Differentiation: Clustering Excellence

ended

The action ‘Differentiation: Clustering Excellence’ (DiCE) establishes a large research network designed to support policy decisions on EU differentiation. This CSA creates a unique cluster of excellence by bringing together, through their coordinators, the three successful H2020 sister projects on differentiation (EU3D, EU IDEA, InDivEU), which is amplified by the involvement of the TEPSA network and a strategy for including other experts plus UNEXE. DiCE’s overarching objective is to ensure that state-of-the-art research on differentiation is properly translated into policy-relevant advice and made readily accessible to policy-makers at European, national and regional levels of governance and society, better preparing the EU for future differentiation scenarios. The open and inclusive network will become the ‘Who’s Who’ of researchers working on differentiation and the dynamics of European integration. The three projects consist of 38 partner institutions (22 universities, 15 think tanks, 1 media partner) from across Europe involving more than 50 leading scholars and experts on differentiation. TEPSA’s presence in 35 European countries further enlarges the projects’ geographical scope. DiCE pursues a number of measurable, realistic and achievable objectives that are consistent with the call’s expectation of networking, knowledge exploitation and dissemination, and impact on EU policy-making. DiCE will: (a) create a network of experts on differentiation within and beyond Europe in an open and inclusive manner; (b) undertake a comprehensive stock-taking and synthesis of research including the production of a differentiation manual and portal; (c) map, synthesize and develop future scenarios on differentiation and test them at a scenario marathon; (d) improve the sustainability through a series of measures, including a link to Horizon Europe by working on concrete proposals for a fully-fledged think tank on differentiation with funding to be requested from the next Framework Programme.