Cooperation

Co-operation and collaboration are core aspects of scientific innovation. The WZB Berlin Social Science Center, hence, actively engages in collaborative projects, partnerships with universities, alliances with other research institutions, and cooperative efforts within and beyond Europe. The WZB aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and promote the transfer of knowledge with society, in order to enhance efforts to address pressing social issues. Here you find: Collaborations with Universities, Collaborations with Non-University Research Institutions, Cooperation with other Leibniz Institutes, International Cooperation and Collaboration with Media, Arts, and Civil Society.

#Collaborations with Universities

Close working relationships exist traditionally with Berlin universities. WZB department directors normally hold joint professorships (S-Professorships) with teaching responsibilities at these institutions.

The WZB cooperates extensively with several universities, including 15 joint professorships with Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, University of Potsdam, University of Hildesheim, University of Hamburg and Helmut Schmidt University. The collaboration is in the areas of research and teaching, the promotion of young researchers, and joint appointments. There are also a variety of cooperation projects with the Hertie School of Governance and the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT). The WZB also works together with the Climate Change Center Berlin Brandenburg.

Key regional collaborative projects with universities in the Berlin research area include:

The WZB also contributes to several doctoral programs, aimed at attracting young researchers:


#Collaborations with Non-University Research Institutions

The WZB initiates and engages in cooperative projects with non-university research bodies in Berlin and beyond. Important initiatives include:


#Cooperation with other Leibniz Institutes

The WZB is actively involved in multiple initiatives within the Leibniz Association, leading several projects funded by the Leibniz Association. Leibniz partners in these projects include the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich (ifo), the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (ZBW), and the Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).

The WZB is a member of numerous Leibniz research networks and joint initiatives, including the Leibniz Research Alliance “Ageing and Resilience/Healthy Ageing,” and the Leibniz Research Networks “Educational Potential,” and “Mobility.” The WZB also participates in the Leibniz Strategy Forum on Open Science. Alongside the three Berlin universities and under the leadership of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the WZB is involved in the Leibniz Science Campus Berlin Centre for Consumer Policies (BCCP).

The WZB is a consortium partner of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) that is carried out by an interdisciplinary and multi-local network consisting of 18 research institutions and universities, coordinated by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) in Bamberg.

In the DFG-funded National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI), the WZB coordinates a thematic area in the consortium for the social and behavioral sciences, education, and economics (KonsortSWD). In this capacity as coordinator, the WZB also manages the operations of the German Data Forum (RatSWD), an independent body of scientists and representatives from major public data institutions, which is part of the KonsortSWD. In addition to the WZB, the KonsortSWD engages the following Leibniz partners: the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at the DIW, the Leibniz Institute for the Social Science (GESIS), the ifo institute, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), the RWI Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (ZBW) and the Leibniz Institute for Psychology (zpid). Further cooperation partners are the Freie Universität Berlin, the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the Qualiservice Data Center.

Since 2018, the WZB and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin have been collaborating on the series “Wissenschaft Natürlich!”, in which researchers from both institutions, along with other guest speakers, discuss urgent contemporary issues such as social cohesion, the ecological crisis, and the role of science itself.


#International Cooperation

The WZB maintains a dense network of collaborations with international researchers and institutions. This includes institutional partnerships, notably with the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University and the University of Oxford, with both of which a regular exchange of researchers has been established. These collaborations enhance researchers’ networks and promote joint projects on topics such as digital labor platforms.

The WZB also collaborates on global initiatives and is deepening its connections with institutions and researchers in regions such as Latin America, Western Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia to expand its international profile.


#Collaboration with Media, Arts, and Civil Society

The WZB engages actively with civil society and cultural institutions in Berlin to enhance public understanding of social science research. Key initiatives include:

Through these diverse collaborations, the WZB aims to enhance its role as a hub for innovative research and for impactful social science knowledge transfer.