UNIVERSITAET ST. GALLEN

Their core work

The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is one of Europe's leading business universities, contributing social science, management, and governance expertise to interdisciplinary EU research projects. They specialize in the human and organizational dimensions of technology adoption — studying how communities accept new energy systems, how businesses model innovation, and how governance frameworks shape digital and urban transitions. Their role in consortia is typically to provide the business model design, social acceptance research, and policy analysis that technical partners lack.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015–2018), St. Gallen focused on operational management topics — lean production in hospitals, smart city governance, citizen co-creation, and data platforms for urban districts. From 2019 onward, their work shifted decisively toward social acceptance of energy transitions, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the societal dimensions of security and privacy. The recent portfolio shows a university increasingly positioning itself at the intersection of energy policy, community engagement, and entrepreneurship research.

St. Gallen is moving toward the social and community dimensions of decarbonisation — expect growing strength in energy community design, citizen engagement, and business model innovation for the energy transition.

How they like to work

St. Gallen operates almost exclusively as a consortium partner (14 of 15 projects), coordinating only one ERC grant (VALURED). With 209 unique partners across 30 countries, they work in large, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams — typical for a social science contributor embedded in big multi-disciplinary Innovation Actions and Research & Innovation Actions. This makes them an accessible, low-risk partner who integrates well into existing consortium structures without demanding leadership roles.

Extensive European network spanning 209 unique consortium partners across 30 countries, reflecting their role in large multi-partner projects across energy, digital, and societal themes. As a Swiss institution, they bridge EU and non-EU research communities.

What sets them apart

St. Gallen brings top-tier business school rigor to technical EU projects — few universities can match their depth in business model design, social acceptance research, and governance analysis applied to energy and digital domains. Their Swiss positioning gives them a neutral, internationally trusted perspective, and their management science tradition means they focus on making innovations actually adoptable by real organizations and communities. For consortium builders, they fill the critical gap between "the technology works" and "people and markets will actually use it."

Highlights from their portfolio

• VALURED
  Their only coordinated project — an ERC Starting Grant (EUR 688K) on value judgments and redistribution, showcasing independent research leadership.
• MISTRAL
  Largest single grant (EUR 843K) directly addressing social acceptance of renewable energy — their flagship expertise area.
• E-LAND
  Substantial funding (EUR 548K) for integrated energy management with strong focus on community building and business models for energy islands.