About the MCCR

Societal resilience, which refers to the ability of a society to absorb, respond to, and recover from disruptions and perturbations, has become a guiding principle for policy planning in Western democratic societies. However, recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic or economic and political turmoil have underscored the lack of robust theoretical, methodological, and empirical knowledge to explain and improve societal resilience during times of crises. In response to this pressing need, the Mannheim Center for Crisis Research (MCCR) strives to investigate societal resilience in times of crises.

Given that societal resilience is determined by the resilience of its constituent elements on the micro level and their interactions, we will investigate the resilience of individuals in various domains of life as well as their complex interactions with each other and with institutions, public policies, and interventions designed to improve societal resilience.

The Mannheim Center for Crisis Research will develop and apply theory-guided empirical approaches to study

• the resilience of individuals regarding their health, work situation, and decision-making,
• their resilience as citizens in the context of political preferences, perceptions, and beliefs and their interactions with media and politicians, and
• the resilience of institutions and the effectiveness of public policies devised to improve societal resilience and their interactions with the resilience of individuals.

The investigation of the complex effects of crises on societal resilience requires multidisciplinary research and overcoming methodological challenges which result from the highly dynamic development and heterogenous effects of crises. Drawing on the University of Mannheim's excellent economic and social science disciplines, researchers from different fields will collaborate to develop and apply innovative methods for more fine-grained and quicker causal analyses which are necessary to explain societal resilience in times of crises. To achieve this goal, the Mannheim Center for Crisis Research will implement innovative organizational measures that surmount communication barriers between disciplines and establish a common research platform.

The research will focus on Germany, although some projects will examine specific aspects of societal resilience in the context of the European Union (EU) and non-EU countries. The Mannheim Center for Crisis Research will provide valuable explanations of societal resilience and advance evidence-based policymaking in times of crises.