Societal impact at FASoS

FASoS Valorisation Prize winner 2024: "The EU’s Geo-economic Turn and Developing Countries: Strategic Outreach to Policy Communities."

Clara Weinhardt was awarded the Valorisation Prize for her project: "The EU’s Geo-economic Turn and Developing Countries: Strategic Outreach to Policy Communities."

Clara’s project represents a particularly impactful form of valorisation through its focus on policy engagement - an often under-represented dimension of public impact. Clara brought together policymakers and social partners from both the EU and the Global South for two workshops on trade policy. These sessions played a key role in building mutual trust and fostering dialogue in a time of global economic uncertainty.

What stood out to the jury was Clara’s initiative and leadership: she independently organized every aspect of the project, proactively involving stakeholders to ensure that those affected by policy decisions had a voice in shaping them.

FASoS Valorisation Prize Honourable Mention 2024: Review of Democracy and ADHOCISM

Yf Reykers was recognized for his project "ADHOCISM: Ad Hoc Crisis Response and International Organizations."  Through policy briefs and targeted outreach, Yf’s work sheds light on how informal coalitions can contribute to international peace and security, bypassing traditional institutional channels to create social impact.

Ferenc Laczó impressed with his work for Review of Democracy, an online journal of the Central European University. His application focused on a podcast series featuring over 120 interviews with leading thinkers such as Judith Butler and Joseph Stiglitz - an immense effort that significantly contributes to public discourse.

FASoS Valorisation Prize winner 2023: "(Neo)Fascist Metropolis: Madrid and the Transnational Far Right Networks since the end of the Spanish Civil War"

Project by: Pablo Del Hierro

Pablo Del Hierro was awarded the Valorisation Prize 2023 for his outreach activities following the project "(Neo)Fascist Metropolis: Madrid and the Transnational Far Right Networks since the end of the Spanish Civil War". Using a global urban history approach, this project created a series of materials that explained the very relevant role Madrid played during the Cold War as a safe space for far-right activists.

The first result of Pablo’s project was a book, titled Madrid, metrópolis (neo)fascista (Editorial Crítica, 2023). It attracted the attention of major media platforms in Spain, leading to several interviews for press, radio and television, as well as passionate debates on social media. Ultimately, its success led the Spanish public television (RTVE) to fund the development of a documentary based on Pablo’s book, with shooting set to be finalized in 2024, and to an official petition to remove monuments associated with the international far-right in Majadahonda (a city 20 kilometres outside Madrid).

FASoS Valorisation Prize Honourable Mention 2023: The Stories We Tell: Creative Nonfiction Accounts of Our Research

Project by: Elsje Fourie and Christin Höne.

“The Stories We Tell: Creative Nonfiction Accounts of Our Research”, edited by Elsje Fourie and Christin Höne, put together the first FASoS anthology of creative nonfiction, which uses the techniques of creative writing to bring research to life for a nonspecialist readership. The anthology features contributions from 19 researchers across all four FASoS research groups and all five departments. The book was translated to Dutch in 2025. You can download the English version of the book here and the Dutch version here.

FASoS Valorisation Prize winner 2022: communication activities regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Project by: Mariëlle Wijermars

Mariëlle Wijermars provided expert opinion via various national and international (news) platforms during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, Mariëlle "has consistently and comprehensively engaged with the communication opportunities created by this development. The Committee acknowledges the time investment, eloquence and emotional strength required when reaching out to the general public through non-academic media. Mariëlle has been very courageous to embrace these opportunities as public exposure can also come with attacks and criticism."

FASoS Valorisation Prize Honourable Mention 2022: Zing je mee?/Singst du mit?

Project by: Marie Rickert

Zing je mee?/Singst du mit? is a bilingual children's book written in Dutch and German that serves as a tool for disseminating research findings. The book is designed to be child-friendly, accessible, and engaging, providing a fun and interesting way for children to learn about the findings presented in the paper "Singing in Semiotic Assemblages".

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, "small children are an often-overlooked target group in academic outreach, and the fact that Marie created this original project as an early-career researcher is very impressive."

FASoS Valorisation Prize winner 2021: Walking Seminar Den Haag

Project by: Christian Ernsten

Walking Seminar Den Haag consists of a website hosting four self-guided audio tours through the city of The Hague, the associated walking-route maps, and accompanying essays written by FASoS students.

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, Walking Seminar Den Haag "is a highly original project that opens an entire new dimension to public space and at the same time enables researchers and artists to get some timely societal issues on the ‘public’ agenda."

Picture by: Dirk-Jan Visser

FASoS Valorisation Prize Honourable Mention 2021: Unboxed

Project by: Maastricht University Science and Technology Studies (MUSTS)

Researchers of the MUSTS group adopted 23 scientific instruments and technical artefacts from the collection of Centre Céramique, a public library and cultural heritage centre in Maastricht. These include mundane objects too, such as a handdrill, bulb or a simple key. The instruments had remained in storage for years, but are now displayed at the centre—literally and figuratively, they were “unboxed” by the researchers. The instruments will be on display in groups: every two months, a window case positioned amidst books on science and technology will show a fresh group of instruments until all adopted instruments have had their turn.

The public exhibition display is accompanied by a book titled Unboxed. Instruments for Science and Technology in Centre Ceramique.

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, Unboxed "is a rare example of a research group's joint effort to reach members of the public and could easily be seen as an exemplar for other research groups. The fact that MUSTS was approached by an external stakeholder to collaborate (rather than being researcher-initiated) is testament to the public and cross-sectoral profile and standing of the research programme."

FASoS Valorisation Prize winner 2020: Finding Your Voice

Project by: Valentina Mazzucato, Karlijn Haagsman, Joan van Geel, Gladys Akom Ankobrey, Sarah Anschütz, Laura Ogden, Onallia Ester Osei

Finding Your Voice was a creative workshop organised by the MO-TRAYL project to give back to some of the young participants who had contributed so much to MO-TRAYL's research, and to share their stories on growing up transnationally with the public. 

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, "considerable thought has gone into the development of this workshop and its associated outputs, which successfully paint a powerful and moving picture of the respondents and researchers alike. The net result are carefully crafted products which not only give the respondents a voice, but also give the reader a unique perspective on their stories which they would not have enjoyed through traditional channels."

FASoS Valorisation Prize Honourable Mention 2020: Mosa Historia

Project by: Vincent Bijman, Ferenc Laczo, Simone Schleper, and Vincent Lagendijk

Mosa Historia is a blog developed by FASoS' History Department. The blog serves as a window on the activities of staff members of the Department. Through blogs they aim to introduce, popularise, and report on their work, findings, and challenges. 

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, Mosa Historia "opens up and shares details about the research process. As such, it is not simply an add-on to existing research, but really provides new insights that would not have been available otherwise." 

FASoS Valorisation Prize winner 2019: The Maastricht Debate

Project by: Johan Adriaensen, Christine Arnold, Thomas Christiansen, Christine Neuhold, Michael Shackleton, supported by Afke Groen and Mathieu Segers

The Maastricht Debate was an evening with the lead candidates of the European political parties for the role of European Commission President. The 90-minute event was broadcast live across the European Union.

According to the jury of the Valorisation prize, "the Maastricht Debate team approached engagement not only as a matter of post-research, but used the debate as both an important societal event, and an object of study and a way of gathering data, linking it to courses and teaching. This approach towards valorisation takes the societal consequences of our scientific expertise seriously."