In mid-July, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) hosted the kick-off meeting for the German Research Foundation (DFG) infrastructure priority program 2431 "New Data Spaces for the Social Sciences". The event marked the official launch of the program, which aims to develop innovative research approaches and methods for, on and in addition to social science panel studies.
For two days, around 50 researchers from different fields of social and computer sciences met in Bamberg to network their research projects and explore opportunities for collaboration. The special feature of "New Data Spaces" is the emphasis on interdisciplinary and cross-institutional collaboration, which is intended to have a lasting impact on the future survey landscape. On the first day, each project gave a five-minute pitch, illustrating the diversity of research and projects funded under the priority program and their synergies. It became clear that there are overarching concerns of the projects and the program as a whole that will be addressed as part of the priority program.
The second day focused on practical aspects of collaboration and the challenges of the future survey landscape. After a welcome and introduction by Dr. Eckard Kämper, DFG Programme Director for the Humanities, Social and Behavioural sciences, the function and range of services of the Research Infrastructure and Innovation Lab (ENTAILab), managed by the initiators of the priority programme and designed as an overarching laboratory for the projects of the priority programme, but also for future research with complex and novel data, was presented. During the meeting, it became clear that the work packages in ENTAILab were well chosen. In particular, the pressing challenges posed by new types of data regarding data protection and data ethics are an important initial common starting point and were very well received by the participating projects.
Professor Cordula Artelt, spokesperson for the priority program "New Data Spaces", bid farewell to the participants after two days of intensive exchange: "This kick-off was the successful manifestation of a common spirit. It became clear that our approach and our services will not only meet the needs of individual projects, but that the priority program will make a decisive contribution to the further development of innovative data landscapes in longitudinal social science research as a whole. I would like to thank you all for your participation and contributions and look forward to seeing you again soon."
More information on the project is available at www.new-data-spaces.de
About "New Data Spaces for the Social Sciences"
In March 2023, the call for research projects in the new infrastructure priority program "New Data Spaces for the Social Sciences", which was established by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with a funding commitment of six years, was launched. The priority program aims to open up new data spaces for the social sciences and innovate the survey landscape in the long term. The program was initiated jointly by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS), Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) and Goethe University Frankfurt. The spokesperson for the priority program is Professor Cordula Artelt. The social sciences need innovative research data and methods to examine the major social challenges of the coming decades and to identify the need for policy action. The new infrastructure programme is therefore designed for the longer term and aims to consistently modernize social science databases and (data collection) methods.