FACTOR SOCIAL - CONSULTORIA EM PSICO - SOCIOLOGIA E AMBIENTE LDA

Their core work

Factor Social is a Lisbon-based social science consultancy specializing in the human and societal dimensions of risk. They bring psycho-sociological expertise into technical research consortia, handling risk governance frameworks, social impact assessments, risk communication strategies, and ethical evaluations. Their core value lies in bridging the gap between complex technologies (nanomaterials, critical infrastructure, crisis response) and the people affected by them — assessing how societies perceive, govern, and respond to emerging risks. Their company name itself signals their niche: the "social factor" in technology and environment decisions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Factor Social began in 2015 focused on critical infrastructure resilience — assessing cascading failures and building resilience management tools (RESILENS). From 2019 onward, they pivoted strongly into nanotechnology risk governance, taking on two consecutive projects (RiskGONE, SABYDOMA) dealing with nano safety, eco-toxicology, and governance frameworks. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic opened a new direction: social vulnerability research and misinformation analysis through COVINFORM, their largest-funded project. The consistent thread is societal risk assessment, but the application domains have broadened significantly from infrastructure to nanomaterials to public health crises.

Moving toward increasingly interdisciplinary risk governance work where social science meets emerging technologies and public health — expect them to pursue responsible innovation and societal impact assessment roles in future consortia.

How they like to work

Factor Social operates exclusively as a participant, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a specialist social science partner embedded in larger technical consortia. With 62 unique partners across 26 countries in just 4 projects, they work in broad, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams. This wide network suggests they are valued as a trusted "social dimensions" partner that technical leads bring in to fulfill the societal impact and responsible research requirements increasingly demanded by EU frameworks.

Remarkably broad network for a 4-project SME: 62 unique partners across 26 countries, indicating participation in large multi-national consortia. No visible geographic clustering — their partnerships span widely across Europe, consistent with their role as a portable social science specialist.

What sets them apart

Factor Social occupies a specific and hard-to-replicate niche: they are a dedicated social science consultancy that specializes in the human dimensions of technological risk. While many universities offer social science departments, few private companies focus exclusively on embedding psycho-sociological and environmental risk expertise into technical R&D consortia. For consortium builders, they solve the common problem of finding a credible, experienced partner for the responsible research, ethical assessment, and societal impact work packages that EU projects increasingly require.

Highlights from their portfolio

• COVINFORM
  Their largest project by funding (EUR 456,035), tackling COVID-19 vulnerability and misinformation dynamics — a significant pivot from their usual technology-governance work into public health crisis research.
• RiskGONE
  Positioned Factor Social at the center of EU nanotechnology risk governance, working on test guidelines, SOPs, and risk governance council frameworks that shape how nano risks are assessed across Europe.
• SABYDOMA
  Demonstrates continuity in nano governance expertise with a safety-by-design approach spanning from lab manufacturing to governance and communication — their longest-running project (2020-2024).