Review of the Research Institute for History and - Universiteit Utrecht

B 6. Processes in research, internal and external collaboration
According to its mission, OGC produces and promotes high-quality research in the humanities. To this end,
OGC provides an institutional context for the exchange of ideas between researchers associated with the
institute, supports the interaction of its members with researchers outside Utrecht, helps initiate new research,
and trains young researchers in the humanities. The following sections elucidate the way the different elements
listed here have been put into practice during the past eight years.
Planning and Control within the Programmes
OGC’s 10 research groups formulate their own research agenda, in consultation with OGC management
and the national research schools. These have been discussed at length in part A of this report. Every OGC
researcher of the institute is subsumed under one of the ten programmes. Over a fi ve-year planning period
OGC guarantees a specifi ed number of PhD positions for each programme. This number is formally agreed
with the national research schools. Monitoring and assessment of research outcomes take place in a variety
of contexts. (1) The chairs have primary responsibility for the contents and quality of the research within
their group. Every year, the chairs should have a so-called task assessment interview (resultaat- en ontwikkelingsgesprek)
with each individual member in their group, which also covers research output and planning.
PhD-projects are monitored by chairs, in their capacity as supervisors, as well as by the OGC PhD-consultant
and management. (2) The great majority of faculty (permanent and temporary) participate in national
research schools. Every fi ve years, the ECOS (Evaluation Committee of Research Schools) committee of the
Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences evaluates their quality. (3) Since 1997, research data (input and output)
have been registered in METIS, a nationwide research database. Every year, OGC publishes an annual report
that includes all research results and activities.
Collaborative activities
The broad area of research covered by OGC enables researchers of the various programmes to participate
in joint activities. The Scenarios for the Humanities programme (1999-2003) was deliberately conceived
to stimulate such collaboration across programme boundaries. The programme aimed to contribute to the
debate on the current state and societal role of the humanities. The University Board subsidized this programme
with a total of 455,000 euro for a period of fi ve years. Within the framework of this programme
OGC research groups worked on such themes as The Challenge of Modernity, Managing Art and Architecture as
Representations of the Past, Mediated Cultures, Emancipating Cultures. Within the programme fi ve PhD –projects
were initiated, eight symposia and masterclasses were organized, and faculty was supported to apply for NWO
funding. This programme has, however, also hinted at the limitations of such interdisciplinary work. The
most interesting results, at the end of the day, were still achieved within traditional disciplinary contexts. A
structural collaboration between various disciplines requires much time and effort. Needless to say, OGC will
continue to promote interdisciplinary research. Indeed, the Humanities Research Center that we hope to set
up in the near future will not only aim to bring more visiting researchers to Utrecht, but should also provide
a stimulus for interdisciplinary debates and collaborative work.
The BINT research programme (on Dutch Trade and Industry in the 20 th Century) is a collaboration
between the Universities of Eindhoven (TUE), Rotterdam (EUR), Amsterdam (UvA), Utrecht (UU) and the
International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam (IISG), and is coordinated by OGC.
European Projects
The Gender Studies programme of OGC has been particularly active, and successful, in applying for
European Union funding.
• The research projects Employment and Women’s Studies: The Impact of Women’s Studies Training on Women’s
Employment in Europe and Gender and Relationships in Europe at the turn of the Millennium: Women as subjects in
Migration and Marriage were fi nanced by the European 5 th framework programme.
• Under the 6 th Framework programme, the OGC Gender Studies programme has participated in Cliohres
(New Historical Research for Citizens in a Growing Europe, (http://www.cliohres).
373 Research Institute for History and Culture OGC
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