Department of Sociology, Tilburg University

The Department of Sociology, at Tilburg University is part of the Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The Department is responsible for a Bachelor in Sociology (Dutch and English) and a Master in English with three tracks (1. Politics, Policy and Society in Comparative Perspective; 2. Health, Wellbeing and Society; 3. Global Management of Social Issues, Politics, Policy and Societal Development).

The research agenda of the department focuses on aspects of social inequality and social cohesion in a comparative and dynamic perspective. The department was since the early 1980s the host of the European Values Study (EVS).

Istanbul Policy Centre

Istanbul Policy Centre (IPC), physically located at Sabanci University, was founded with a view to improving the quality and effectiveness of public policymaking in Turkey and the region. The Center works to establish a network of cooperation with universities, think tanks, and other similar research institutions both in Turkey and abroad, in order to engage in broad participation of distinguished thinkers, scholars, experts, and practitioners to produce independent research as well as generate policy recommendations on issues of current relevance and significance. Through its university connection, the Center aims to enhance the educational effects of its activities and contribute to the formation of tomorrow’s leaders by offering young researchers and graduate students an opportunity to participate in the research projects it sponsors.

IPC aims to develop a regional resource base to enhance applied policy studies; generate, in cooperation with individual and institutional partners worldwide, future scenarios on the basis of global trends as well as means for regional integration; and promote exemplary designs for public policy making that take into account social, political, and economic factors.

Among the goals and objectives of IPC are:

• Establish and strengthen the intellectual relationship between policy studies and the social sciences.
• Increase the contribution of the social sciences in policy making in Turkey.
• Foster interdisciplinary research among social scientists with a view to preparing them for careers as leaders in policy making.
• Serve, by means of sustaining a network of institutions and individuals, as a domestic and international reference point for promoting public policy research.

FORS – Swiss Centre of Expertise in Social Sciences, Lausanne

FORS is a national centre of expertise in the social sciences. Its primary activities consist of:

• production of survey data, including national and international surveys;
• dissemination of data for use in secondary analysis;
• research in empirical social sciences, with focus on survey methodology;
• consulting services for researchers in Switzerland and abroad.

FORS collaborates with researchers and research institutes in the social sciences in Switzerland and internationally.

Department of Sociology, Umeå University

Two institutions co-operate in the ISSP surveys in Spain: ASEP (Anàlisis Sociòlógicos, Económicos y Politicos) and CIS (Center for Sociological Research)

ASEP (Anàlisis Sociòlógicos, Económicos y Politicos)

ASEP is a private consulting firm, established in 1982, whose main purpose is social, economic and political research. 

ASEP has conducted a national monthly survey on Spanish public opinion since 1986 which includes time series data on consumers’ attitudes and behaviour, political attitudes and behaviour, mass media consumption, economics and questions on topical issues. 

Since 1990, ASEP has conducted a national monthly survey for CIRES (Centro de Investigaciones sobre la Realidad Social), a non-profit organisation sponsored by three financial entities: Fundación Banco Bilbao Vizcaya, Caja de Madrid and Bilbao-Bizkaia-Kutxa. Each survey includes time series data on more than 50 items, plus a module on an academic research topic. The datafiles are distributed each month free of charge (on request as discs) to more than 350 interested academic and public institutions in Spain and abroad. 

ASEP participates in a number of international projects, with the emphasis on academic and public opinion research.

CIS (Center for Sociological Research)

CIS is an autonomous state agency whose purpose is to study Spanish society, primarily through survey-based research. Its predecessor, the IOP, was founded in 1963. In 1977, the Center took its present physionomy and name. CIS conducts an average of fifty studies per year, mostly surveys, including a monthly Barometer to measure the public opinion impact of major social, economic and political events. The monographic surveys are conducted on a wide range of issues: youth, immigration, ways of life, law and order, political culture, electoral behaviour, etc. CIS participates in ongoing international projects, such as ISSP or NES, and has participated also in important demographic surveys sponsored by Eurostat and the UN. All the data from the more than 1200 CIS studies are deposited in its data bank, to which the public has access. 

In addition to its research activities, CIS publishes six book collections, a quarterly journal, Reis, and several programmes to encourage and promote social science research.

Public Opinion and Mass Communications Research Centre, Ljubljana

The Public Opinion and Mass Comunication Research Centre (CJMMK) of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, was founded in 1966 and since 1968 has carried out the Slovene Public Opinion Survey (SJM) regularly.

The Centre is actively engaged in research on social stratification, migration, elections and on survey methodology. Researchers from the centre publish their findings in scientific journals, books, and, in more popular form, in newspapers. Original data are stored in an in-house archive and are available on request. The centre co-operates in a number of international projects, including the World Value Survey, the Eastbarometer Survey and the ISSP. It has a national network of over 200 experienced interviewers and set up a survey laboratory with CATI facilities in 1994.

The Ministry of Science funds the annual SJM project (ca. 115,000 Ecus); other sponsors in the cultural sphere, public administration and the media contribute ca. 35,000 Ecus annually to the institute’s funding.

The Institute for Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences

The Institute for Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences is the largest and most prominent basic research organization in the field of Sociology in Slovakia. The Institute was established in 1965. Since 1969 the Institute publishes Sociológia – the most important sociology journal in Slovakia. The Institute (together with the Department of Sociology at the Comenius University) initiated the creation of the Slovak Archive of Social Data which it currently also maintains.

The Institute for Sociology is a representative of Slovakia in prestigious international comparative research programs. Besides ISSP, the Institute is responsible for the European Values Study (EVS) in Slovakia.

The Institute for Sociology participates in projects in respected international grant schema and is actively involved in international cooperation. The institute offers a PhD programme in Sociology in cooperation with the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava.

Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University in Bratislava

Department of Sociology at the Comenius University (Faculty of Arts), established in 1964, is a leading educational and research institution in the field of sociology in Slovakia. It offers Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral study programmes, with great variety of courses related to sociological theory and quantitative methods.

Research of the department’s members focuses currently on social stratification and mobility, social inequalities and poverty, causal models and mechanisms, demographic trends, social economy, criminology and history of sociological ideas. Department of Sociology is involved in many research projects, including cooperation with the governmental bodies and NGOs.

The Levada Center, Moscow

The Levada Analytical Center is one of the most important and largest non-governmental polling organisation in Russia to conduct nationwide public opinion and market research. 

The Center undertakes research for domestic and foreign public organisations, research centers, the mass media and private businesses; it is the country’s largest center engaged in public opinion and market research. The company has a network of 80 regional fieldwork partners, including about 5,000 trained interviewers, which enables the Center to conduct fieldwork all over Russia and in other CIS states. Levada-Center conducts more than 100 surveys (face-to-face, CATI or CAWI) and 50 qualitative projects (focus-groups, in-depth interviews) annually.

Both academic qualifications and empirical experience determine staff appointments at the center; researchers include sociologists, economists, political scientists, psychologists and computer specialists.

The Levada Analytical Center maintains close contacts with academic institutions worldwide and participates in a growing number of international research projects. Data are published in an in-house bulletin featuring analytical articles on a wide range of topics (The Russian Public Opinion Herald. Data. Analysis. Discussions). Levada-Center has its own software platform for autoethnography (diaries) and surveys for mobile messengers.

Institute for Social Studies (ISS), University of Warsaw

The Institute for Social Studies was established in January 1991 as an independent research unit of the University of Warsaw. Most senior members of the Institute staff hold permanent appointments in University of Warsaw departments. The ISS is affiliated with the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, and is a member of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).

ISS is an interdisciplinary research-oriented institution, bringing together sociologists, psychologists, economists and political scientists. Research and training activities are undertaken by the Center for Sociological Research, the Center for Psychological Research, the Center for Economic Research, the Center for Complex Systems, and the Unit for Survey Research Methodology.

ISS staff research interests cover a broad field of social, economic and political phenomena from various theoretical and empirical standpoints. The institute conducts both the Polish General Social Survey (PGSS) and the ISSP. Other national studies focus on the transition period in Poland; international collaborations have researched prejudice, social justice and values.

Sikt – Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research

Sikt – the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research was established on 1. January 2022 through a merger between NSD (Norwegian Center for Research Data AS), Uninett AS and Unit – the Norwegian Directorate for ICT and Joint Services in Higher Education & Research.

Sikt is a public administrative body under the Ministry of Education and Research. In collaboration with our users, we offer a common infrastructure for knowledge and research.

The principal objective for Sikt is to facilitate services and develop new technology to improve the quality of research and ensure access to knowledge.

Sikt collects, processes, prepares, archives and disseminates data to the research community nationally as well as internationally, with the overall aim to make data available as open as possible.

Sikt also guides researchers and students regarding data acquisition and processing, analysis, privacy protection and research ethics.

NSD, that from January 2022 is part of Sikt, has been a member of the ISSP since 1989, and is a former ISSP secretary. Sikt is also a member of RDA, ICPSR, the DDI Alliance, and the Core Scientific team of the European Social Survey. Sikt is also Norway’s Service Provider to CESSDA.