Changing the topics: the social sciences in EU-funded research projects

How has EU research funding changed over time? This article shows a shift from research on the structural challenges arising from European integration toward research that focuses on providing immediate solutions for stakeholders from enterprises and public institutions. Using data from the EU CORDIS database and combining topic models with multiple correspondence analysis, we show how the relation between the EU and social science research can be seen in the topics of the research projects. Firstly, we find two principles of division: first between welfare state social science vs. stakeholder-driven innovation and second between cultural heritage and digital platforms vs. governance of society. Secondly, we show that, over time, there is a clear shift toward stakeholder-driven innovation. This shift in the goals of EU-funded research projects—from social integration to market innovation—illustrates a shift in for whom and for what the EU funds social science research.