INSTITUT FUR HOHERE STUDIEN - INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES

Their core work

IHS is a Vienna-based social science research institute specializing in policy research, governance analysis, and the design of responsible research and innovation (RRI) frameworks across Europe. They provide evidence-based policy advice on topics ranging from EU fiscal governance and banking regulation to health system financing, gender equality in institutions, and research ethics. Their work bridges academic social science with practical policy design, making them a go-to partner for projects that need rigorous socioeconomic analysis, monitoring systems, or institutional transformation strategies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015-2018, IHS focused on macroeconomic governance (fiscal rules, banking union), health system financing (integrated care models), and early responsible research and innovation frameworks (HEIRRI, ENERI). From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward institutional transformation — gender equality plans, RRI monitoring metrics, EU governance diversity, and research measurement systems. The later portfolio shows IHS moving from studying policy problems to designing tools and processes for institutional change.

IHS is consolidating around responsible innovation metrics, institutional self-assessment, and evidence-based governance reform — expect them to seek partners in policy evaluation, impact measurement, and institutional change management.

How they like to work

IHS operates primarily as an active research partner (11 of 16 projects), but takes the lead when the topic is close to their core — they coordinated 4 projects, all in RRI, gender equality, or economic governance. With 171 unique partners across 33 countries, they are a well-connected hub in the European social science and policy research network. Their broad partner base and preference for large CSA and RIA consortia make them easy to integrate into multi-country proposals.

IHS has collaborated with 171 distinct partners across 33 countries, indicating a deeply embedded position in European social science and policy research networks. Their geographic spread covers virtually all EU member states, with no narrow regional concentration.

What sets them apart

IHS brings a rare combination of quantitative social science rigor and practical policy design experience. Unlike many policy think tanks, they have deep hands-on experience building institutional transformation tools — gender equality audits, RRI self-assessment frameworks, and responsible metrics systems — not just writing reports about them. For consortium builders, IHS adds credibility in governance work packages and can handle both the analytical heavy lifting and the design of monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NewHoRRIzon
  Their largest project (EUR 1.33M as coordinator), aimed at embedding Responsible Research and Innovation across all EU funding pillars — a flagship for IHS's RRI leadership.
• TARGET
  Coordinated institutional gender equality transformation using reflexive audit and learning processes — demonstrates IHS's shift toward designing change tools, not just analyzing problems.
• SIMCOR
  An unexpected pivot into in-silico cardiovascular device testing (2021-2024), suggesting IHS is expanding into regulatory science and computational validation beyond their social science core.