The LocGov Research Network is a European research network dedicated to the comparative study of local government. IFDT has been a member of the network since 2022. The latest survey of municipal councillors included more than 30 000 respondents from 28 countries, while the network is currently preparing the third wave of a major comparative survey of mayors across 40 European countries.
This project is part of Humboldt4Europe, HU’s national project supporting the European Universities Initiative, funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with resources from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
In the context of declining participation and low visibility of trade unions among young people in Europe, the TUAC2026 project aims to develop a sustainable model of non-formal education and transnational cooperation, empowering a new generation of young trade union activists
This project comparatively analyses the resilience and innovative capacities of civil society in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Czechia, and Sweden. It begins from the genealogies of multiple crises – economic, housing, climate, food, pandemic, and gender – and focuses on communities’ collective responses. It examines how civic actions emerge and endure under conditions of exclusion, how activists sustain engagement and build multi-scalar solidarities, and how alliances and key relationships are shaped. As an analytical instrument, the concept of “hubs of engagement” is introduced. The methodological framework is qualitative and comparative, based on critical participatory action research.
The Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory leads this Regional Network of Centers of Advanced Studies in Southeast Europe (RECAS) project focused on placing youth perspectives at the center of democratic renewal and policy design in the Western Balkans. Over 12 months, the project will host selected PhD and postdoctoral fellows for three- to six-month residencies at RECAS centers, where they will research how young people imagine Europe’s political future and eco-digital transformations, and translate those insights into practical policy proposals. Core activities include six Deliberative Workshops with students across WB capitals, a joint Surgery Week at Moise Palace, a Policy Hackathon dedicated to eco-digital futures, and continuous curation of results in the open Academic Policy Lab 2.0 repository.
More informaiton about the project results is available at: https://minipart.rs/
This project is dedicated to the study, promotion, and dissemination of Jewish cultural heritage in the Western Balkans.
“Career and Mom – CAM2025” project contributes to establishing a balance between the professional and private lives of women with children by advocating for changes in the strategic and legislative framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), particularly in the area of maternity rights. As a project partner, IFDT conducted a detailed analysis of the relevant normative framework and previous research in this field. The institute also carried out an online survey and focus group discussions to understand the real-world situation, needs, and barriers that women in BiH face in reconciling work and parenthood. The outcome of this entire research process is a document that, in addition to significant findings and conclusions, contains recommendations for the advocacy process before decision-makers.
DEBATING DEMOCRACY is committed to developing new approaches to learning and teaching through the utilization of datathlons. These datathlons involve the analysis of natural speech samples (corpus) related to sustainable development and democracy, facilitated by software tools.
Nets4Dem puts forward a Network of Networks approach to establish and develop a European network of practitioners and researchers in the field of democracy, civic deliberation, participation and citizenship education.
