Centre Nantais de Sociologie

Name

Centre Nantais de Sociologie

Legal name

Centre Nantais de Sociologie (UMR 6025 CENS)

Website

https://cens.univ-nantes.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Centre Nantais de Sociologie (CENS, UMR 6025) is a French public sociology research laboratory jointly supervised by Nantes Université and CNRS, conducting fundamental sociological research and doctoral training across four thematic axes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities (EDAHABAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

Keywords

• Sociology research
• Academic research
• Doctoral training
• Social science research
• Public research laboratory

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: Funded through public research grants from national and European agencies including ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche), IUF (Institut Universitaire de France), regional funding, and institutional support from CNRS and Nantes Université. Between 2015 and 2019, CENS was awarded 22 project calls including 5 ANR grants and 2 IUF awards.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Centre Nantais de Sociologie (CENS, UMR 6025) is a public sociology research laboratory jointly attached to Nantes Université and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). It conducts fundamental sociological research on work, social movements, territories, gender, social bonds and critical theory, hosts a doctoral training programme and four master's tracks, and disseminates findings through publications, public seminars and conferences.

Product overview

Centre Nantais de Sociologie (CENS, UMR 6025) is a public research laboratory jointly attached to Nantes Université and CNRS, founded in 1998. It is not a commercial product company. CENS conducts fundamental sociological research and provides doctoral training, organizing seminars (Les Impromptus du CENS, Les Chantiers de recherche, Les Ficelles de la thèse, Le Cens du Quanti), conferences, and publishes academic works. Its research activities span four thematic axes: Popular Groups and Social Dynamics, Beliefs/Occupations/Economic Behaviours, Categories and Institutions of Public Action, and Health/Body/Sports. The laboratory does not offer commercial products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Doctoral training programme (Ecole doctorale Sociétés, temps, territoires)

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PROGEDO-LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENS is strongly embedded in the regional PROGEDO-Loire research network, which supports large-scale social science data infrastructure and surveys in the Pays de la Loire region.
• Alliances EuropacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Alliances Europa network of European research laboratories and universities, supporting collaborative research and mobility within the EU.
• MSH Ange-Guépin (Maison des Sciences de l'Homme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CENS is jointly housed and collaborates extensively with the MSH Ange-Guépin, a humanities and social sciences research facility. Many CENS doctoral students are hosted at MSH, and the CENS co-programs the interdisciplinary seminar series with MSH.
• Centre d'histoire du travail (Nantes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on joint conferences and public events related to labour history and working-class studies.
• ESO-Nantes (Espaces et SOciétés)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint seminars and research collaborations with ESO-Nantes on topics related to urban sociology and territories.
• DCS (Dynamiques et Croissances des Savoirs)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organisation of seminars and study days with DCS laboratory at Nantes Université.
• Centre François Viète (epistémologie et histoire des sciences)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterdisciplinary collaboration with Centre François Viète on history and philosophy of science topics.
• Région Pays de la LoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe regional council is a key institutional partner providing funding and supporting CENS research projects, including doctoral grants and regional thesis allocations.
• Nantes MétropolecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Nantes Métropole on research projects and urban social studies, including the Atlas social de la métropole nantaise.
• Association française de sociologie (AFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENS is a member of the French Sociological Association. In 2013, CENS co-hosted the AFS Congress on 'Dominations' with the UFR de sociologie.
• Association française de science politique (AFSP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENS participates in the national political science association's activities and events.
• CNAF (Caisse Nationale des Allocations Familiales)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENS responds to CNAF research calls and produces studies on family policy, social protection, and poverty.
• GIP Droit et justiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on legal and justice-related sociological research projects, including criminal courts reform studies.
• IAE École Universitaire de Management (Nantes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with IAE Nantes to produce the podcast 'Au coeur des reconversions. Ce que révèlent les trajectoires professionnelles' with researchers Sophie Orange (CENS) and Laetitia Pihel (LEMNA), involving L3 sociology and M1 HR management students.
• UFR STAPS (Nantes Université)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrong institutional partnership with the UFR STAPS (Sports Sciences), co-hosting research axe 4 on Health, Body and Sports, co-organising the 'Actualités de la recherche en sciences sociales du sport' seminar, and hosting co-director Mathilde Julla-Marcy from this unit.
• Université Catholique d'AngersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAttracts teacher-researchers from the Université Catholique d'Angers to participate in CENS research activities.
• École des Mines (Nantes)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearchers from the École des Mines de Nantes participate in CENS research, contributing engineering and management science perspectives to sociological investigations.
• Librairie La Petite Gare (Rezé)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with independent bookshop La Petite Gare in Rezé for the 'Habiter la ville' conference cycle, bringing together sociologists and the general public around themes of urban housing and school mix.
• La Petite GareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with independent bookshop La Petite Gare for the 'Habiter la ville' cycle of encounters and workshops, involving Margot Delon, Angeliki Drongiti, Tristan Poullaouec, and Léa Ruoppolo.
• AISLF (Association Internationale des Sociologues de Langue Française)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENS co-organised the 2019 international colloquium 'Passer les frontières, penser les frontières' with AISLF, bringing together French-language sociologists internationally.
• RERIS (Réseau d'étude des relations internationales sportives)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCENS hosted the RERIS 10th anniversary international colloquium 'Exploring International Sports Relations' organised by Sylvain Dufraisse in 2025.
• Cluster Gender MSH Ange-GuépinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organised study days on gender and rural worlds with the MSH Ange-Guépin Gender Cluster, involving Victor Lecomte and Kheloudja Amer.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centre Max Weber: UMR 5283 CNRS/ENS Lyon/EHESS based in Lyon, one of France's leading interdisciplinary social science research laboratories. Highly comparable to CENS as a CNRS-affiliated sociology and anthropology UMR with similar funding model, doctoral training mission, and open-access publication strategy.
• Centre de recherches politiques de Sciences Po (CEVIPOF): Sciences Po's political and social research center in Paris (UMR 8236). Comparable to CENS as a CNRS-affiliated social science UMR producing public policy research, training doctoral students, and producing publications in French academic presses.
• CRESPPA - Centre de Recherches Sociologiques et Politiques de Paris: UMR 7217 CNRS/Paris 8/Nanterre sociology and political science UMR. Directly comparable as a French CNRS sociology research laboratory with similar mission (fundamental research, doctoral training, public policy engagement), though significantly larger in scale.
• Centre de sociologie européenne (CSE): UMR 8036 CNRS/EHESS based in Paris, one of the most prestigious French sociology research laboratories. Comparable to CENS in CNRS-affiliated UMR structure, research focus on contemporary social transformations, and doctoral training, but with substantially greater international visibility and scale.
• Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique (CESSP): UMR 8236 CNRS/EHESS/Paris sociology and political science laboratory. Comparable to CENS as a CNRS UMR conducting fundamental social science research, training doctoral students, and disseminating through open-access publications.
• ESO - Espaces et Sociétés: UMR 6590 CNRS research laboratory based across multiple French universities focusing on social geography and sociology of space. Directly comparable as a CNRS UMR with regional research network structure, and ESO-Nantes is already a documented CENS partner.
• LADYSS - Laboratoire Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces: UMR 7533 CNRS/Paris geography and social science laboratory. Comparable as a French CNRS social science UMR producing fundamental research on contemporary societal transformations and training doctoral students across multiple universities.

Regional players

• Centre Émile Bernheim: Université Libre de Bruxelles social science research laboratory in Belgium. Comparable in mission (fundamental sociology research, doctoral training, UMR-equivalent structure) but primarily serves a different linguistic and geographic market (francophone Belgium).

Others

• Maison des Sciences de l'Homme Ange-Guêpin (MSH Ange-Guêpin): Nantes-based MSH that provides infrastructure and interdisciplinary research support to CENS and other Nantes Université laboratories. Comparable as a public humanities/social science research support entity, though CENS is a partner rather than a competitor.

Emerging players

• Centre d'études et de recherches internationales (CERI): Sciences Po's international research center covering sociology and political science. Comparable as a French social science research center producing policy-relevant work and training doctoral students, though with a stronger international relations focus than CENS.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-nantais-de-sociologie
• Instagraminstagram.com/cens_labosocio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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