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ERNOP members study philanthropy, which is understood as private, mainly voluntary, contributions to public causes. Research on philanthropy is scattered among different academic disciplines. Research centers studying philanthropy are often multidisciplinary, thereby integrating several academic disciplines when studying philanthropy. ERNOP perceives all these different perspectives as being a strength, and aims to include them all in the study of philanthropy.

The 2021 edition of the snapshot of research centers on philanthropy in Europe, provides an overview of philanthropy research centers in Europe that are an institutional member of ERNOP, their main academic disciplines, philanthropy related focus, and the most important research questions (RQs) they aim to answer. The snapshot shows that philanthropy is a multidisciplinary research topic, varying from less frequently mentioned disciplines as philosophy, history, and ethics, to more frequently mentioned disciplines such as economics, management and law. However, as in 2020, sociology remains the academic discipline that is cited most frequently by the centers if asked about the main academic discipline of their center.

Compared to 2020, two additional centers have been listed in the snapshot. The Debiopharm Chair for Family Philanthropy at IMD Business School has a specific focus on the giving behavior and organisation of enterprising families, while the Institute for Social Theory and Philosophy at the University of Belgrade adds to the other research centers that have a broad focus on philanthropy.

You can download the 2021 version of the snapshot of academic research centers on philanthropy here.