Civil Society Center | CiSoC
Mission Statement
Research to Establish a New Relational Capability in the Social Game of - "Who Does What"?
The dawn of the 21st century has invigorated the discussion about the future of civil society. We are in a new social game with new players, focusing on the most relevant of questions: "Who does what?"
Crises in the financial markets, the economy, in politics and public affairs, along with an exceptional growth in corporations and private wealth, are the main topics in this discussion. The issue is the financing of financial risks, the "social" element of the social market economy, the non-party political aspect in political movements, the welfare of the welfare debate, and the asset of dealing with assets. And the issue is the ability to maintain relationships on the part of all social players.
The "Civil Society Center | CiSoC" of Zeppelin University was founded by the "Chair of Strategic Organization & Finance" in 2010 together with numerous sponsors and partners. It aims to provide a survey of emergence, of modus operandi, of the players, the interdependencies, as well as the international comparative analyses of this new game.
CiSoC works in an interdisciplinary and empirical way
- embedded into the research areas of philanthropy, faculty psychology, social and anthropological exchange theory, constitutional and institutional economics, public goods theory, organization theory, the theory of social innovation and of new social movements, as well as observing non-profit and non-government organizations, charities, sponsoring markets, and social enterprises.
CiSoC focuses on research
but contributes to (1) courses in economics, cultural studies, political and administrative sciences, to (2) "outreach" (spin-off and support of social enterprises), and to (3) academic services.
CiSoC is embedded into a dense research network
CiSoC is embedded into a dense research network of partner chairs of Zeppelin University - notably the "Friedrichshafen Institute of Family Entrepreneurship | FIF", the "Buchanan Institute for Entrepreneurial Finance", as well as the "Stadt Friedrichshafen Chair of Administrative Sciences & Modernization" - as well as renowned institutes of other universities - in particular the "Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS)" of the Technical University Munich, the "Center for Social Investments and Innovations (CSI)” of Heidelberg University, the Chair of Faculty Psychology of the Sigmund Freud Private University of Vienna. There are international cooperations with IESE Barcelona, Stanford University, Tilburg University, Adama University in Ethiopia, EGADE Business School in Mexico, Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, and the University of Stellenbosch Business School in South Africa. Research and project partnerships exist with numerous foundations and sponsoring organizations, such as Ashoka, BMW Foundation, Schwab Foundation, Start Social, or the Vodafone Foundation.
Numerous sponsoring institutions are also involved - e.g. the Mercator Foundation or the Siemens Foundation, each with their own respective research projects.