Research Programs The history of Tensions of Europe goes back to 1999/2000 when the Foundation for the History of Technology (SHT) took the initiative to bring together a group of mainly historians of technology in a number of workshops to develop a ESF Network proposal. This proposal was awarded by the ESF and between 2000-2003 the ESF Network 'Tensions of Europe' held 26 workshops across Europe, and developed into an evolving network of 150-200 scholars coming from all parts of Europe, including Russia, and from North America. Many of the workshops were co-funded by the national research councils and the US NSF. A defining feature of the network was the aim to create a solid basis for genuine international research collaborations, next to networking activities.
When the ESF network funding was over, the Tensions of Europe Network, coordinated and supported by SHT, continued its activities and developed a research agenda as a basis for research collaboration. Two modes of collaboration were explored: Firstly, informally agreed collaboration between people and institutions from various countries who are funded nationally by their own universities and/or national funding agencies. Secondly, formally agreed collaboration through international funding. The latter one led to an application under the title EUROLINKS in the context of the Sixth framework program (in 2004) in collaboration with a research group led by Michel Dumoulin and Eric Bussière, but as it turned out history writing did not really fitted the aims of the framework program. In 2005 the current Inventing Europe; the role of technology in the making of Europe, 1850-2000 proposal was prepared for the ESF EUROCORES program competition across all sciences and the humanities. Out of 52 proposal, 3 were selected for funding, and Inventing Europe was one of them. Subsequently, in 2006 ESF published a Call for proposals covering the research agenda developed in the program proposal.
Stichting Historie der Techniek -- Revised: 14-04-2010 Chamber of Commerce Eindhoven 41155291.