Empirical Social Sciences

Starting in early 2026, WWTF will open a new call for forward-looking research projects aimed at strengthening societal resilience in times of crisis. This call places social scientists in leading roles, working in close collaboration with other disciplines and practitioners. Across two funding phases, research teams will be encouraged to explore a crisis of their choice—using it as a real-world context to jointly practice and advance resilience. The goal: to better understand how societies can navigate uncertainty, adapt, and emerge stronger and to create the knowledge we need to do so.  If your work touches on resilience, crisis response, social innovation, or cross-disciplinary collaboration, this is a call to watch. More details to come in 2026. Stay tuned for events and announcements.

Quantitative Data Research

The WWTF pilot call "Quantitative Data Research" in the field of Empirical Social Sciences was open to researchers at universities and non-university research institutions, who seek to conduct a cutting-edge interdisciplinary research projects (duration: 2 to 4 years) on the basis of large data sets on socially relevant issues. The funding range per project is € 250,000 to € 600,000. The call jury selected 7 excellent projects for funding. Additional funding opportunities were available for collaborative projects between scientists in Vienna and Lower Austria.