At the end of January 2026, Julia Leventon, Tereza Prášilová, Vendula Kubušková and Vojtěch Gerlich from the Department of Social Processes and Sustainability at CzechGlobe travelled to Brussels for the final conference of the Horizon Europe project SSH CENTRE – Social Sciences and Humanities for Climate, Energy and Transport Research Excellence. Over two intensive days, we concluded 3.5 years of collaboration, reflected on our joint outputs, and contributed to discussions on the future of European research and innovation.
Day 1: Consortium meeting and Roundtable on the Research and Innovation Agenda
The first day was dedicated to the SSH CENTRE consortium meeting at Mundo Madou in Brussels. The session provided a valuable opportunity to discuss finalisation strategies, positioning of articles, and remaining submission plans.
The afternoon continued with a high-level roundtable, bringing together current and former representatives of DG RTD and CINEA, alongside project partners. The discussion centred on the Research and Innovation Agenda (RIA) developed by the CzechGlobe team within SSH CENTRE.
The RIA proposes five enabling conditions for overcoming fragmentation and strengthening meaningful SSH integration in climate, energy and mobility research, addressing structural and procedural aspects of Framework Programme funding. The roundtable provided space for informed reactions from policymakers working within the institutional realities of Horizon Europe.
The debate was constructive and substantive, engaging directly with questions of topic drafting, SSH championing within Commission processes, responsibilities for integration, and the broader framing of competitiveness and simplification in EU research policy. A reflection drawing on this exchange has been prepared as an addendum to the RIA. We will publish both the RIA and the Reflections in the coming weeks, so follow our blog closely!
Day 2: From SSH CENTRE to the next Framework Programme
On 28 January, we joined the Shared Green Societies launch event, organised by our sister project, strengthening connections across initiatives working at the interface of social sciences, sustainability and policy. The event provided a broader platform to situate SSH CENTRE’s findings within ongoing debates on green transitions and social innovation.
In the evening, the SSH CENTRE final public event – “Shaping the next European research and innovation framework” – brought the project to a close. The debate addressed a pressing question: as the next EU Framework Programme (2028–2034) takes shape, how can Europe better connect technological advances with the social, economic and political realities that determine their impact?
Speakers and participants reflected on the evaluation of Horizon Europe, the role of SSH in addressing societal consequences of disruptive technologies, and the need for more integrated approaches that combine STEM and SSH from the outset. The discussion highlighted that competitiveness, sustainability, democratic legitimacy and social trust are deeply interconnected – and that SSH expertise is essential in shaping research priorities, innovation pathways and policy translation.
Looking ahead
SSH CENTRE has generated a substantial body of evidence on the structural challenges of SSH integration, practical experiences from interdisciplinary “epistemic experiments”, and concrete proposals for improving Framework Programme design.
As we move towards the next research and innovation framework, the question is how to embed it meaningfully within European research structures. We look forward to continuing this dialogue – through forthcoming publications, new collaborations, and engagement with policymakers at European and national levels.
Visit also the project website: https://sshcentre.eu/
SustainableCZ 
Leave a comment