TSER and the epistemic community of European social Researchers

Investigates the relationship between European Commission policy & social research, focusing particularly on the Targeted Socio-Economic Research (TESR) of the European Commission's Fourth Framework Programme (1994-1998) & the role of the epistemic community. The article addresses Area II on education & training & Area III on social inclusion & exclusion. The European knowledge-based community provides scientific knowledge for the basis of policy decisions & plays a role in setting policy agendas as well as in policy formation. Three calls for research proposals are analyzed to identify the selection of the epistemic community. The European Commission identified research tasks, introduced three transverse themes, & emphasized the goal of applied research to the European Union (EU) context. The research demonstrates four crucial points: (1) the European Commission directs research to certain areas; (2) findings of the epistemic community influence policy, allowing the Commission to be independent; (3) epistemic community justifies research findings & validates policy formation; & (4) transversality helps to construct a multidisciplinary approach to European Union (EU) problems. It is concluded that this research on epistemic community selection holds important implications for policy formation & implementation. 6 Tables, 27 References. T. Noland