Research Units

Four Major Crosscutting Programmes

In addition to the 11 research centres, five cross-cutting programmes allow researchers from the different Sciences Po research units to jointly develop long-term research programmes.

The Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP)

The LIEPP is a "laboratoire d'excellence" (Labex) supported by the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the French government, within the framework of the "Investissements d'avenir" programme.
The LIEPP aims to play a major role in evaluating various aspects of public policy through an innovative method based on multidisciplinarity and the combination of qualitative, comparative, and quantitative analysis. LIEPP also aims to develop and disseminate the best academic methods and research in the field of policy evaluation.

The Observatory of Market Society Polarization (AxPo)

Created thanks to funding from the AXA Chair in Market Sociology, AxPo is a research programme built on MaxPo’s* past achievements and innovates with a new research focus, a new role in the training of early-career researchers, and a new institutional setting with the following missions: developing research on Market Society Polarization; promoting junior-level research with an ambitious international postdoctoral program; creating intellectual and social ties between Sciences Po and other top-ranked global universities through a visiting scholars program; serving as a Sciences Po portal for institutionalised Franco-German cooperation; training junior researchers in a monthly PolEconSoc seminar.

The "Cities are Back in Town" programme

The purpose of the "Cities are Back in Town" programme is to initiate new research perspectives, to conduct systematic in-depth work on the Paris region, and to instigate a programme of comparison between cities in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa, around three major themes:

• The spatialisation of inequalities, segregation (economic, social, educational and ethnic), and their effects on the relations between social groups, welfare states and urban inequalities
• Government, governance and democracy, urban policies, conflicts and activism;
• Socio-economics of cities, institutions and economic development.

The Research and Educational Programme onGender Studies (PRESAGE)

PRESAGE, Programme de recherche et d’enseignement des savoirs sur le genre (Research and Educational Programme on Gender Studies) is Sciences Po’s gender studies programme. Created in 2010, PRESAGE encourages collaborations between Sciences Po’s different research units and by promoting interactions with foreign researchers. It rests on the assertion that gender studies do not constitute an academic discipline, but rather a field of research in constant renewal. In addition to the multidisciplinary approach of gender questions in research projects, PRESAGE proposes a large course offer.

The research and teaching chairs of Sciences Po study subjects at the heart of public debate and current affairs. They have two goals: to conduct research in order to better understand contemporary society and to nourish the content of coursework. 

Each chair is connected to a graduate school or a research centre. An independent scientific committee elects the chairs and specifies the centre’s scientific programme. Permanent faculty members of Sciences Po as well as outside experts or researchers from partner universities compose the committee. Alongside the scientific committee, the steering committee puts into place the Chair’s activity programme. The steering committee consists of benefactor representatives as well as the chairholder and staff of each chair. 

Writer-in-residence chair

Created in 2019, the Writer-in-Residence Chair aims to inspire students’ creative expression and enable them to develop the ability to reflect critically and innovatively. The chair always welcomes a francophone writer who delivers writing lessons and facilitates events within the Writing and Rhetoric Centre. 

The Writer-in-Residence Chair is closely tied to the Writing and Rhetoric Centre and is overseen by Delphine Grouès, Director of the Institute for Skills and Innovation.

The Chair benefits from the support of the Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation, Céline Fribourg, Karen Reybier and Sophie Midy.

Find out more about the Writer-in-Residence Chair and the Writing and Rhetoric Centre

Chair in Sovereign Debt and Finance

Created in 2019 as Chair in Sovereign Debt, it has now entered its second three-year term with the objective of advancing policy-oriented research on sovereign debt and the international financial architecture and to promote better policies and practice. Through disciplinary strengths, and interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches, we conduct rigorous, impartial, evidence-based research and uses the insights from this work to generate knowledge, foster public debate and influence policies.

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European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition

Created in 2020, this chair is headed by Marc Ringel Full, Professor at Nuertingen Geislingen University, Stuttgart, Senior Associate Researcher at the University of Brussels. It aims to bring new insights to all organisations concerned with advancing sustainable development along the triple axis of climate transition, economic development and social inclusion. The chair adopts a resolutely transdisciplinary approach, integrating the fields of economics, sociology, technologies and humanities. It focuses on social inclusion, the strengthening of environmental sustainability and the issue of economic growth. It aims to promote the design and implementation of national and European public policies that serve the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda and the European Green Deal.

For the first time, this chair is co-hosted by two of Sciences Po's graduate schools: the School of Public Affairs and the School of International Affairs. It is headed by Marc Ringel, an expert in environmental issues, affiliate professor at Sciences Po and full professor at Nuertingen Geislingen University, Stuttgart. Numerous Sciences Po researchers working on environmental issues will participate in the work of the chair.

The chair is supported by the European Investment Bank, Hermès and HSBC.

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Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair

Created in 2017, the Digital, Governance and Sovereignty Chair aims to stimulate reflection on political, economic, and societal issues tied to the surge of digital technology and its impact on both daily life and public policy. 

Connected to the School of Public Affairs and the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies, the Chair is led by Florence G'Sell, Professor of Private Law.

The Chair benefits from the support of Sopra Steria Next (primary partner) as well as the Caisse des Dépôts. 

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Good in Tech Chair

Created in 2019, the Good in Tech Chair seeks to reimagine innovation and technology as tools for creating a better world. 

Two institutions support the Chair: Sciences Po’s School of Management and Innovation and the Institute Mines-Télécom Business School (IMT-BS). The co-holders of the Chair are Dominique Cardon (medialab) for Sciences Po and Marie-Christine Balagué for IMT-BS.

ARTEFACT and CGI support the chair

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Chair for the Study of Religion

The Chair for the Study of Religion, created in 2020, aims to promote the development of research related to religion and to support social science education related to such subjects. Connected to Sciences Po’s Centre of International Studies (CERI), the Chair is co-directed by CNRS Research Professor Alain Dieckhoff and Associate Professor at Sciences Po and Researcher at CERI Stéphane Lacroix.

The goals of the Chair include uniting researchers of religious studies; proposing religious studies undergraduate and doctoral coursework to Sciences Po; participating in public and academic debate, and supporting the next generation of researchers. 

Groupe Bayard support the Chair.

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Research Chair on Overseas Territories

Created in 2021 within the CEVIPOF, the Chair on Overseas Territories aims to promote a cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to issues related to the French overseas territories. It has four main missions:

• To foster debates and reflections by enabling all actors from the French overseas territories and the French mainland to meet and exchange views in an academic framework that is neutral, demanding and open to all territories.
• To stimulate research and contribute to the constitution of a body of doctrine in the French overseas territories through a multi-disciplinary approach that comprehensively addresses the overseas territories’ issues and challenges.
• To enrich the undergraduate and graduate education programmes at Sciences Po and train tomorrow's overseas leaders capable of developing and applying innovative solutions.
• To build long-term partnerships with public authorities, local authorities, associations and companies in the French overseas territories, as well as internationally.

Martial Foucault, director of the CEVIPOF, is the chairperson. Other members include Daniel Boy, Sylvain Brouard, Jean Chiche, Olivier Costa and Anne Muxel, permanent researchers at the CEVIPOF, as well as numerous researchers associated with the CEVIPOF.

The committee of partners brings together the Chair's financial contributors, members of Parliament from the French overseas territories (Senate, National Assembly, European Parliament, EESC) and invited associations and business groups contributing to the work or dissemination of the Chair's work.

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Chair for Women in Business 

Created in 2018, the Chair for Women in Business identifies the obstacles preventing women from achieving their professional goals. It evaluates barriers and provides women with the tools to overcome them.

The Chair is connected to the Centre for Entrepreneurship and partners with the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Evaluation of Public Policies (LIEPP). Anne Boring, Assistant Professor within the Department of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Associate Researcher at LIEPP directs this chair.

Axa Research Fund, Fondation Chanel and Goldman Sachs. support this chair.

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Health Chair

Created in 2006, the Health Chair reimagines public health and its variants through an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary lens: healthcare system regulation, healthcare services organisation, the impact of new technology, health-related public policy, particularly pertaining to aging and nutrition. 

Connected to the Centre for the Sociology of Organisations (CSO), the Health Chair is directed by doctor and previous Inspector General of Social Affairs Gilles Duhamel and CNRS Research Director and CSO Researcher Daniel Benamouzig.

The Chair benefits from the support of the Department of Health, Public Health France, the Île-de-France Regional Agency of Health, the CNAM, Unicancer and CNOI.

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Chair in Work and Organisational Change 

The Chair in Work and Organisational Change aims to provide a hub for thinking about the factors driving change in business (and other) organisations and their consequences, and about the jobs and forms of employment of the future. Given the current context of growing organisational and societal complexity, critical reflection on these transformations is imperative. The Chair aims to become a reference in Europe and a platform for producing research and teaching through cooperation between researchers and faculty from Sciences Po’s five disciplines, companies, experts and practitioners, public stakeholders, regulatory institutions, and students. Debates and events featuring prominent figures will demonstrate this ambition for broad-based dialogue. The Chair will also support the translation of research findings into dedicated course offerings within Sciences Po Master’s programmes.

Find out more about The Work and Organisational Change Chair

Cities and Digital Technology Chair

Created in 2017, the City and Digital Technology Chair studies the transformation of cities in the context of the digital revolution. It examines the interaction between digital technology and territorial governance. 

Connected to the Urban School and in partnership with the Centre for European Studies and Comparative Politics (CEE), the City and Digital Technology Chair is directed by Patrick Le Gales, Director of CNRS (National Committee of Scientific Research) Research at CEE and Beatriz Botero Arcila, assistant professor at Sciences Po Law school.

The Chair benefits from the support of the Caisse des Dépôts, La Poste, RTE and Cisco.

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Cities, Housing, and Real Estate Chair

Created in 2020, the City, Housing, and Real Estate Chair aims to contribute to research on developments within the real estate sector while drawing on theoretical tools and methods from the social sciences. It focuses on research related to the financing of real estate, housing public policy, territory issues, urban development, and the evolution of real estate development.

Connected to the Urban School, the Chair is overseen by Tommaso Vitale and Ilaria Milazzo, Dean and Executive Director of the School, respectively. Bruno Cousin, member of the Center of European Studies and Comparative Politics, ensures the scientific responsibility of the Chair. 

The Chair benefits from the support of the Fédération des promoteurs immobiliers (FPI), Gecina and Eiffage.

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