Research Institute Social Cohesion

The Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) is an association of eleven university and research institutions that analyzes contemporary social challenges. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Located in ten different German states, it also focuses on the regional diversity of social cohesion in Germany. Together, the nearly 200 researchers from many different disciplines use empirical studies and large-scale comparisons to develop practical proposals that help meet contemporary social challenges. The researchers cover aspects such as identities and regional worlds of experience, inequalities and solidarity, media and conflict culture, polarization and populism, but also antisemitism and hate crime, and explore these in European comparison and beyond. The RISC includes the Technical University of Berlin and the universities of Bielefeld, Bremen, Frankfurt, Halle-Wittenberg, Hanover, Constance and Leipzig, as well as the Sociological Research Institute Göttingen, the Leibniz Institute for Media Research Hamburg and the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society Jena. The Institute's office is located at the three coordinating sites in Bremen, Frankfurt and Leipzig.