• Rafael Wittek

    rafael wittekProfessor of Theoretical Sociology at the University of Groningen, Department of Sociology. I am the Scientific Director of the Interdisciplinary Research and Training Center SCOOP: Sustainable Cooperation, Coordinating Principal Investigator of SOCION: Social Cohesion - Towards a New Fabric of Society, and national coordinator of the sectorplan theme Societal Transitions and Behavioral Change. I also serve as Board member of the Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology (ICS). 

    My research focuses on problems of sustainable cooperation and how to prevent and solve them. My areas of expertise are the sociology of organizations, economic sociology, social network analysis, and social theory.

    I currently teach mainly in the Research Master Behavioral and Social Sciences of the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the University of Groningen and in the Transdisciplinary PhD-Training Program Sustainable Cooperation (SCOOP).

  • Awards

  • Honors and Fellowships

  • Guest Professorships

  • Major Grants

    • Social Cohesion - Towards a New Fabric of Society (SOCION)
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicants: Naomi Ellemers, Lisa Herzog, Helga de Valk, Martin van Hees, Russell Spears, Elise van Nederveen
      Amount: 30.6 MEuro
      From: NWO (SUMMIT Grant SUMMIT.1.036)
      Year: 2024
    • Teaching Transdisciplinarity: The TETRA-Initiative
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicants: Russell Spears, Ellen Janssen.
      Amount: ca. 350.000 Euro (Assistant Professor position,1 fte, four years)
      From: Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen (Teaching Innovation Fund)
      Year: 2017
    • Jongeren in een veerkrachtige samenleving. Naar nieuwe arrangementen voor inclusiviteit en participatie (JOIN)
      Member core team.
      Main Applicant: Bas van Bavel.
      Amount: 2.500.000 Euro
      From: NWO (Startimpuls National Science Agenda, Route Veerkrachtige en Zinvolle Samenlevingen)
      Year: 2017
    • Sustainable Cooperation - Roadmaps to Resilient Societies (SCOOP)
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicants: Naomi Ellemers, Russell Spears, Bas van Bavel, Martin van Hees, Tanja van der Lippe
      Amount: 18.800.000 Euro
      From: NWO (Gravitation Grant 024.003.025)
      Year: 2017
    • Sustainable Labor Market Integration of First Generation Migrant Groups
      Co-Applicant.
      Main Applicants: Nina Hansen, Liesbet Heyse
      Amount: ca. 220.000 Euro (4-year PhD-position)
      From: Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen
      Year: 2017
    • Resilience at a Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Coping with Social Devaluation
      Co-Applicant
      Other Co-Applicants: Russell Spears, Monicque Lorist, Jolien van Breen
      Amount: ca. 150.000 Euro (2 year Postdoc position)
      From: Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen
      Year: 2017
    • Cross-border network governance for sustainable training in health care
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicants: Liesbet Heyse, Francesca Giardini
      Amount: ca. 110.000 Euro (50% of 4 year PhD-position)
      From: NetwerkZon
      Year: 2017
    • Urban Collective Living Arrangements – Golden Key to Sustainable Communities?
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicant: Louisa Firnenburg
      Amount: ca. 200.000 Euro (4 year bursary PhD-position)
      From: PhD-fund, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen
      Year: 2017
    • Informal Social Networks and Organizational Inclusion: The Invisible Minority’s Dilemma
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicants: Sabine Otten, Julian Rengers
      Amount: ca. 200.000 (4 year bursary PhD-position)
      From: PhD-fund, Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen
      Year: 2017
    • Sustainable Collaborative Networks. Design, Dynamics, and Decay of Cooperation in a Multilevel Organizational Field
      Co-Applicant
      Other Co-Applicant: Liesbet Heyse
      Amount: ca. 110.000 Euro (50% of 4 year PhD-position)
      From: NetwerkZon
      Year: 2016
    • Warsaw School of Data Analysis
      Co-Applicant.
      Main Applicant: Michal Bojanowski 
      Amount: 510.000 Euro
      From: European Social Fund
      Year: 2014
    • Good Governance and Corruption of Public Leaders in Indonesia
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicant: Mala Sondang Silitonga
      Amount: ca. 260.000 Euro (4 year PhD-position with tuition)
      From: World Bank Spirit Program, Bappenas Indonesia
      Year: 2013
    • Organizational Governance and Sustainable Health Care in Indonesia
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicant: Suwatin Miharti
      Amount: ca. 260.000 Euro (4 year PhD-position with tuition)
      From: World Bank Spirit Program, Bappenas Indonesia
      Year: 2013
    • The Education Divide in Indonesia: Determinants of Unequal Access to and Quality of Education
      Co-Applicant. 
      Other Co-Applicant: Tatang Muttaqin
      Amount: ca. 260.000 Euro (4 year PhD-position with tuition)
      From: World Bank Spirit Program, Bappenas Indonesia
      Year: 2012
    • Gossip and the Management of Reputation
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicant: Francesca Giardini
      Amount: 13.000 Euro
      Amount: NIAS-Lorentz Program
      Year: 2012
    • Self-Improvement Interventions in Organizations
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicant: Gabriël Anthonio
      Amount: 150.000 Euro
      From: FranklinCovey bv and Stenden University of Applied Science
      Year: 2010
    • Healthy Aging: Population and Society (HAPS)
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicants: Inge Hutter and Ronald Stolk
      Amount: 4.200.000 Euro
      From: Board of the University of Groningen
      Year: 2009
    • Graduate Program
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicant: Werner Raub
      Amount: 800.000 Euro
      From: NWO
      Year: 2009
    • Gendered Humanitarian Careers
      Co-Applicant.
      Other Co-Applicants: Liesbet Heyse and Melinda Mills
      Amount: 45.000 Euro
      From: Board of the University of Groningen
      Year: 2007
    • Handbook of Rational Choice Social Research
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicants: Tom Snijders and Victor Nee
      Amount: 100.000 Dollar
      From: Russell Sage Foundation, New York
      Year: 2006
    • Network Dynamics in Organizations
      Main Applicant.
      Amount: 100.000 Euro (Postdoc Position, 1 fte, 4 years)
      From: Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Strategic Fund
      Year: 2006
    • Reorganizations and Workplace Transformations in the Netherlands
      Main Applicant.
      Amount: 45.000 Euro
      From: NWO (Replacement Grant 400-05-704)
      Year: 2006
    • Solidarity at work and informal networks within semi-virtual teams
      Main Applicant.
      Amount: 51.000 Euro
      From: NWO (MES 014-43-722)
      Year: 2003
    • Governance by Reorganization
      Main Applicant.
      Amount: 1.500.000 Hfl (750.000 Euro)
      From: NWO (VIDI-Scheme 016.005.052)
      Year: 2000
    • Time Competition, Flexible Contracts, and Intrahousehold Negotiation
      Main Applicant.
      Co-Applicants: Tanja van der Lippe and Arie Glebbeek (Aandachtsgebied Time Competition)
      Amount: 225.000 Hfl (112.500 Euro)
      From: NWO (490-24-060-C)
      Year: 2006
  • Journal Editorships

  • Curriculum Vitae

    Updated May, 2024

    Download CV (PDF)

    RAFAEL WITTEK
    Curriculum Vitae

    May 2024

    University of Groningen • Department of Sociology
    Grote Rozenstraat 31, 9712 TG Groningen, The Netherlands
     This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. • Work +31 50 3636282 • www.rafaelwittek.eu

    Rafael Wittek holds a PhD (cum laude) in Behavioral and Social Sciences (University of Groningen, 1999), and an M.A. (cum laude) in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology (University of Tübingen, 1991). Since 2001, he is a full professor of Theoretical Sociology at the Department of Sociology (University of Groningen), which he chaired until 2014. He held teaching appointments at Cornell University (U.S.A.), the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich (Switzerland), the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (Germany), and the Università della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland). 

    He is the Scientific Director and principle investigator of the trans-disciplinary and inter-university research and training program Sustainable Cooperation – Roadmaps to Resilient Societies (SCOOP). In 2017 this initiative was awarded a ten year grant (18.8 M€) in the context of the Dutch government’s prestigious Gravitation Program.

    Rafael Wittek’s research interests are in the fields of cooperation science, organization studies, economic sociology and social network research. He is an elected member of the European Academy of Sociology (EAS), has successfully supervised 18 PhD students and is involved in 8 ongoing PhD projects.

    He has (co-)authored more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters, and (co-)edited four Handbooks. Recent contributions appeared in Network Science, European Societies, Disasters, and Public Administration Review. His publications received multiple awards. 

     

Contact

Department of Sociology
Faculty of Behavioral and Social SciencesUniversity of Groningen
Grote Rozenstraat 31, 9712 TG Groningen, The Netherlands
Email: r.p.m.wittek@rug.nl, 
Phone: +31 50 36 36282

Secretary: Ms. Lijie Gong (+31 50 36 36469, lije.gong@rug.nl)