Name of Center
Centre for Social Investment
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
csi.uni-hd.de
About the Center
Through research, teaching, and policy analysis, the Heidelberg Center for Social Investment seeks to add to our knowledge and understanding of private action for public benefit, in particular the types, roles, and contributions of social investment, philanthropy, civil society and social economy institutions in Europe and other parts of the world.
The Center's mission is to become the European academic Center of Excellence for the study and teaching of social investment.
The Center's mission is realized through four major objectives that guide its activities, and against which it will chart its progress and accomplishments over time:
- Improve the theoretical and practical understanding of social investment, philanthropy, civil society, and social economy institutions;
- Inform policy-making relating to social investment and relevant institutions at local, regional, national and international levels;
- Build managerial and governance capacity in the field of social investment, and foster leadership and organizational effectiveness; and
- Monitor major developments affecting social investment in relation to markets and government institutions generally, and in reference to philanthropy and civil society institutions in particular.
Managing Director: Dr. Volker Then
Academic Director: Dr. Helmut K. Anheier
Principal Tasks:
The Center engages in four principal, integrated tasks on an ongoing basis: Research, Teaching, Convening, and Outreach:
- Research...carry out research relevant to social investment, philanthropy, civil society, and social economy; engage in national, international, and comparative research, with special emphasis on Europe; contribute to basic theoretical understanding, applied knowledge and policy debates in the field; and embed the emerging field of social investment studies in the major social sciences disciplines while encouraging inter-disciplinary approaches...
- Teaching...co-ordinate teaching on social investment, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and civil society across university faculties and departments; contribute to Ph.D., graduate and undergraduate education; offer a range of executive training programs, including a summer academy to foster leadership and policy skills and to build management capacity...
- Convening...serve as the forum for, and intellectual engine of, policy debates in the field by bringing together practitioners, policy experts and researchers, nationally, in Europe, and internationally; provide a neutral platform for the development and discussion of new approaches and innovative thinking in the field...
- Outreach...disseminate research results, teaching material, and policy-relevant findings to diverse academic and practitioner audiences as well as policymakers; offer advisory and consulting services, reaching out to existing and emerging practitioner and policy communities at the European level; generate greater awareness of issues relating to social investment...