The timely need for SSHOC-CH

To advance knowledge production and innovation in the social sciences and humanities national research infrastructures are indispensable for the research community. While disciplinary difference regarding data types, technologies, methodologies, and research questions exist, it is also obvious that scholars from social sciences and humanities face similar challenges when it comes to complying with Open Science requirements. Moreover, the production, analysis and storage of the various types of data (such as survey data, text data, images, etc.) produced in the social sciences and humanities requires well-equipped infrastructure and up-to date expertise.

While in Switzerland, such infrastructure and expertise are available in the so-called national (i.e. FORS, SWISSUbase, DaSCH and LiRI) or local infrastructures (i.e. Collection Builder, Fondue, Geovistory, nodegoat, Année politique Suisse, swiss vote, histHub, dodis, metagrid, infoclio.ch), there is a lack of active exchange between these infrastructures. However, such an exchange is needed to synergize expertise, develop joint, uncomplicated solutions and to foster innovation in research. Moreover, such a joint endeavor will allow Switzerland to catch-up and compete with already existing European solutions.

Concretely, the vision is to:

• enable synergies and foster collaborations
• through cooperation, complement and enhance existing infrastructures
• provide a framework for new research infrastructures
• establish the link to SSHOC at the European level and to other national clusters

Read our White Paper (download here)

Proposed lines of action