Areas of research
As part of its fundamental and commissioned research, CRIS brings together a body of work in three cross-disciplinary research areas and four specific research fields. These represent both methodological orientations and privileged objects of study for its specialized researchers.
3 cross-disciplinary research areas
Public and organized action
In this research area, we study collective action processes in a context marked by organizational frenzy, the design and use of new technologies, and the proliferation of norms and uncertainties.
Professions and institutions
This line of research focuses on the recomposition of work, the evolution of the institutional and professional forms in which it takes place, and their regulation.
Translations and innovations
In this area, we study scientific, technical, organizational and political innovation processes, to gain a better understanding of how they evolve, from their conception to the uses to which they give rise.
5 specific areas of research
Law and justice
Part of our research focuses on the workings of police, judicial and prison institutions. It seeks to understand how organizations and professionals in these fields function and interact, the influence of digital equipment on their practices and knowledge, and the regulation of these various components by and with the law.
Employment, work and social policies
In this field of research, a number of studies focus on the match between labor supply and demand, and the policies implemented in this respect. In particular, they address the dynamics of the Belgian labor market in terms of workers, jobs, forms of work and integration. Activation, re-employment and career and skills support, as well as the link between education/training, poverty and social exclusion, are related themes that are also addressed. In addition to the role of the state and public institutions, this area of research analyzes the various players involved in the labor market.
Environments, arts and cultures
This field of research focuses on the living world, in terms of investigations, representation and governance. To be more precise, the work covered by this fieldis rooted in ecological and cultural issues. They are potentially related to questions of competition and conflict, but also to partnerships, in the use of both physical and symbolic territories. They manifest themselves in the context of public policies or local initiatives, and affect the conditions of coexistence between humans and non-humans.
Collective and social memories
Drawing on the pioneering work of Maurice Halbwachs and the contributions of contemporary sociology and cognitive neuroscience, this line of research studies the formation and evolution of collective and social memories and commemorative practices in a context of expanding memorial policies.
Health
Some of our work focuses on the workings of healthcare policies and networks, and the relationship between professionals and users and knowledge. More specifically, they concern the coordination of mental health care networks, the study of inequalities in access to health care, organizational learning and the emergence of new norms in times of crisis.
