Are our institutions equipped for the challenges of an open society’s future?

Are existing formal and informal institutions able to cope with challenges such as growing socio-economic inequality, the power of 'big tech', the climate crisis, terrorism and discrimination and distrust in government and science? And, if current institutions fail, how can they be adapted and improved to better contribute to open and resilient societies? Read more about IOS. 

How are open societies transforming and what is our role therein? In the new IOS Position Paper, the authors Flor Avelino, Carolina Castaldi, Rutger Claassen and Anna Gerbrandy renew and refine the notion of open societies and relate it to a diversity of normative perspectives and processes of institutional transformation. Engage yourself in this critical dialogue by emailing to ios@uu.nl!

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  • Connecting science and society

    In order to contribute to the future of open societies, Institutions for Open Societies aims to build bridges between academia and society. That is why we work intensively with other organizations and stakeholders, both non-academic and academic. 

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    To foster interdisciplinary academic collaboration and the creation of societal impact, Institutions for Open Societies offers scholars a network and a diversity of (complementary) funds and tooling.

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Institutions for Open Societies is one of the four interdisciplinary research areas of expertise of Utrecht University. The other themes are Dynamics of Youth, Life Sciences and Pathways to Sustainability.