The social projection of the research has been the central topic of the VI annual meeting of the University of Navarra projects. Institute for Culture and Society of the University of Navarra. It was attended by almost a hundred people, including researchers, doctoral students, collaborators and professionals of the center. The activity is supported by partnership of the Obra Social "La Caixa" and Fundación Bancaria Caja Navarra.  

During the opening, Iciar Astiasarán, Vice President of research of the University, stressed that today the transfer of knowledge to society is a very important focus for research.

"Citizens wonder what the resources allocated to research translate into," he pointed out. "In certain fields of knowledge, such as health, it is easier to see the impact, but we cannot only focus on those areas because man is much more than that. It is also a priority to fund research at Humanities and social sciences because it is a pillar for the functioning of humanity."

In turn, the Vice President wanted to highlight the role of citizens in supporting the research. "A lot of means are required to develop it. It is very important that society believes in its importance and supports it," she said.

Ana Marta González, scientific coordinator of the ICS, also spoke at the opening, reflecting on the meaning of social impact at Humanities and social sciences: "It is a research aimed at explicitly and in an organized way at satisfying the cultural and social needs that we observe in society".

"We are also talking about launching initiatives as a center that can serve as a bridge between the research community and the cultural and social agents working to improve the environment," he added.

On the other hand, he insisted on the importance of accountability, for which he considered it vital to "develop indicators that measure the social impact of our research". "We must implement programs and actions over time and measure their effectiveness," he stressed.

Speakers from the Santa María la Real Foundation

According to Professor Gonzalez, all this "has a lot to do with strengthening social ties and promote the development, the two big ideas that summary ICS projects".

The last speaker was Jaime García del Barrio, director of Institute for Culture and Society, who reviewed some of the main recent achievements. Among them, he pointed outthat during 2015, 19 books and 48 scientific articles were published, 75% in first quartile journals; 160 activities were held in 2015-2016, including 10 international congresses and workshops and 95 project seminars; and eight members of the center have made stays at research.

During the VI annual meeting also took place a roundtable with two members of the Santa María la Real Foundation: its director, Juan Carlos Prieto, and Jaime Nuño González, director of the Center of programs of study of the Romanesque. Leopoldo Gil, head of the Architectural Heritage Conservation Department of the Government of Navarra, also took part. In their interventions they analyzed how to enhance the value of the cultural and landscape heritage of a geographical area for promote the development.

Afterwards, the participants met in groups to discuss the social projection of ICS projects. Fran Güell, coordinator of group 'Mind-brain', and Anna Dulska, researcher of the 'Creativity and Cultural Heritage' line, moderated the sharing.