The University of Groningen (RUG), along with a number of partners, has been awarded a €30 million grant to look into ways that could prevent Dutch society from falling apart over the next ten years.
On its website, the RUG said the researchers hope to produce recommendations on how to combat societal disruption.
“Disruptions [can] be triggered by developments such as migration, climate change, and an ageing population,” co-applicant and Professor at Utrecht University Naomi Ellemers told the RUG.
The money has been awarded to the SOCION Consortrium, where social and humanities scholars from 5 different knowledge institutions are researching social cohesion. The research is under the supervision of professor of theoretical sociology Rafael Wittek of the sociology department at the University of Groningen (RUG).
DVHN reported that such summit grants are a big deal in the Netherlands. It cited the Dutch Organisation for Academic Research (NWO) saying that the grant is awarded to researchers who are world-class.
According to Wittek, the fabric of society is under pressure.
“Traditional forms of social cohesion are becoming less and less effective. Thanks to the grant, we, together with societal stakeholders, can shed a new light on how social cohesion can be achieved in these challenging times,” Wittek told the RUG.
Social cohesion is the fabric of society, which is crucial for sustainable societies and the welfare of citizens. However, social cohesion is continuously undermined because of the erosion of communities and polarisation between groups.
The SOCION consortium is made up of the University of Groningen (coordinator), Utrecht University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Radboud University, and the Interdisciplinary Netherlands Institute of Demography (NIDI).
