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Current projects
Working - the way I want to!
Empowerment for people with disabilities from the determination of needs to equal, self-determined participation in working life.
greenSME
In the greenSME project, a comprehensive strategy for the sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing industry is being developed. First and foremost, SMEs are concretely supported in adopting technologies ("Advanced Technologies") to become more environmentally sustainable climate neutral, to remain competitive and to maximise the benefits for all parts of society.
UbiTrans
The UbiTrans project aims to support citizens in dealing with web-based content and to enable them to make self-determined, effective and informed decisions regarding privacy and the information they consume. The research area Sociology of Technology is working on the sub-project "User types and their practices of dealing with web-based content".
Prävention Kreativ!
In the project "Prävention Kreativ!" (Creative Prevention), innovative health-promoting offers and measures are developed that strengthen the resilience of residents in inpatient care in a comprehensive approach and thus contribute to the resident-centred prevention of violence and addiction problems.
DIONA
The DIONA research project pursues the goal of using a multidisciplinary approach to develop a digital hub for the circular economy for stakeholders from science, business, associations, social partners and committees, and thus to enable SMEs in particular to participate in circular value creation.
PURESCRAP
The objective of the project PURESCRAP is to increase the use of low-quality scrap grades (post-consumer scrap) by deploying and applying best available technologies to reduce impurities. This is achieved through novel sensor combinations and analysis supported by artificial intelligence. The Social Research Centre – as member of the Clean Steel Partnership - will analyse the social impact of the technologies developed in PURESCRAP and correlated training/ upskilling demands.
BRIDGES 5.0
“BRIDGES 5.0 - Bridging Risks to an Inclusive Digital and Green Future by Enhancing workforce Skills for industry 5.0” follows the goal of an inclusive digital and green future by enhancing workforce skills for Industry 5.0. To achieve this ambition, the project – coordinated by TNO / Netherlands – will quantitatively map how jobs are transforming and what new green and digital jobs are emerging in Industry 4.0, and qualitatively understand Industry 5.0 requirements (human- and socio-centric, sustainable and resilience) for these jobs and company practices. It will also map Industry 5.0 skills and skill gaps, set up corresponding training pathways, and engage industry and related stakeholders through a web platform.
One4All
ONE4ALL aims to boost manufacturing plants’ transformation, especially SMEs, towards industry 5.0 (I5.0), reinforcing their resilience under unexpected changes in social needs. It is done through a human-and-sustainability-centred development of plug-and-produce reconfigurable cyber-physical production modules (RCPMs).
Platform for Social Innovations
The platform will be a contact point for all actors in the German social innovation ecosystem. Information will be provided on current topics from research and practice, seminars, workshops and events will be held and networks will be created.
DepriBuddy - Design Thinking-based modelling of mediatised proximity and app development for a self-help network
Within the DepriBuddy project, an interdisciplinary network with perspectives from sociology, psychology and media studies is conducting application-oriented research into the media-supported creation, maintenance and expansion of social ties and closeness.
DR-RISE
Due to the current energy crisis, the EU is reaching a critical point in the energy transition with the Clean Energy Package. Residential demand response (DR) is a promising framework whose potential is completely untapped nowadays. DR-RISE's main objective is to demonstrate the benefits of DR in the residential sector, not only for the end-consumers but for the overall energy system and the actors involved.
EngageSDGs
EngageSDGs is aimed at universities in South Africa, Mauritius and Zambia. This project aims to develop the capacities of the so-called SADC (Southern African Development Community) universities with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Together with a total of five EU higher education institutions and two associations (SARUA and OBREAL Global), participatory approaches are used to produce knowledge in the SADC universities and to expand the potential of innovative relationships between them and the community in which they are embedded in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
SmartVille
The SmartVille project focusses on strengthening rural areas in Namibia and Zambia. By developing entrepreneurship training courses and establishing Living Labs in an interdisciplinary network with universities from Finland, Namibia, Zambia and Germany over a period of two years, formal and informal educational opportunities in these regions will be expanded.
SUNMENTORS
Mental ill-health among students at higher education institutions is a growing challenge throughout Europe. Lecturers, on the other hand, are often not yet sufficiently sensitised to this issue or are simply overwhelmed by it in their already demanding day-to-day work. Yet they often play a key role for the students concerned in successfully completing their studies.
With this in mind, SUNMENTORS aims to develop flexible training programmes for lecturers at universities and colleges in order to better support students experiencing mental health problems. In addition to the joint development of training modules, the participating European educational institutions will also engage in a fundamental dialogue on the design of inclusive learning environments with regard to mental health.
Furthermore, all participating universities and colleges will be motivated to develop holistic institutional strategies for more inclusive learning environments with regard to the mental health of their students.
Green Team
Local and regional authorities are in need for structural support when it comes to designing and implementing green-blue opportunities. Therefore, the Green Team project will equip these authorities with a methodology to integrate climate adaptation into the DNA of their organisations. Supported by the Interreg North Sea Europe programme, eleven partners from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany will work together to help municipalities to become climate-proof from within.
IS2H4C
Existing heavily industrialized areas are currently incapable of adopting large-scale industrial symbioses in terms of shared technology/infrastructure use, waste integration, energy and material utilization, as well as expanding through
surrounding ecosystems in an inclusive manner for the society despite many of the EU's key strategic priorities in sustainable regional development. Within this context, IS2H4C proposes an ambitious and efficient innovation and action workplan to develop several solutions for the development of Hubs for Circularity (H4C) in diverse industrial areas of process industry surrounded by rural and/or urban settings in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and Turkey.
Graduiertencluster „AUFBRUCH - Die Transformation in eine nachhaltige regionale Bioökonomie gestalten“
The AUFBRUCH graduate cluster aims to empower young people in their doctorates to help shape the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy. The central theme is a holistic understanding of sustainability in the region. To this end, AUFBRUCH brings together a consortium of seven academic institutions from a wide range of disciplines. In addition to excellent disciplinary training and interdisciplinary links, AUFBRUCH will place a strong focus on implementing the knowledge gained as start-ups in the Rhenish region.
In this context, the Social Research Centre Dortmund is investigating the changes in company networks required for the transformation process and the effects on the contemporary qualification structures of the sectors involved.
European Social Innovation Alliance
The core objective of the project is to establish and enhance National Competence Centres (NCCs) for social innovation in Germany, Luxembourg, Estonia, and the Netherlands. These NCCs will serve as hubs for supporting, exchanging, and implementing effective social innovation practices, thereby strengthening national ecosystems and contributing to the EU's broader objectives.
ATMo2
The ATMo2 project (incentive-based transformation and modeling of mobility behavior) of the two Ruhr area universities of Duisburg-Essen and Dortmund is developing and testing low-investment options for an incentive-based change in mobility behavior. The effectiveness of different measures is being researched, i.e. the question of which forms of incentives (“nudges”) work for which population groups and in what way. This will help to develop instruments for gentle behavioral control that are not only effective (in terms of climate protection) and economically viable, but are also accepted by those affected.
KonCheck
In KonCheck, a tool is being developed that can contextualize and check politically relevant information on the Internet, thereby promoting the democratic participation of vulnerable groups in particular. The technical development of the tool is framed by a broad social and communication science program, which aims to identify target group-specific needs and challenges, promote acceptance and examine the effects of using the tool.
Climate City Dash 2.0
The cities Dortmund, Heidelberg and Munich set themselves the goal to become climate neutral by 2035. To achieve this goal, actors within the city need to be enabled to, in collaborative settings, develop an effective portfolio of measures.
Climate City Dash 2.0 creates effective, data-based governance process, supported with user friendly climate dashboards.
MERR
Healthcare professionals are exposed to high levels of stress and pressure on a daily basis, which can lead to burnout in the long term. To counteract this, the MERR project is developing digital tools to train professionals in how to deal with stress and to help them integrate effective coping strategies into their daily work. The aim of the project is to develop a digital toolbox that trains professionals in stress management techniques and helps them to apply these techniques in their daily work.
ADAPT2CARE
Climate change is having a significant impact on the world of work. Increased heat and UV exposure, as well as extreme weather events, can affect workers' health. In this context, the three-year ADAPT2CARE project is developing a web-based software for analysing and preventing climate-related health risks in the workplace. The aim is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in particular to adapt to climate change and to identify specific health risks.
Skills4EII
The Skills Alliance for the Green, Digital and Social Transformation of the Energy Intensive Industries (Skills4EII) will uptake the results of the European Steel Skills Alliance (ESSA) and the Skills Alliance for Industrial Symbiosis (SPIRE-SAIS) and further develop them within the project aligned with the Large Scale Partnership Energy Intensive Industries (LSP EII) under the Pact for Skills. An essential part is to identify additional cross-sectoral and sector specific skills gaps and address them within (cross-)sectoral contexts and national-regional skills and training ecosystems. Skills4EII creates a common framework integrating specificities of all relevant industries to continuously and proactively adjust the skills demands of the energy intensive industries (including further process industries).