UMONS Research Institute for Societal and Territorial development
The SOCI&TER Institute intends to position itself mainly in the field of sustainable development by working on three main areas
Spatial planning
Given the ecological crisis, SOCI&TER seeks to develop new ways of questioning/transforming/developing territories that are respectful of the environment and living beings. The reflections carried out within the Institute concern, for example, the re-articulation of urban, rural and natural spaces, new ways of conceiving housing or the development of short circuits.
Social inclusion
Aware of the fragility of certain populations, SOCI&TER works on the development of a more inclusive society. This translates into reflections/actions on 1) the impact of socio-economic transformations of territories on populations (gentrification, segregation, social exclusion); 2) the development of governance tools favouring citizen participation and, consequently, social cohesion; 3) the implementation of research or collaborative projects involving the associative, public and private worlds.
The economy
With the ambition of promoting the autonomy and balance of the territories studied, SOCI&TER approaches the company as one of the agents of social and political change by developing, in the fields of strategy, accounting, finance, human resources management, innovation, technology and marketing, new (micro-)practices likely to promote the creation and/or support of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Some numbers
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170Researchers
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60PhD Students
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350Publications per year
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30Current projects
News from the institute
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Recherche08 July 2026Do company profits benefit men more than women? A study conducted jointly by the Department of Economics at UMONS and the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), published in the journal De Economist, sheds new light on this question. Based on an analysis of more than 600,000 workers in the Belgian private sector, the results show that the sharing of profits depends mainly on worker characteristics other than gender, as well as on wage bargaining arrangements. Continue reading -
RechercheAt UMONS, Research Explores the Impact of Export Support Measures on SMEs
15 June 2026Do export support measures genuinely help SMEs expand internationally? Through her doctoral research, Florine Thiebault, a researcher within the UMONS Department of Economics, is exploring this question from an original perspective. By combining statistical analyses with field interviews, her work highlights effects that are sometimes invisible in conventional indicators, yet capable of influencing companies’ trajectories over the long term. Continue reading
