Twee Bilateral Agreements toegekend

17 februari 2010

Het Gebiedsbestuur Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen heeft een besluit genomen over de subsidievoorstellen in het Bilateral Agreementprogramma. Van de 35 behandelde aanvragen zijn er uiteindelijk 2 gehonoreerd.

Het Bilateral Agreementprogramma beoogt internationale onderzoekssamenwerking te bevorderen. De Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en NWO Maatschappij en gedragswetenschappen (MaGW) wil samenwerking tussen Nederlandse en Engelse wetenschappers bevorderen. Een Bilateral Agreement aanvraag is een gemeenschappelijk en samenhangend onderzoeksproject, dat wordt uitgevoerd in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en Nederland.

Hieronder vindt u een korte beschrijving van de twee gehonoreerde voorstellen.Voor meer informatie over de Bilateral Agreements kunt u contact opnemen met drs. Joris Voskuilen, tel. +31 (0)70 344 09 89, e-mail: j.voskuilen@nwo.nl

The politics of low carbon innovation: towards a theory of niche protection
dr. ir. R.P.J.M. Raven, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
Dutch and UK governments are committed to ambitious carbon reduction targets. This implies (among other things) a transition to (very) low carbon electricity systems. Evolutionary theories of change in technological systems consider incumbent systems as constituting a disadvantageous selection environment for low carbon alternatives. These alternatives develop in 'protected spaces' 'niches' shielded (temporarily) from full competition with the incumbent systems. Niches where real-world experimentation and innovation is successful create socio-technical practices capable of influencing their selection environment and competing with the incumbent systems. The principal outcome of our research will be to address a major oversight in niche theory and policy.We anticipate to find several dimensions of protection and increase our understanding of how they operate and evolve.

Selling genetic tests online: user perspectives on direct to consumer psychiatric genetic tests
prof. S.M.E. Wyatt, Universiteit Maastricht
This collaborative, interdisciplinary project will provide a timely empirical base for examining societal impacts of two technological developments which are now beginning to intersect: genetic testing and the internet. Specifically, the research will examine user perspectives (affected individuals, family members, advocates and health care providers) on direct to consumer (DTC) genetic testing using existing and imminent genetic tests for psychiatric disorders as an informative case study. The collaboration provides an innovative research approach to studying potential impacts of DTC genetic testing on consumers, knowledge production and healthcare systems, three areas in which potential impacts have been identified but for which little empirical base exists. This project critically examines the relationships between information, empowerment and geneticiziation with regard to genetics and mental illness, and seeks to assess the significant of DTC genetic testing in mediating this relationship.