The RRPP LCU in Serbia recently published a policy brief entitled “An Overview of the Current Situation, Main Challenges and Policy Recommendations for Improving Social Science Research in Serbia”. This policy brief is the result of the project Establishing a Dialogue Between the Research Community and Decision-Makers with a View to Improving Social Science Research in Serbia. The project was realised by a Working Group composed of members from the Institute of Economic Sciences, with further support granted by the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development.

Recommendations for improving social science research in Serbia result froma series of Working Group meetings and a survey sample of 626 respondents (which is more than one-third of all social science researchers in the country). The Working Group analysed the current state of affairs of social sciences in Serbia, identifying recommendations for their improvement. The survey results and analyses of key challenges and recommendations are already published in the comprehensive study Social Science Research in Serbia: An Overview of the Current Situation, Main Challenges and Policy Recommendations (in Serbian).

The main purpose of this policy brief is to aid the Serbian National Assembly, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, academic and scientific communities, non-government organisations and international donors, in their effort to overcome some of the main obstacles in the field of social sciences: 

• Scientific evaluation systems;
• Research funding;
• Research capacity-building (especially for young researchers);
• Establishment of a social science researcher association;
• Cooperation between the Serbian scientific community and policy-makers.

Findings in the policy brief indicate that the Government of the Republic of Serbia must provide stronger financial and institutional support in order to help researchers increase their research capacities. The authors emphasise three primary points among the many other important recommendations found in the policy brief . 

First, they necessitate the implementation of young researcher incentives for publishing in internationally-recognised journals. Second, stronger support must be given to domestic journals in their attempts to gain notoriety on Sciences Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) lists. Finally, institutional assistance acting to improve the capabilities of researchers and organisations must be granted when applying for projects funded by international donors. 

Policy Brief in English
Policy Brief in Serbian