Societal Partners: Enriched Collaboration

Utrecht University aims at working towards a better future, through innovative research and teaching on topics that matter and in collaboration with social partners. The project CBR for the Humanities facilitates university-community partnerships to support students’ civic engagement and enrich their understanding of the social relevance of education in humanities disciplines that deal with art, history, language, literature, media, philosophy and religion.

Policy: Towards a Civic University

CBR builds on multiple traditions of engaged scholarship – from the utilitarian tradition of action research in the social sciences to the ‘science shop movement’ and emancipatory scholarship in the fields of gender and post-colonial studies. These traditions have gained new appeal in the 21st century, when budget cuts and questions about the social relevance of academia have stimulated universities around the world to re-think their functions. CBR is one answer to (re)connect academia and society, to build a ‘civic university’ as part of an inclusive and democratic knowledge society.

CBR for the Humanities is part of the UU Community Service Learning Programme, which stems from the ambition to offer all students attractive opportunities within our education to collaborate with government, businesses and citizens. CBR for the Humanities students work together on societal themes connected to the UN’s sustainable development goals, like climate change, equality, inclusiveness and health issues.

Partner Participation

We are always open to new partnerships and new ways of working together in community-based research projects. You can participate as a partner in our project in multiple ways. Find out more by viewing our Services and Partnerships pages. If you are interested in exploring the ways in which our students contributed to the work of civic organizations, follow the Our Stories link.