Research Office for Social Innovation

The everyday life of social actors conceals many exciting tasks for the (social) sciences and their young researchers. Science in the service of society means listening with (at least) one ear to the voices of civil society actors. The Research Office of Social Innovation (ROSI) is dedicated to this principle - by integrating issues from politics, administration, civil society and business into the everyday lives of teachers and students. How does it work? Actively, creatively and methodologically substantiated, students and researchers plan and carry out demand-oriented research for and with the project partners. Customized, organized and coordinated by the ROSI.

The ROSI is based on an initiative of Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Schnapp and Dr. Roland Willner from the Department of Political Science, in particular Methods, which was launched in 2010. Their aim was to enable a regular exchange between the university and society. Transfer of knowledge into practice - research-based learning from practice: Whether association, public authority, political party or company - survey, analysis or evaluation can be beneficial. For example, when it comes to the observation of target groups, needs analyses or processes and structures. Today, the ROSI is a facility of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at Universität Hamburg.

A lively exchange between social actors and organizations on the one hand and the university on the other hand brings the relevant questions to students eager for knowledge and researchers with a practical interest. Within cooperation projects, empirical knowledge of students can be tested and deepened, researchers can expand their competences and the cooperation partners can gain relevant knowledge. In this way, the quality of teaching is directly increased and actors are given a competent contact person - a dynamic full of synergy.