Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)

What Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) does

Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) is a non-commercial academic research institute within the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, headquartered at the Roeterseilandcampus in Amsterdam. It was established to consolidate all social science research at UvA and currently organizes that work into 13 thematically focused programme groups and 8 affiliated interdisciplinary centres spanning Sociology, Geography/Planning/International Development Studies, Political Science, and Anthropology. The institute runs a formal three-to-four-year PhD Programme in Social Sciences and maintains a Methods Lab plus technical research facilities including a 3T MRI scanner, EEG, eye tracking, and TMS equipment to support social and behavioural research.

AISSR's "product" surface is entirely academic and public-facing: programme groups, Research Priority Areas (Conflict & Society, BRIDGES/Sustainability, AI & Politics, Polarisation), PhD training, research publications, MOOCs, and public events such as the AISSR Lectures series and Harvest Day symposium. The institute's outputs are disseminated through journal articles, books, policy briefs, media engagement, and events rather than via commercial distribution channels.

AISSR does not sell research or charge for its core activities and has no commercial pricing model. It is funded by institutional allocations from the University of Amsterdam and by competitive research grants drawn from Dutch (NWO, Ministry of OCW) and European (European Research Council, Horizon Europe) funding bodies, supplemented by project-specific collaborations with government agencies, NGOs, healthcare providers such as Amsterdam UMC and GGD Amsterdam, and private-sector partners in consortia such as the Just Prepare energy transition project.

Name

Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)

Legal name

Universiteit van Amsterdam / Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)

Website

https://aissr.uva.nl

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AISSR is a non-commercial academic research institute at the University of Amsterdam that unites 13 social science programme groups across Sociology, Geography/Planning, Political Science, and Anthropology, delivering PhD training, methodological infrastructure, and policy-relevant research for academics, government, NGOs, and civil society.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Social Science Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Higher Education Governance & Quality Policy Research (EDADADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Systems & Skills Technical Assistance (BPADAEAI), Bias, Fairness & Non-Discrimination Testing (HDAAAMAC)

Keywords

• Social science research
• Academic research institute
• PhD training programmes
• Interdisciplinary social research
• Policy research collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: AISSR researchers secure competitive research grants from Dutch and European funding bodies including NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research), European Research Council (ERC), Horizon Europe, and other international research councils. These grants fund specific research projects, PhD positions, and infrastructure.
2. University Core Funding: As part of the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, AISSR receives institutional funding for its research programmes and PhD training activities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AISSR is the University of Amsterdam's institute that unites all social science research across Sociology, Geography/Planning/International Development Studies, Political Science, and Anthropology. It delivers high-quality PhD training, conducts research organised into 13 thematic programme groups and 8 affiliated interdisciplinary centres, and operates specialised research facilities (MRI, EEG, eye tracking, TMS) supporting both academic research and policy-relevant inquiry.

Product overview

The Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) is a research institute at the University of Amsterdam that unites all social science research. It offers a structured portfolio of 13 thematically focused programme groups organized across four disciplines (Sociology, Geography/Planning/International Development Studies, Political Science, and Anthropology), along with a PhD Programme in Social Sciences, affiliated research centres, and high-quality research facilities including a 3T MRI scanner, EEG, eye tracking, and TMS equipment. The institute does not offer commercial products or services; rather, it provides academic research programmes, PhD training, and research infrastructure to the academic community and society at large.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PhD Programme Social Sciences

Quantifiable outcome

• 19 PhD projects and several post-doc positions in MetaHealth consortium alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• GGD AmsterdammajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Long-term study (Sarphati Etnografie) on how children in Amsterdam aged 0-4 and their parent(s) engage with practices related to eating, sleeping, and physical activity, focusing on health practices, inequality, trust, and inclusion/exclusion dynamics.
• Koç University (KU)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2022BROAD-ER (Bridging the Migration and Urban Studies Nexus) project aims to build a Research Excellence Network advancing interdisciplinary research at the intersection of migration and urban studies. The collaboration seeks to close the research gap in the ERA, promote innovation, and expand Turkey's R&I capabilities, positioning KU as a regional Centre of Excellence for South-Eastern Europe.
• Pompeu Fabra University (UPF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2022European Commission Horizon Europe WIDERA project BROAD-ER with UPF leverages UvA and UPF strengths to enhance KU's capabilities in migration research and boost scientific and management capacities through joint publications, training, and mobility.
• University of GothenburgmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Swedish-Dutch collaboration investigating how Myanmar migrants seek protection from violence on their journeys to Malaysia and Thailand. The three-year project is funded by the Swedish Research Council and led by Anja Karlsson Franck (Gothenburg) and Darshan Vigneswaran (UvA).
• Just Prepare Practice Partners (41 municipalities, housing corporations, energy companies)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner41 practice partners including provinces, municipalities, housing corporations, energy companies, and consultants participating in Living Labs for the Just Prepare energy transition project in underprivileged neighbourhoods.
• Saint Louis Universities BrusselsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium partner in Re-Visualize project on Gender and Islam in the French-speaking digital world, along with UvA, University of Montreal, Universität Halle-Wittenberg, and PLURIVERS'ELLES.
• Earth CommissionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoyeeta Gupta serves as Co-Chair of the Earth Commission, an international scientific commission working on global environmental sustainability and science-policy interfaces.
• ACTUARminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch facility partner involved in MetaHealth consortium focusing on health outcomes in the first 1000 days of life.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies (MPIfG): German social-science research institute focused on the study of socio-economic change and governance. Directly comparable to AISSR in being a dedicated, non-teaching social-science research institute funded by competitive public research budgets and producing policy-relevant scholarship.
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE): Major UK university dedicated to social sciences with overlapping disciplinary coverage (sociology, political science, anthropology, geography). Directly comparable to AISSR in mission and disciplinary breadth, though operating as a degree-granting university rather than a single research institute.
• WZB Berlin Social Science Center: Large German social-science research institute conducting empirical research on politics, education, migration, and inequality. Closely comparable to AISSR in scale, public funding mix, and thematic overlap across sociology, political science, and policy evaluation.
• European University Institute (EUI): EU-wide postgraduate and research institution focused on social sciences with strong ERC and Horizon Europe alignment. Directly comparable in mission, funding mix, and PhD-training model, with even stronger EU-institutional ties.
• Utrecht University Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences: Closest Dutch peer faculty, offering overlapping social and behavioural science disciplines and competing for the same NWO and Gravitation funding streams. Provides direct head-to-head comparability on recruitment, grant capture, and societal-impact positioning in the Netherlands.
• Sciences Po: French university and research institution focused on social sciences, political science, and policy studies. Comparable to AISSR as a research-led social-science institution with strong policy-engagement channels in continental Europe.
• Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID): Swiss postgraduate and research institution focused on international relations, political science, and development studies — directly overlapping with AISSR's International Development Studies and Political Science programme groups. Comparable as a European, English-language, research-led peer.
• Leiden University Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences: Another major Dutch faculty with overlapping disciplinary coverage in political science, sociology, and anthropology. Comparable as a Dutch public-university competitor for talent, NWO grants, and policy relevance.

Broad incumbents

• Department of Sociology, University of Oxford: Established, well-endowed UK sociology department with world-leading research standing. Comparable to AISSR as a research-intensive social-science unit within a major university, though broader, deeper, and significantly more endowed.
• Harvard Kennedy School (HKS): US policy and governance research and education school with strong social-science research output. Overlaps with AISSR's policy-advice mission and Conflict & Society / AI & Politics priority areas, though substantially larger and endowed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xbsky.app/profile/aissr.bsky.social
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@AISSResearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/UVAISSR
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/amsterdam-institute-for-social-science-research-aissr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR)