Data Protection Regulation, the legal framework for informed consent has changed considerably. In this workshop, Jan-Ocko Heuer from Qualiservice will deal with key issues regarding informed consent for research and data storing/sharing with Qualiservice (the Research Data Centre for qualitative data from social research currently implemented at the SOCIUM). Topics include: legal framework; core principles of consent; formats for consent; when to seek consent; informing participants; consent in special cases; consent forms; withdrawing consent. It is recommended that from each (qualitative) research project that plans to archive data at Qualiservice, one researcher should attend the workshop. Registration is not required.

The more the Internet innervates contemporary societies, the more Internet Governance emerges as an important and controversial global policy domain. Notwithstanding the crucial relevance of the issues at stake within this domain, and the long-standing and multifaceted debate around them, there is still a total lack of consensus about how to define Internet Governance, and an ample margin of ambiguity regarding both the concept of governance and the technical "boundaries" of the Internet.

These definitional uncertainties and conceptual ambiguities are not due to the inability of scholars and policy-makers in grasping the essential contours of an emerging policy field, nor to the fast pace of technological innovations. Rather, they depend on the highly controversial nature of political dynamics and institutions involved into this relatively new power arena. Since the early 1990s, in fact, different actors have been producing different definitions, conceptualisations and narratives of Internet Governance, in order to mark off specific sets of legitimated issues, actors and fora. In other words, definitions and discourses have been strategically used as regulative resources by actors struggling for the governance of the Internet.

The lecture will address definitional struggles and discursive interactions in the global Internet governance from a constructivist perspective. Particularly, drawing upon Maarten Hajer's discourse coalition framework, the main controversies around Internet governance issues will be scrutinised as they unfolded through time. Further, some mapping exercises of discourse coalitions in specific fora will be presented, and the hypothesis about an ongoing decline of the "multistakeholderist" discursive order will be discussed.

There will be two workshops running in parallel (one for project area A, and one for project area B) roughly until 4 pm, followed by a lecture addressing all CRC members.

Details on the workshops, lecture as well as the exact schedule and venues will follow in due time.

Recent theoretical and methodological developments in the social sciences converge into the approach of "mechanism-based explanation". Originating from different disciplines such as analytical sociology, political sociology, comparative historical analysis and qualitative research in political science, mechanism-based approaches stress that phenomena cannot fully be explained by correlations between variables: Causal mechanisms are the "cogs and wheels" that scholars come across when opening the "black box" of correlations.

Despite the expanding literature on this topic, two deficits have not been resolved so far:

1. There is no convincing compilation of mechanisms that drive social and political processes. Previous proposals for a comprehensive list of mechanisms collect elements of very different scales and levels. There is no shared understanding on what level (micro, meso, macro) mechanisms should be allocated and what elements a mechanism should have to count as a mechanism.
2. There is also a lack of systematic applications of mechanism-based approaches to an entire policy field. So far, mechanism-based approaches have primarily been used in single case studies or comparative case studies with a limited scope and range. Adopting a mechanism-based approach for studying the transnational dynamics of an entire policy field might be a decisive test for the fruitfulness of mechanism-based approaches.

This conference aims to stimulate discussion on the characteristics of causal mechanisms, and to establish a closer link between these concepts and the study of social policy dynamics.

Confirmed speakers so far:
Renate Mayntz (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies)
James Mahoney (Northwestern University)
Peter Starke (University of Southern Denmark)

Download: Call for Papers

Call for Papers

For a combined, three-day event we invite proposals for papers on "International Knowledge Transfer in Social Policy: The Case of the Post-Soviet Region". The event takes place from 7-9 November 2019 in Bremen (Germany).

It begins with a two-day conference on "Causal Mechanisms in the Analysis of Social Policy Dynamics" in the House of Science in Bremen. Confirmed keynote speakers are: Renate Mayntz (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies), James Mahoney (Northwestern University), and Peter Starke (University of Southern Denmark).

On the third day there will be a workshop on "International knowledge transfer in social policy: The case of the post-Soviet region". Participants selected from this call are invited to join the conference and to present their papers at the third-day workshop, which takes place at the Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen on 9 November 2019. It intends to complement the conference on causal mechanisms with the discussion of research on dynamics of international knowledge transfer in social policy in the post-Soviet region. Special emphasis is made on the policy fields of basic income security (alleviating poverty), health care and education.

The workshop aims to bring together approaches from political science, sociology and other relevant academic disciplines to get a more comprehensive picture of the influence of social policy concepts originating in the OECD world on reform processes in the post-Soviet region and of the role that international actors play in this knowledge transfer. The focus of invited papers should always be on the international knowledge transfer and on the domestic evaluation of these social policy concepts.

Deadline for proposals: 30 April 201

Deadline for the submission of paper proposals is 30 April 2019. In addition to a 300 word abstract, please include a brief biographical statement in your submission. Selected paper-givers will be invited by 31 May 2019. Full papers will be due 15 September 2019.

The workshop will involve around 15 scholars; early-career researchers are especially encouraged to apply. Travel expenses and accommodation costs of invited participants will be covered by the organiser. For further information on our research group, visit our website.

We plan to publish selected workshop papers in a special issue of Global Social Policy.

Paper proposals and any questions should be addressed to:
Dr Andreas Heinrich (heinrich@uni-bremen.de)

Have you ever struggled with a team member, who doesn’t seem motivated? Do you sometimes wonder how to lead without formal authority? Or do you feel "stuck in the middle" between your boss and the team you are leading as a postdoc?

Leading teams in the academic context is a challenging task. It can be inspiring and stressful at times. Some insights into communication and leadership skills can make a difference, for you personally and for your team.

This one and a half day training was designed to support those in prospective leadership positions with some insights and helpful leadership approaches to expand their skill set and gain suggestions for concrete situations at hand. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• Understanding structural aspects of leading from a "sandwich" position
• Defining and clarifying one’s role and mandate as well as expectations
• Leadership styles and Situational Leadership
• Understanding social systems and team-development
• Building a network and support system
• Handling tricky situations from real life examples

The training will consist of short inputs, lots of practical exercises and experience sharing. We strongly recommend that participants come prepared with some real life situations and questions that will serve as a basis for practice and discussions.

Participation in both days is required.

Dr. Anette Hammerschmidt is a trainer and coach in the academic field as well as in the business world with over 20 years of experience.

Her main expertise lies in leadership topics as well as organizational and team-development, intercultural cooperation and self-leadership.

The advanced PhD and early postdoc years are essential for academic career development. During this period, scientists are often torn between conflicting priorities of intellectual independence, on the one hand, and meeting professional obligations towards their employers, on the other hand. Postdoctoral candidates are expected to develop an independent publication record, apply for external funding, create a distinct research profile, build a teaching portfolio, communicate their research, build a network, undertake research stays abroad, etc. etc. Which of these tasks are particularly important? What are the top priorities? How important is the habilitation? Which time frame is appropriate and compatible with my personal private priorities? Is an academic career what I really want?

The first part of the seminar will be dedicated to learning about and evaluating the various requirements for a long-term career in academia. Based on this, the participants will review their current academic profiles. Following this reflection, they will develop and specify their next goals and the major steps towards qualifying for a long-term academic career.