The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action is a multidisciplinary space that creates synergies and bridges the scientific, practitioner, and policy spheres.
The Centre for Social Sciences Research and Action aims to foster social change through innovative applications of social science, digital technologies, and open-access knowledge.
We achieve our mission through human-centered, transformative and multidisciplinary research, and engagement in multi-level fora.
The centre’s programmes and services are devised to be complementary and contribute towards ensuring the cycle of research to action.
1. Multidisciplinary human-centred action-oriented research
The centre conducts original, interdisciplinary, and scientific research grounded in the social sciences. Drawing from across academic disciplines and bridging the scientific, practitioner, and policy fields, the centre produces contextualised, transformative knowledge that combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
Central to this approach is a participatory methodology that informs action at multiple levels: engaging the broader public and individuals at the micro level; civil society actors and practitioners at the meso level; and policy-makers and institutions at the macro level. The centre firmly believes in knowledge as a vector for transformation, whether in deepening public understanding of shared social challenges, fostering empathy across difference, or shaping fairer and more equitable policies.
With offices in the heart of the Mediterranean, the centre's research covers the SWANA region, complemented by strategic cross-regional partnerships and knowledge-sharing convenings. The centre is committed to expanding its geographic reach across the Mediterranean, building synergies across borders, and deepening its impact in pursuit of social justice.
The centre remains steadfast in its commitment to justice for all oppressed and vulnerable communities in the region, guided by its founding mission: social sciences for change.
As an action-oriented research hub, the centre goes beyond publication to actively engage its audiences and stakeholders. This includes knowledge-sharing events, scientific seminars, fellowships, study weeks, and workshops.
All publications are made freely available through the centre's open access policy – a deliberate expression of its mission to democratise knowledge and foster social change through free access to information, innovative uses of social science, and digital technologies. This strives to contribute to critical thinking and action, and inform public debate, narratives, and public policy-making processes.
2. Daleel Madani, civic tech innovation at the service of civil society and the people
Daleel Madani is the SWANA region’s first and largest online platform created by local civil society, and for civil society. Launched in 2006, it pioneered a civil society-centred, open-access model built on the principles of inclusivity, transparency, and the right to information — supporting local actors across the region and the Global South.
Daleel Madani exists in the belief that civil society is the engine of sustainable and inclusive social change and democratic processes. The platform strengthens cooperation and transparency between civil society actors, reducing duplication of effort and amplifying the collective impact of the sector.
Daleel Madani's consistent and high engagement reflects its standing as a trusted, reliable resource for civil society actors across the region. By making civic knowledge more accessible and open, it empowers organisations and individuals to act with greater coordination, visibility, and purpose.
3. Incubation and Learning, A Space for Change
The centre provides its Civil Society Incubator and a community space for civil society actors, activists, and emerging leaders, a place where initiatives take root, organisations find their footing, and change-makers grow alongside one another.
Through tailored support, coaching, mentoring, practical workshops, and hands-on guidance or summer schools and study weeks, the centre offers the resources people need to turn ideas into action.
More than a support or educational programme, this space is a living ecosystem grounded in the belief that lasting social change grows through solidarity, peer-to-peer learning, and collective strategising.