International Forum on the Social Science – Policy Nexus (IFSP)

• Global
  Issues and Dynamics
• Social
  Policies
• Population
  and Migration
• Regional
  Integration
• Urban
  Policies and Decentralization

Buenos Aires: 27 workshops on
“Global Issues and Dynamics”

Globalization is a
fact in today’s world. However, the dynamics of globalization
differ widely: it benefits some but marginalizes and leaves
behind many others. How then can social scientists, NGOs, and
policy makers affect the process of globalization so that it
can accrue to the benefit of everyone, instead of dividing and
discriminating?

Under this broad theme, and taking
account of the interface between policy and research, the 27
workshops will address the nature and impact of globalization
(including trade and finance, information technology,
international migration, labor and employment, and poverty),
and paths towards improved global governance (international
norms and rules, and the role of international organizations,
the state, regional bodies, and civil societies and NGOs).

Buenos Aires: 36
workshops on “Social Policies”

Contemporary states
intervene ever more closely in the fabric of their societies
to promote public health, to target social benefits, to
address entrenched poverty, to adapt institutions and policies
to the implications of ageing populations or new modes of
education and knowledge. Such intervention requires detailed
knowledge of social situations and the ability to predict
their responses, as well as bridges between the inevitably
different agendas, languages, timeframes and evaluation
frameworks, and interests, of social scientists and policy
actors. The objective of the Forum is to understand how these
differences can be bridged so that social policy can be better
informed by social science.

The 36 workshops will
emphasize analysis of successes and failures in the use of
social science knowledge for policy in such areas as poverty
eradication, social integration, health, social insurance,
housing, employment and education. Better understanding of
what works and what fails is the basis of more accurate
scientific analysis of the social world and enhanced
capacities for action to address its most urgent ills in order
to contribute to achieve the Copenhagen commitments and the
Millennium Development goals.

Córdoba: 15 workshops on “Population and
Migration”

International migration and changing
population patterns have become major issues in social
transformations and political debates throughout the world. In
a context of economic globalization, flows of people have
diversified and now concern nearly all countries, whether as
sending, transit or receiving regions. The challenge for the
international community is to elaborate concrete and efficient
answers to the questions raised by international migration,
which includes above all migrants’ vulnerability and
violations of their human rights but also ways in which
movement of people may benefit both origin and destination
countries, and migrants themselves.

The 15 workshops
will address the core issues raised by contemporary migration
flows: forced migration and asylum, globalisation and
migrants’ transnational lives and identities, the cultural and
environmental impact of migration, the legal framework of
migration and migrants’ rights, intergovernmental and regional
cooperation in the elaboration of migration policies, and
scenarios for the future of migration. Several workshops will
address current demographic tendencies, including changing
family structures, and the ageing populations of many
countries. The presence of policy-makers, researchers and NGO
members will enable the development of new forms of
cooperation between policy and social sciences, with the
ambition of bringing better responses to today’s challenges.

Montevideo: 7 workshops
on “Regional Integration”

In recent years,
regional integration schemes of various kinds have been
proliferating in every region of the world. Effective regional
integration models can empower people and national governments
to better cope with, and benefit from, global economic forces.
These agreements can foster powerful links among commerce,
economic reform, development, investment, security and
democratization. However, at the same time, because of the
prevailing focus on economic issues, the social aspects of
regional integration tend to be ignored or lose out in terms
of priority. Moreover, regional integration raises interesting
and important questions for the sovereignty of national
governments.

With this in mind, the 7 workshops should
provide an opportunity for in-depth consideration of issues
such as the reasons for the resurgence of regional
integration, different models of regional integration,
concrete cases of successes and failures, how to strike a
better balance between the economic and social dimensions of
regional integration, and the relationship between the state
and regional integration schemes, all the while explicitly
taking into account the research-policy nexus.

Rosario: 14 workshops on “Urban Policies
and Decentralization”

Urban policies and
territorial development are testing grounds for the connection
between science, techniques and policies. As cities expand
worldwide, urban policies are becoming an essential element in
the territorial regulation of societies. Yet, paradoxically,
urban growth over the last 25 years, particularly in the
developing world, has gone hand in hand with forsaken
territorial planning, increasing basic deprivation and
worsening living conditions.