SCOOP is a research and training centre dedicated to the interdisciplinary study of sustainable cooperation as a key feature of resilient societies. The centre connects research groups from sociology, psychology, history, philosophy, public administration, research methods, and statistics. SCOOP is a joint initiative by the University of Groningen (Strategic Theme Sustainable Society) and Utrecht University (Strategic Theme Institutions for Open Societies), and also involves researchers from the VU Amsterdam, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Radboud University Nijmegen. The 2025 Vision for Science of the Dutch Ministry of Education (2014, p. 19) praised SCOOP as an “example of cross-pollination between disciplines”.
In addition to the academic ambitions, the program wants to realise several tangible long-term gains. In order to achieve them we created the Training Center. It is organized in two sections, each of them with a specific target. The first one is research-oriented and it is aimed at prospective students. The second is policy-oriented and its target are practitioners.
The first section of our Training Center consists in a talent selection and training program to prepare the next generation of top researchers. In the spirit of the research center, students will be trained in a transdisciplinary fashion to include elements from psychology, sociology, philosophy, and history.For more information on the teaching program, click here.
The second section of our Training Center makes use of the main results from the research center as a whole. The goal is to provide insights and instruments that can be used to train societal partners and stakeholders to foster a resilient society.