Communication Research in Europe (2002-2013): An Analysis of Competitive Projects Approved under the European Union’s Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes

Abstract

Communication research has become a strategic tool for designing public policies at national and European scale. Research is required to investigate the political, economic and social actors involved in processes of media concentration, convergence and digitalisation, and audiovisual regulation. This article analyses the Social Sciences and Humanities research projects approved under the Sixth and Seventh Framework Programme (2002-2006 and 2007-2013, respectively) in order to detect those that include the study of communication, in a direct or in an interdisciplinary way. Through the identification of these projects the article aims to establish which European centres have been receiving EU funding to undertake research (basic and applied) and the research lines they are developing. It is not intended to carry out a quantitative analysis but to highlight certain trends regarding European communication research. It is also intended to establish a map on how EU-funded communication research is structured (the coordinators and the participant partners, their institutions and countries).