ZSI – research with social impact
The Center for Social Innovation is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. Since 1990, ZSI has developed and researched innovative solutions for key social issues and challenges: from labour market integration and digital inclusion, to the design of participatory policy and research processes such as citizen science, to socio-economic and technological transformation research in connection with the energy transition, the bioeconomy, techno-globalization or global warming. A special feature of ZSI is its ability to combine research, practice and policy in a dialog-oriented, evidence-based, transdisciplinary and international manner with a focus on social impact.
ZSI is also very successful in its participation in European research projects: In terms of organisational size, ZSI is Austria’s number one in terms of participation in Horizon Europe projects and among the top 20 of all Austrian organisations when it comes to absolute numbers. This puts ZSI ahead of some much larger institutions that also have basic state funding.
With Elisabeth Unterfrauner as its new scientific director, ZSI is sending a clear signal for a research-led, participatory and transformative future in which social innovation is to be seen as a powerful driver of social development.
