In 2026, CIVICA is launching four Research Hubs. Led by faculty members, each Hub brings together research teams from across the CIVICA alliance, combining expertise from different disciplines and perspectives.
The Hubs are designed to act as connecting points within a wider European research network. Through workshops, conferences and collaborative events, they draw in scholars from across the alliance and beyond. Their purpose is to support seed research and lay the groundwork for larger, externally funded research projects in the future.
The four hubs are:
Introducing TRANSCONNECT
Migration is no longer a temporary challenge for Europe. It is a long-term force reshaping societies, labour markets, and democratic resilience across the continent. Since 2022, the arrival of millions of displaced Ukrainians has made this reality visible, exposing both the limits of existing integration models and the urgent need for new approaches to migration governance.
Researching Integration Pathways, Transconnectivity and Policy Innovation in Multilevel Migration Governance (TRANSCONNECT) is one of the new Research Hubs launched under the CIVICA call. As part of the CIVICA European University Alliance, the hub focuses on migration and integration governance in Europe, with a particular emphasis on Ukrainian forced migration since 2022.
Co-Project Lead, Dr Marta Pachocka at SGH said that it “is not only a research initiative but also a long-term research infrastructure that brings together CIVICA universities, Ukrainian partners, and other stakeholders to advance innovation in European migration and integration governance. At its core is the concept of transconnectivity, which reconceptualises integration as a process that enables forced migrants to build lives in host societies while maintaining resilient ties with their countries of origin, such as Ukraine. In this way, migration can be understood not as a burden, but as a strategic asset for Europe’s long-term resilience.
The hub combines this novel concept with the well-established multilevel governance framework to better capture the complexity of contemporary migration and integration dynamics. Transconnectivity challenges one-way, assimilationist policy models and instead promotes reciprocal adaptation across local, national, and transnational levels. This approach helps avoid zero-sum outcomes in which host countries benefit at the expense of severe human-capital losses in countries of origin, and instead supports mutual capacity-building, cooperation, and innovation.”
Running from January 2026 to June 2027, the hub serves as a platform for interdisciplinary academic research and European research collaboration. It brings together researchers, policymakers, civil society organisations, and international institutions to build a long-term research structure and to develop competitive proposals for major EU funding. In doing so, TRANSCONNECT contributes to higher education cooperation in Europe and strengthens the role of European social sciences in public policy debates.
Who is involved
TRANSCONNECT brings together researchers from seven CIVICA universities: SGH Warsaw School of Economics, the European University Institute (EUI), Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), Școala Națională de Studii Politice și Administrative (SNSPA), Central European University (CEU), IE University and the Hertie School.
The hub also includes three Ukrainian CIVICA partners, as well as additional European universities. Together, the hub represents a major European research collaboration in the social sciences, involving scholars at different career stages and across disciplines.
As part of the CIVICA European University Alliance, TRANSCONNECT focuses on how migration and integration are governed at different levels - local, national, and European- and how universities can contribute social science expertise to real-world challenges through universities and civic engagement.
What TRANSCONNECT is looking into
The hub studies migration and integration governance in Europe through three closely connected areas:
Transconnectivity and integration – The hub studies how migrants, particularly Ukrainians displaced since 2022, maintain social, economic, civic, and institutional ties across borders. It looks at how connections shape integration outcomes, not only in host counties, but also in countries of origin.
Multilevel migration governance – The hub examines how migration is governed across EU, national, regional and local levels. It looks at the role of cities, civil society organisations, NGOs, businesses, and digital tools, and how these actors interact. The research explores where coordination works well m where it breaks down, and how more inclusive and effective governance models can emerge.
Policy innovation and participation – The hub studies how new public policies are developed by involving the people they affect. Rather than focusing only on top-down government decisions, it looks at how migrants, local authorities, civil society organisations, and other actors work together to shape policies that are more inclusive, practical, and responsive to real needs.
Why does this matter
This research matters for Europe’s future. Migration is no longer a short-term crisis; it is a structural force reshaping Europe’s societies, economies and democratic resilience. The arrival of displaced Ukrainians since 2022 has exposed the limits of top-down, one-way integration models and revealed a clear policy gap: while host countries may benefit in the short term, countries like Ukraine risk long-term losses of skills and human capital at a critical moment in their path towards EU membership.
TRANSCONNECT challenges this outdated approach. It explores how migration can become a strategic European asset, strengthening democratic resilience, innovation capacity, and cooperation across borders, while also supporting long-term recovery and reconstruction in Ukraine. In doing so, the hub contributes social sciences research for policymakers and helps show how higher education can shape public policy.
“Focusing on post-2022 Ukrainian forced migration enables the hub to engage with integration processes unfolding on the ground, often independently of national strategies. While EU-level instruments such as the Temporary Protection Directive provide an important legal framework, integration is largely driven at the local level by cities, communities, and NGOs,” said Dr Pachocka.
Co-Project Leader, Dr Inna Melnykovsk, added, "in a context of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, war, and strategic rivalries, this research underscores the urgency of moving beyond ad hoc and crisis-driven approaches to (forced) migrants' integration. It reframes integration as a strategic policy field that is directly linked to Europe’s long-term resilience, security, and global positioning. How Europe governs forced migration today will shape its economic strength, democratic stability, and geopolitical capacity in the decades ahead.
Crucially, the hub is designed as a space for continuous dialogue with policy stakeholders. By engaging EU, national, and local policymakers, practitioners, and partners in countries of origin throughout the research lifecycle, the hub creates an ongoing exchange between evidence and policy needs. This enables real-time policy learning, adaptation, and coordination across levels of governance.
By strengthening connectivity between research and policymaking, and by embedding evidence into policy discussions as challenges evolve, TRANSCONNECT supports the development of more coherent, forward-looking, and resilient integration frameworks, helping policymakers move from short-term crisis management toward strategic governance in an increasingly volatile and contested international environment."
What the hub will deliver
The hub will deliver a range of research and engagement activities including regular online research seminars and public webinars, stakeholder engagement through a dedicated Stakeholder Expert Panel, in-person workshops in Warsaw and Budapest, and policy briefs and joint academic publications.
By combining European social science expertise with policy-relevant questions, TRANSCONNECT contributes to debates on the future of higher education in Europe and demonstrates how universities can shape an active role in shaping inclusive and resilient public policy.