Sector Plan Themes & Leiden's Contribution

Leiden University’s contribution to the national SSH Sector Plan is built on a layered and interconnected structure. The Sector Plan themes define shared national priorities; the university’s profile themes embed these priorities within a broader interdisciplinary strategy; and the five FSW Core Themes translate them into focused areas of faculty strength.

Together, this framework ensures that Leiden’s work—across FSW and FGGA—is strategically aligned, academically distinctive, and firmly grounded in societal relevance.

Within the national SSH Sector Plan, Dutch universities collaborate on shared priorities to strengthen research, education, and societal impact in the social sciences and humanities. At Leiden University, this work is carried by the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (FSW) and the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA). Together, they contribute to four Sector Plan themes in the Social and Behavioural Sciences domain.

Sector Plan Themes

Resilience in Youth

Leiden researchers strengthen youth resilience by integrating expertise from pedagogy, psychology, clinical practice, and governance. They focus on development across the life course, prevention, youth participation, and collaboration with schools, municipalities, and youth care organisations.

Mental Health Disorders

Research concentrates on early identification of vulnerabilities, prevention of (chronic) mental health problems, and reducing social and health inequalities. Scholars study how institutional, behavioural, and societal factors shape mental health and wellbeing, and how this knowledge can inform care and policy.

Societal Transitions & Behavioural Change

Researchers examine how behaviour, institutions, and public policy interact in major transitions such as climate change, digitalisation, and security. They explore how evidence-based insights can support fair, democratic and sustainable societal change.

Educational Sciences & Teacher Training

Leiden contributes to national efforts to strengthen educational sciences and teacher education through research on effective learning, motivation, inclusive education, and evidence-informed innovation in schools.

Leiden University research themes

Leiden University organises much of its interdisciplinary research around five university-wide research themes. These themes provide the strategic context for Leiden’s contribution to the Sector Plans.

Humans in the World – identity, culture, worldviews, language, heritage and migration.
Resilient and Learning Society – inequalities, social transitions, future generations, and societal resilience.
Technology and Society – AI and digitalisation for humans and society, responsible technological innovation.
Peace, Justice, Democracy and Governance – security, public trust, institutions, democracy and the rule of law.
Health and Life Sciences – health and wellbeing, health disparities, prevention and the living environment.

These themes connect strongly with research on youth, mental health, sustainability, governance and AI, and provide the broader institutional structure within which Leiden University's contributions take shape.

FSW Core Themes

To strengthen and focus its contribution to both the Sector Plan and Leiden’s profile themes, FSW focussus on five core themes, all part of the Leiden Univeristy's science domains.

FGGA Core Themes

FGGA contributes to the SSH Sector Plan through research and education that address societal challenges from a governance and global perspective. Our work connects sector plan priorities with interdisciplinary expertise in public administration, security studies, and international affairs, ensuring that insights from governance and policy complement the social sciences.

FGGA researchers are actively involved in four sector plan themes: Resilience in Youth, Mental Health Disorders, Societal Transitions and Behavioural Change, and Educational Sciences & Teacher Training. These contributions draw on the strengths of our institutes – Institute of Public Administration, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, and Leiden University College The Hague – and focus on topics such as digital safety and youth resilience, violence prevention, governance of societal and technological transitions, and educational innovation for global challenges.

Through these efforts, FGGA strengthens the Sector Plan’s goals while contributing to Leiden University’s broader interdisciplinary agenda. Our research not only addresses immediate societal needs but also connects with university-wide ambitions to foster resilience, trust, and innovation in times of rapid change.

Alignment Across Levels

The national Sector Plan themes, Leiden University’s strategic profile themes, and the FSW and FGGA Core Themes are closely interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Together, they create a coherent framework that connects national priorities with the university’s broader research strategy and the faculty’s specific areas of strength. The Sector Plan establishes the shared ambitions for the SSH domain across the Netherlands; the Leiden profile themes embed these ambitions within an interdisciplinary university-wide agenda; and the FSW and FGGA Core Themes translate them into focused, faculty-level priorities grounded in disciplinary expertise, regional partnerships, and societal engagement. Through this layered structure, FSW and FGGA ensure that Leiden’s contribution to the Sector Plans is both strategically aligned and academically distinctive, while also deeply connected to the pressing challenges facing society today.