Leonie, you have a background in socioeconomics. What made you decide to go for this option?
My interests have always been quite broad, particularly when it comes to social issues. I am interested in how societies are organised, how different forms of work, skills and services are valued, and how social, political and economic systems influence one another. This broad perspective is also reflected in my academic background. I first studied sociology, with economics as a minor subject, and then continued with a master’s degree in Socioeconomics. The two fields are closely linked in their theoretically and empirically grounded approach. Socioeconomics places more emphasis on the economic system. For me, this was a natural continuation of my studies and allowed me to bring together my various interests within an interdisciplinary framework. Both fields gave me a strong theoretical and empirical foundation and the ability to approach complex societal questions using different methods and perspectives.
You joined ZSI in 2023. What characterises your day-to-day working life at ZSI and what do you value most about it?
There is a high variety in the different projects, tasks and responsibilities that come with the daily work at ZSI. Now being at ZSI for more than three years, I would rather compare my day-to-day work with different ‘seasons’. There’s a season of working intensely on different research projects, performing empirical research and being busy checking the daily to-dos. Usually this is followed by a season of events and dissemination activities, which is also a large part of the job. This includes a lot of different online and onsite project meetings across Europe, attending conferences or study visits and being actively involved in – or even organising – workshops, focus groups or panel discussions.
Finally, we have a season of proposal writing, although this season occurs frequently when participating in different funding programmes and usually overlaps with other duties. This type of work is characterised by creative work: here, the focus is on developing the overall concept of the project, including what it should look like and what its goals and impacts should be, as well as on designing the specific research and project management tasks. I really value the mix of these different “seasons” and tasks, and there are, of course, always overlaps between them. I also very much appreciate the opportunity to travel several times a year to exciting places across Europe – for me, particularly the Baltics and Eastern Europe, but also sometimes to places that are new to me, such as Malta this year, or more unusual destinations, such as rural Transylvania.
Working with a diverse range of organisations is another aspect I value a lot. This can range from international public organisations and business and development agencies to smaller, locally embedded organisations and NGOs. I really enjoy this combination of different contexts, perspectives and ways of working.
How do your projects contribute to solving current societal problems?
Being trained in sociology, I very much think about the impact of our work or my work at ZSI in analogy to the micro- meso- and macro model. The diversity of projects is also rooted in the different funding schemes and programmes. Starting with the broader perspective, a larger part of ZSI’s work is at EU level. Here I see an impact to society primarily in the form of knowledge production through academically rooted research projects that help to clarify overarching research questions; for example, how a just transition should be shaped and how young people can be mobilised and better prepared for changing labour markets and digital trends. In this context, our work also contributes to solving current issues in the form of policy recommendations or contributing to policy developments. I do also value the ‘meso’ and ‘micro effects’ that some projects have at an organisational or target group level. Projects that focus on social cohesion and economic development in specific EU areas (e.g. INTERREG programme) often implement a tailored solution for target groups directly ‘on the ground’. For example: training modules, coaching services, working sessions with different stakeholders and decisionmakers from the regions, or other services and developments. It is great to see the influence on target groups who are enabled to not only express their opinions but also co-design approaches for solutions. On an organisational level, I have recently worked quite extensively with social enterprises and work integrative social enterprises.
You are working at the Centre for Social Innovation – what does social innovation mean to you, and why should it be studied scientifically?
This question was also asked during my job interview. I think that even though, after three years at ZSI, I now know much more about the concept of social innovation and its origins and different academic approaches to it, I would still answer the question quite simply and intuitively:
To me, social innovation means looking at society or at a specific area in society and thinking innovatively about how to improve it – particularly for specific groups that might be disadvantaged. Back then, I had a vague idea of how to answer this question. Now, thanks to the variety of projects I’ve worked on at ZSI, I can draw on many more practical examples.
Studying social innovation scientifically is necessary as it touches on many areas and even tells us more about societies. With a more instrumental understanding of social innovation – that is, a focus on target groups with specific problems and their active involvement in order to improve the ways we deal with these – a scientific examination of these processes is necessary, as it enables us to understand the actual needs of groups from their own perspective, rather than relying on assumptions.
Do you have any specific ideas for projects you would like to work on in the future?
Could you describe them?
What I would really enjoy is combining approaches from some of my recent projects around social innovation, inclusive employment and social entrepreneurship. I’m particularly interested in how different groups – including people with migration backgrounds, elderly people and young people – are affected by broader societal changes such as digitalisation, demographic change, and changing forms of work and care, as well as innovative solutions that may emerge in response to these challenges. I enjoy working on evaluations, because they have a clear practical purpose.
What would you say to young researchers considering a career in applied social science?
I think it is beneficial to have a certain variety of interests, as – in our case –our reliance on EU funding influences the topics we work on to a certain extent, and we never know which projects will ultimately be funded. It is good to know that, regardless of the specific research topics, project management is a large part of our work. This is also due to multiple projects that everyone works on simultaneously. All in all, I think, if you enjoy working in different teams on a variety of topics in a practical and collaborative way, whilst following scientific principles and taking an interest in empirical research, working in applied social science could be a suitable field.
Thank you very much, Leonie, and all the best to you and your projects.
