This project aims to create the world’s first “Macroscope”, a powerful tool, a research infrastructure, for investigating complex societal issues at scale. Building on existing Dutch infrastructures such as ODISSEI (for the Social Sciences) and CLARIAH (for the Humanities), the Macroscope will enable researchers to securely access and analyse large amounts of sensitive, interconnected data. It will include advanced data collection systems, AI tools, and a platform for collaboration. This innovative facility, expected to be completed in 2030, will enable groundbreaking research in the social sciences and humanities, making it easier to investigate complex social dynamics and answer critical societal questions.
The Macroscope project unites 14 Dutch universities with leading institutes, including Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Centerdata, SURF, the Netherlands eScience Center, the Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal, the National Library (KB), the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (B&G), the KNAW Humanities Cluster, and DANS.
DANS contributes to the Macroscope project by further developing the search infrastructure currently available for discovering existing datasets within the ODISSEI Portal as well as the DANS Data Station Social Sciences and Humanities.
