WILCO - Welfare innovations at the local level in favour of cohesion,

Warsaw University

(WU), Poland

The University of Warsaw, founded in 1816, is the largest university in Poland; 19 faculties, 25 interdepartmental study and research centres; 37 major fields and over 100 specializations in the Humanities, Earth, Social, and Natural Sciences; ca. 60,000 students, 3,000 academic staff, incl. 849 professors, ca. 2,800 other staff; studies at BA/BSc, MA/MSc, and doctoral level; degree programmes in English, courses in foreign languages, vocational training, E-learning, Summer Education. In 2007 UW - chosen by the European Commission out of 2.500 HEIs as one of 20 Erasmus Success Stories for its participation in the Programme in 2000-2006. The Institute for Social Studies (ISS) at the University of Warsaw is affiliated with the Institute for Social Research (University of Michigan, USA); an interdisciplinary research oriented institution focused on applied and cross-national studies, training for graduate students and scientists.

The research team took part in cross-national studies as head of the Polish team in: (1) the World Values Survey (in 83 countries) since 1980 -, (2) ”Functioning of local communities and local governments (USA, Poland, Sweden) 1976-1990, (3) the ”Polish-American study on ethical reasoning of councillors and civil servants of local governments”1993-1997, (4)”Gendering economic and political elites in 27 industrialized countries” 1996- 2004, (5)EC project:”Women in European Universities” (in 7 countries)2001-2003, (6)EC project: ”Work & Care” (in 6 countries)2005-008. She also was a member of (7) the EC expert group “Gender and Excellence” (evaluation of gender distribution of research grants given by national institutions) 2008. In Polish projects: (8)“Governance in Local Communities” 1976-1988; (9)“Social Map of Warsaw” (with focus on local governance) 2001-2003. I

Professor Renata Siemienska-Zochowska will be the head of the team. She is a full professor, past chair of the Dep. of Sociology of Education, UW, director of the Institute for Social Studies and head of the Center of Interdisciplinary Gender Studies, ISS UW and chairholder of the UNESCO Chair “Women, Society and Development”. Ex - president of INSTRAW. She took part in the research projects mentioned above and the National System of Monitoring of Equal Treatment of Women and Men, EU projects "Work and Care", CINEFOGO project "Third Sector organizations” giving her broad experience in empirical sociological and political science studies. She organised many interdisciplinary conferences for academic and non-academic audience. Her publications include: Siemienska R., -1997, Ethical Reasoning in a Time of Revolution: A Study of Local Officials in Poland (co-authors D.Stewart, N.Sprinthall) Public Administration Review. Vol.57, no.5.445-453;- 1999, Women and Men in the Project of Reform. A Study of Gender Differences Among Local Officials in Two Provinces in Poland. Am. Review of Public Administration. vol.29. no.3. 225-239.(co -authors D. W. Stewart, N. Sprinthall). - 2001, Process of Democratization and Local Governance in Poland. In: A. Farazmand (ed.) Handbook of Comparative and Development of Public Administration (2d Edition), Marcel Dekker, Inc., 345-362; 2009, Gender: changing conception, changing reality in the context of social politics from the perspective of new EU members. W F.Brezzi, M. Ferrari-Occhionero, E. Strickland (eds.) Equal Opportunities and Human Rights. Rome: .Universita degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”.57-70.

Members of the team include Anna Domaradzka-Widla- Ph.D., sociologist, assistant professor at the ISS UW. She took part in the international research projects e.g. WVS 2005 in Poland, National System of Monitoring of Equal Treatment of Women and Men, Demographic policy scenarios for Poland, CINEFOGO project “Third Sector Organizations facing turbulent environments”, EC project “Work and Care”. She specializes in gender and civil society issues.

Contact information: Renata Siemienska (email) and Anna Domaradzka-Widla (email)