Institutions for Open Societies
Bottom-up Initiatives for
Societal Change |
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Still some places left...
Make sure to register for Research Day 2025! |
| On 17 June 2025, the IOS Platform Bottom-up-initiatives for Societal Change will organise its 1st Research Day. Researchers affiliated with our platform will present their work. Aim of this Research Day is to facilitate the interdisciplinairy sharing of expertise on our main research topics and to help to create (new) networks and new collaborations. Make sure to be there and register for this event! |
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10th International EMES Conference
(Rotterdam, 3-5 November & Utrecht, 5-7 November 2025)
Call for Practitioners' Labs - EXTENDED deadline 20 August |
Erasmus University Rotterdam and Utrecht University will jointly host the 10th International EMES Conference. This conference is special in many ways: not only will it celebrate EMES 20+ years of existence, but it will also be the first EMES Conference to be held in two consecutive cities: on 3, 4, and 5 November 2025 the conference will be in Rotterdam and after a day with interesting field excursions, the conference will continue on 6 and 7 November 2025 at Utrecht University.
The Call for Practitioners' Labs has been extended until 20 August 2025. |
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| In the picture: Professor Helleke van den Braber |
A new element on our webpages is the section 'Featured Members', where you will find portraits and short interviews with members and affilates of the Platform Bottom-Up Initiatives for Societal Change. This series kicks off with an interview with Helleke van den Braber, Professor of Media and Performance Studies at Utrecht University and core member of our platform.
Photo by Valerie Spanjer. |
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| Erik Stam winner 2025 GEN Research Champion Award |
| Erik Stam, Professor of Strategy, Organization and Entrepreneurship at Utrecht University and core member of our platform was awarded the 2025 Research Champion Award by the Global Entrepreneurship Network for “groundbreaking research defining entrepreneurial ecosystems and systemic conditions enabling productive entrepreneurship.” Erik received this award at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2025 in Indianapolis. We congratulate Erik with this award! |
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| IOS EU platform organises conference on 'Solidarity in the European Union' |
| On 27 June 2025, the EU Platform of Institutions for Open Societies organises the one-day conference 'Solidarity in the European Union', bringing together researchers, policymakers, and professionals from across Europe to reflect on the role of solidarity in the EU today. The keynote will be delivered by Juri Viehoff. The conference comprises six thematic sessions, one of which (Solidarity and Refugees – The refugee crisis, challenges in asylum and integration) will be co-chaired by our team member Karin Geuijen. |
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| How archives and cultural institutions can survive funding cuts |
| Giovanna Fossati, Professor of Media Heritage, Technology and Culture and Helleke van den Braber, Professor of Cultural Value, Patronage and Society were interviewed about how archives and museums may be able to protect themselves against the budget cuts, in order to treasure, study and preserve films in the long term, as films are a crucial part of our cultural heritage |
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| Interview Wouter Boon on responsible scaling of innovations for societal challenges |
| Wouter Boon, Professor of Innovation and Transition Studies at Utrecht University and an affiliated researcher with our platform, recently delivered his inaugural lecture entitled 'Responsible scaling of innovations for societal challenges'. Complex societal issues such as sustainability and health require innovative solutions, but how can these be made available in a responsible way? Read the interview on Utrecht University's website. |
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| OECD publishes report on Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Diagnostics |
| The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has recently published its Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Diagnostics report. The report introduces a novel framework and dataset to assess and compare entrepreneurial ecosystems across all 38 OECD countries. Released as a pilot, this first edition lays the foundation for future iterations, with continued refinement of data and analytical depth to enhance its relevance and impact. |
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| Summer School 'Local Response to Migration and Refugees' by The Hague Academy of local governance |
| From 7 until 18 July 2025, the The Hague Academy of local governance will hold the Summer School 'Local Response to Migration and Refugees'. By discussing examples from different parts of the world, this course explores innovative solutions to the complex challenges of displaced populations. A participation fee applies. |
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Your news in our newsletter? Contact us! |
Our network of societal partners is ever increasing. Our revised website therefore now has a dedicated page for news from our social partners. Want to join forces and/or have your news displayed in our newsletter? |
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Four new thematic calls in preparation for public-private partnerships |
The Dutch Research Council (NWO) is developing four new calls for proposals within the Mission main line of the NWO-KIC programme. These calls will fund impact-driven research by consortia of knowledge institutions, companies and social organisations focused on various social challenges. The themes of the call will be (1) Collaborative business models for chain cooperation in a circular economy, (2) Artificial Intelligence in agriculture, horticulture, water and food, (3) System design of mechatronics and optomechatronics, and (4) Less critical raw materials in the energy transition. |
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Here we will display recent publications. This concerns publications by researchers affiliated with our platform, but may also include other publications we think may be valuable to our readers. Do you want your latest publications to be added? Send us a mail as soon as your publication will be available.
Flor Avelino, Carolina Castaldi, Rutger Claassen, and Anna Gerbrandy. (2024). Transforming Open Societies. A position paper. Utrecht University, IOS Position Paper Series 6. |
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