Social Science Research Council

Forms of knowledge production, knowledge sharing, and learning are changing rapidly in the US and around the world. Traditional scientific and educational institutions are under pressure to innovate in the face of changing technologies, disciplines, economic conditions, and student bodies. New institutions for learning and knowledge production are playing a growing role in this process, both inside and outside traditional educational and research sectors. The SSRC Knowledge Institutions program area brings together several programs designed to understand these shifts and their implications for society. These programs support social science that can inform both public and private sectors on challenges in higher education, changing models of undergraduate and graduate training, new practices of scientific research, and public-private partnerships in K-12 education. .

Current Activities:

• Higher Education: The SSRC Higher Education Program is aimed at informing the twin and often rivalrous goals of higher quality and equality by advancing the theoretical, methodological, and empirical understanding of shifts in the institutional culture and structure of higher education worldwide.
• Science: The SSRC Science Program supports new cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approaches, enhances capacity, and draws attention to the academic, public, and political factors affecting the scientific enterprise.
• K-12 Education: The SSRC Education Program promotes rigorous, cross-disciplinary social science research related to education and the law; education and business; and evaluation, assessment, and interpretation.