Gefördert wird die neue Einrichtung vom Bundesministeriums für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) mit 8 Millionen Euro über fünf Jahre. Die Eröffnung ist am 1. April 2021.
„Gute Politik ist angewiesen auf engagierte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler, die weitsichtig und mit analytischer Tiefe Veränderungen erkennen und deren Auswirkungen unabhängig beschreiben“, erläutert Frank Nullmeier vom SOCIUM Forschungszentrum Ungleichheit und Sozialpolitik der Universität Bremen und Leiter der Bremer Abteilung des neuen Instituts. „Die fundierte Analyse von aktuellen Veränderungen in Gesellschaft und Arbeitswelt und deren Auswirkungen auf bestehende sozialstaatliche beziehungsweise sozialpolitische Arrangements ist unabdingbar für einen informierten sozialpolitischen Diskurs.“
Stärkung der Sozialpolitik- und Ungleichheitsforschung
Zu den Kernaufgaben des Instituts für Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung gehört daher, zu den Zukunftsthemen der Sozialpolitik zu forschen und den Transfer zwischen Wissenschaft und Praxis zu fördern. lfristig Darüber hinaus soll die Einrichtung die inhaltliche Vernetzung und Koordinierung des seit 2016 bestehenden Fördernetzwerks Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung (FIS) übernehmen.
Jutta Günther, Konrektorin für Forschung, wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs und Transfer, gratuliert: „Die Bremer Beteiligung am aufzubauenden Institut für Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung ist eine große Auszeichnung für die beteiligten Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Universität Bremen und insbesondere des SOCIUM. Es stärkt die angewandte Sozialpolitik- und Ungleichheitsforschung an der Universität Bremen sowie den Transfer wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse in die Politikberatung.“
Fördernetzwerk Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung
Mit dem Fördernetzwerk Interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung (FIS) stärkt das Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales (BMAS) die Forschung und Nachwuchsförderung im Bereich der Sozialpolitik an deutschen Hochschulen. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler sollen sich im Feld der Sozialpolitikforschung etablieren können, die jeweiligen Hochschulen im Bereich der Sozialpolitik- und Sozialrechtsforschung Strukturen ausbauen bzw. neu bilden können.
Weitere Informationen:
www.fis-netzwerk.de
Every four years all scientists active in research in Germany are asked to elect the members of the Review Boards of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). In this year’s election two members of SOCIUM were successful. Olaf Groh-Samberg was elected for the first time as a member for empirical social research. Frank Nullmeier was reelected as a member for political science in the Review Board for Social Sciences.
The Review Boards of the DFG are important institutions in the peer review process for applications for research funding. Potential members are recommended by universities and research institutions (Max-Planck, Leibniz, Frauenhofer etc.) but most importantly by the associations of the different research disciplines. Olaf Groh-Samberg was not only recommended by a dozen universities but also by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie. Frank Nullmeier received support from both German political science associations, the Deutsche Vereinigung für Politikwissenschaft as well as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Politikwissenschaft. The newly elected Review Boards will commence their work on February 2020.
more Information:
https://www.dfg.de/dfg_profil/gremien/fachkollegien/fk_wahl2019/index.jsp
Both social as well as environmental policy research use the notion of sustainability. However, they use it in different forms and with different content. The yet only partially discernable effects of climate change, however, impress the obligation that really “sustainable” policies cannot focus only on one of the aims.
On 23 and 24 September 2019 SOCIUM together with the Forschungsinstitut für gesellschaftliche Weiterentwicklung (FGW), Düsseldorf, the IAQ Institut Arbeit und Qualifikation at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the DFG Research Group Need-Based Justice and Distribution Procedures and the Senatorischen Behörde für Soziales, Jugend, Frauen, Integration und Sport, Bremen, organized an interdisciplinary conference on sustainability in both social as well as ecological terms. In two conference days it is certainly only possible to touch on such large topics. All participants, however, deplored on the one hand the large research gaps in the overlap between social and environmental risks and crises. On the other hand, they sketched out possible next steps to close these gaps in the upcoming years.
On the evening of the first conference day a panel also discussed the situation and perspectives of the journal “Zeitschrift für Sozialreform”. A controversial debate ensued on the possible format of journals at the intersection of academia and practice as well on the question of how sustainable publishing can be organized based on internationalized social sciences but still nationally dominated social laws and policies.
More information
Conference Program
www.fgw-nrw.de
www.iaq.uni-due.de
www.socium.uni-bremen.de
Contact
Prof. Dr. Frank Nullmeier
University of Bremen
SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy
Mary-Somerville-Str. 5
28359 Bremen
Germany
Tel.: (+49) (0)421-218-58576
E-Mail: frank.nullmeier@uni-bremen.de
Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs and Eva Quante-Brandt, Minister of Science, Health and Consumer ProtectionThe Federal Secretary of Labour and Social Affairs, Hubertus Heil, visited today SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy. Together with the Minister of Science, Health and Consumer Protection of the State of Bremen, Eva Quante-Brandt, the Federal Minister discussed questions of the situation of social policy research, the possibility of an improved secondary education in social policy affairs as well as issues of recent policy-making, especially the introduction of a basic pension system, with scientists of SOCIUM. Minister Eva Quante-Brandt underlined: “I am happy to see Minister Heil visiting SOCIUM which is one of Bremen’s excellent research facilities. Social sciences are part of the research focuses of Bremen – especially research on inequality and social policy. In these areas we discuss the most imminent questions of our times: What are the causes of inequality? How can we regulate the life-long careers of workers in order to guarantee them a sufficient pension? It’s about the social integration of our society.”
In the discussion it became obvious that low pensions and increasing poverty of elder people develop into a pressing problem which questions the legitimacy of the whole public pension system. Federal Minister Hubertus Heil stated that his ministry already supports the “Fördernetzwerk interdisziplinäre Sozialpolitikforschung (FIS)”. Additional measures will follow. “The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs is dependent on research on social policy beyond the daily political questions in order to discover and solve political problems at a very early stage. Social policy research helps society to discuss the future of the welfare state. I am happy to see that SOCIUM is offering important impulses for these debates and that it participates in the “Fördernetzwerk”.
Hubertus Heil, Federal Minister of Labour and Social AffairsHigh ranking visit to SOCIUM on the afternoon of March 8th, 2019: The Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs visits Bremen and Bremerhaven and will participate in a policy discussion at SOCIUM. Together with the State Minister of Science, Health and Consumer Protection of the City of Bremen, Eva Quante-Brandt and members of SOCIUM the debate will focus on recent developments in social inequality and possible welfare state remedies to this problem.
SOCIUM is one of the few German interdisciplinary social science research facilities which work both on questions of social inequality as well as social policy and welfare state politics. Hence, the debate will likely focus on the recent reform proposals of the Federal Minister concerning a basic pension scheme.
The social science internet platform Soziopolis published an extensive report by the journalist Frauke Hamann on the Stephan-Leibfried-Workshop on Poverty and Poverty-Relief Policies which took place on February 1st, 2019 at the Haus der Wissenschaft, Bremen (in German).
More information: Soziopolis - Gesellschaft beobachten
From left to right: Prof. Dr. Frank Nullmeier, Anja Stahmann.Shortly before Christmas, the Minister of Social Affairs, Youth, Women, Integration and Sport of the state of Bremen, Anja Stahmann, and the Speaker of SOCIUM, Frank Nullmeier, signed a cooperation agreement which establishes a new foundation for the cooperation of the state administration and the research center. The agreement entails not only regular meetings but also research projects directly intended to profit daily politics and administrative practice.
The cooperation agreement also entails the support of the teaching curriculum of the University of Bremen by offering internships in the administration, advanced training of administrative staff by the experts of the SOCIUM, cooperation on public events and consulting based on social scientific research on welfare state policies. A core aspect of the agreement features a mutual exchange of information on existing data sets. As far as on data protection grounds legally possible these data sets will be used in research projects on social policy and inequality studies in order to improve the evidence based policies and implementation approaches of social policies in the state of Bremen.
The signing of the agreement commenced on December 19th, 2018 at the Ministry of Social Affairs of Bremen. In the small celebration participated the Minister, Anja Strahman, the State Secretary, Jan Fries, the Team of speakers of SOCIUM, Frank Nullmeier and Betina Hollstein as well as the director of the department on health, long-term care and pensions, Heinz Rothgang.
The second item on the agenda of the Academic Senate on June 6th, 2018 entailed an important decision for the Social Sciences in Bremen: the continuation of the SOCIUM as a central research facility of the University. The SOCIUM had prepared a 400 page report of its work and achievements for the years 2015 to 2017. Based on this documentation the Research Commission of the Senate recommended without hesitation or reservations the extension of time frame for the research of the SOCIUM for another five years.
The Senate followed this recommendation unanimously. The question of the Rector whether the SOCIUM fulfilled all the goals envisioned at its creation was emphatically answered in the affirmative by the Chairman of the Research Commission. Hence, the institutional foundation of the SOCIUM is secured till the end of 2022.
As a central research facility of the university SOCIUM is an independent center under direct supervision of the Executive Board of the University. It coordinates all the social science research on inequality and social policy. It comprises of researchers from sociology, political science and health sciences. Around 100 mostly junior researchers work in approximately three dozen research projects. The total sum of external research financing reached 3.7 Mio. euros in 2017. 9 of the 15 research projects of the new Collaborative Research Center 1342 Global Dynamics of Social Policy are headed by senior researchers from the SOCIUM. SOCIUM not only reflects the core of the excellent social science research in Bremen but also offers the institutional basis for the development of new research ideas.
Funding Atlas 2018 - German Research FoundationsThe recently published Funding Atlas 2018 of the German Research Foundations contains interesting numbers for Bremen. If one browses to page 111 one can discover that between 2014 and 2016 the German research Foundation has granted 9.9 Mio euros to sociology and political science in Bremen. Only the Freie Universität Berlin (15,6 Mio. euros), the University of Mannheim (13,8 Mio euros) and the University of Bielefeld (11,2 Mio euros) received more research grants.
These numbers already document the excellent research accomplishments of the social sciences in Bremen. But they become even more outstanding if one takes into account that the years between 2014 and 2016 are mostly the years between the regular end of the funding for the Collaborative Research Center on the Transformations of the State in December of 2014 and the beginning of the funding for the new Collaborative Research Center on Global Dynamics of Social Policy since January 2018. Even without Collaborative Research Centers funded by the German Research Foundation the University of Bremen belongs to the top social science research universities in Germany.
9.9 Mio. euros between 2014 and 2016 translate into approximately 160 full-time employment years for young researchers. Obviously, even social sciences directly create employment here in Bremen. The 25 Mio. euros which the Collaborative Research Center on the Transformations of the State attracted between 2003 and 2014 add another 400 full-time employment years. And the 11 Mio. euros of the new Collaborative Research Center on Global Dynamics of Social Policy for the first four years (2018 to 2021) correspond to further 180 employment years.
The German research Foundation is funded by the Federal and the State governments and awards its grants in a competitive process based on external peer review of the applications. Only approximately a third of the applications are successful. Together with the funds for the Excellence Initiative these research grants entail Collaborative Research Centers, Research Units, Independent Junior Research Groups, Research Training Groups and individual research grants. In 2017 the budget of the German Research Foundations amounted to 3 bn. euros.
