At its March 2000 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, the European Council committed the European Union to a new strategic goal: “to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”. To this end, the European Council also endorsed the use of the ‘open method of co-ordination’ (OMC) as a new technique of governance, capable of being utilised along all three sides of the Lisbon Triangle’ of economic, employment and social policy co-ordination.

The aim of this seminar series is to analyse, from an inter-disciplinary perspective, the evolution of the Lisbon Strategy since 2000. The Strategy is broad in scope, encompassing not only economic, employment and social policy reform, but also the creation of a new policy context for the Internal Market, Research and Innovation, Education and Training. As such it demands analysis of the substance of policy and the processes of governance through the lenses of law, political science and economics and through the eyes of academics, policymakers, social partners and civil society actors.

The seminars will be held in London, Cambridge, Birmingham and Edinburgh throughout 2004 and 2005. To view details of the seminars, to register your interest in participation and to find key papers and documents related to the seminar, please navigate using the toolbar. You will also find details on how to contact the seminar organisers.

These seminars are funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council under their Research Seminars Competition (Award no. RES-451-26-0030).