SODERTORNS HOGSKOLA

Their core work

Södertörns Högskola is a Swedish university that contributes social science expertise to European research consortia, focusing on marginalized groups, civic participation, and science-society relations. In H2020, they have worked on two distinct but thematically connected challenges: supporting researchers who are refugees or at risk, and engaging disadvantaged youth in citizen science and social innovation. Their academic contribution centers on participatory methods — mutual learning, peer learning, and co-creation — applied to questions of social inclusion and empowerment. They function as a specialist partner bringing social science theory and community engagement practice to broader interdisciplinary projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their two projects mark a visible shift from researcher-facing support work toward society-facing participatory research. The earlier project, InSPIREurope, dealt with a specific professional population — scholars displaced by conflict or political risk — and framed the challenge through networks, risk mitigation, and peer learning within the academic community. The more recent project, YOUCOUNT, pivots outward to general society: disadvantaged youth, civic life, social entrepreneurship, and science communication to non-expert publics. The common thread is participatory methodology applied to excluded or vulnerable groups, but the audience has broadened from academia to civil society.

Södertörns Högskola is moving toward participatory social research with vulnerable youth populations — a direction that aligns well with future EU missions around social cohesion, democratic engagement, and inclusive science.

How they like to work

Södertörns Högskola has not led any H2020 projects; they join consortia as a contributing partner or third party, indicating a preference — or institutional capacity — to support rather than coordinate. Their 23 unique partners across 16 countries across just two projects suggests they enter large, multi-partner European consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. This makes them a reliable specialist node in broad networks, but not a project anchor.

Despite only two projects, the organization has touched 23 unique partners across 16 countries — a wide reach relative to their project volume, suggesting they are embedded in large European research networks. No geographic concentration is identifiable from the available data.

What sets them apart

Södertörns Högskola occupies a niche at the intersection of social science research and civic participation, with a specific track record around vulnerable populations — whether displaced scholars or youth outside mainstream civic life. Among Swedish higher education institutions in H2020, this focus on participatory methods and social innovation (rather than natural sciences or engineering) gives them a distinct identity. For consortium builders needing a partner that can handle community co-design, science communication to non-academic audiences, or social impact assessment, this university offers targeted expertise that technical partners typically cannot.

Highlights from their portfolio

• YOUCOUNT
  Their only funded project as a formal participant, YOUCOUNT is an RIA grant combining citizen science methodology with youth empowerment and social policymaking — an unusual and ambitious scope for a relatively small institutional role.
• InSPIREurope
  Their involvement as a third party in a Marie Skłodowska-Curie initiative to support researchers at risk shows early engagement with researcher rights and academic freedom — topics with growing EU policy relevance.