30 million euros for social cohesion research

The SOCION consortium, in which social sciences and humanities researchers from five different knowledge institutions conduct research on social cohesion, has secured a NWO Summit grant of 30 million euros. Co-applicants from Utrecht University are: Naomi Ellemers, Tanja van der Lippe, and Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk: Ellemers: 'With this money, we can spend the next 10 years researching how to strengthen social connections in society without undermining other connections.'

The Summit grant is intended for research consortia that have proven in existing collaborations that they are among the absolute best in the world. According to NWO, the SOCION consortium, building on the ongoing Gravitation programme SCOOP, has proven its worth by developing a methodology for interdisciplinary research in the social sciences and humanities. The interdisciplinary team can now appoint new cohorts of PhDs and Postdocs to successfully continue the project, with which the researchers are making an important contribution to new knowledge for society.

Society’s fabric

The consortium researches social cohesion. Social cohesion is ‘society’s fabric’, crucial for sustainable societies and the well-being of citisens. However, social cohesion is increasingly undermined by erosion of communities and polarisation between groups. Within the SOCION consortium, psychologists, historians, demographers, philosophers and sociologists join forces with civil society organisations to understand how connections between individuals, groups and institutions contribute to new routes to and forms of social cohesion. Ellemers: "The consortium aims to develop a toolbox of knowledge and measures that can be effectively deployed to counteract social disruption. Dislocations that can be triggered by developments such as migration, climate change, and an ageing population."

The Netherlands is at the forefront of global research.

55, 15, 5

Of the 55 partnerships that were allowed to be nominated by boards of Dutch knowledge institutions, 15 were selected to develop a full application, and present it. In the end, five consortia received funding. NWO published a news-item about the Summit grants. There, Minister Dijkgraaf of Education, Culture and Science responds enthusiastically to the consortia receiving the grant: ‘The Netherlands is at the forefront of global research. The Summit grant recipients prove that.’

The SOCION consortium consists of the University of Groningen (leader), Utrecht University, VU Amsterdam, Radboud University and NIDI.