Partner Institutions

Founded in 1386, Heidelberg University, a state university of Baden-Württemberg, is Germany’s oldest university.

Its identity as a comprehensive university has grown out of the academic history, its commitment to the present, and its role in shaping the future. The research and educational efforts of the university are devoted to pursuing the central questions confronting humanity, concentrating on fundamental research and its application, and empowering Heidelberg’s students to participate in this scientific and academic endeavor at an early stage.

Heidelberg University’s international orientation is a long-standing tradition. Occupying a leading position in Germany and in Europe, the University is committed to providing its global competitiveness.

The disciplines taught at Heidelberg University encompass the humanities, the social sciences, law, natural sciences, and the life sciences, including medicine.

The Centre for Social Investment (CSI) is a research centre at the Max-Weber-Institute for Sociology in the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of Heidelberg University. It works as an interdisciplinary centre in research, education and training as well as a transdisciplinary partner for the third sector.

The central research topics of the CSI are, in addition to the eponymous social investments and innovations, foundations, civil society and the social economy. Special attention is paid to innovative cross-border research - be it between sectors or between forms of organizations. From a comparative or often exploratory perspective, research projects are carried out at national, European and international levels. The CSI's research contributes to fundamental theoretical understanding, applied knowledge and political and strategic debates in civil society and the third sector, thus defining this area alongside the market and the state.

CSI research aims to contribute to the shaping of self-perceptions of the third sector, to analyse its legal, economic and social framework conditions, and to contribute to increasing the effectiveness of social enterprises. Our research results are communicated to the public not only through teaching and professional qualification mechanisms and publications, but also put into practice through cross-sector trans-disciplinary formats of cooperation on social innovation formats, e.g. in innovation laboratories.

CSI has specifically worked on the social impact assessment of so-called multi-generation community housing developments which are innovative residential neighbourhood projects targeted at stimulating informal (neighbourhood and volunteer) care and support networks on a local level. The studies have identified the causal functioning of such projects and their social impact in control group-design studies.