We support social science research by collecting and providing survey data for Swiss and international research projects, with our expertise in designing and implementing surveys, we ensure long-term archiving and open dissemination of research data and offer methodological, data management and technical support. We foster national and international collaborations and actively promotes Open Research Data to encourage data sharing and reuse.

Our main services:

History

With “Demain la Suisse”, Switzerland launched a major research programme in the 1990s that aimed to revitalise the social sciences. Within this framework, the idea emerged to create a centre of expertise that would bring together several long-term social science projects under one institutional roof.

FORS was established in 2008 as a new national infrastructure for the social sciences. It combined several existing long-term projects, including the Swiss Household Panel (SHP), the Swiss Electoral Studies (SELECTS), and the Swiss Information and Data Archive for the Social Sciences (SIDOS), which also participated in different international surveys. By uniting researchers working on large-scale survey projects and data services, FORS created a unique environment to advance expertise in data collection, archiving, and dissemination, as well as in providing services to the broader social science community.

Over the past 15 years, FORS has become a cornerstone of the Swiss and international social science landscape. Building on its strong foundations, it has expanded its activities, strengthened its role in international research networks, and continued to innovate in data collection, archiving, and dissemination.

For more information on FORS’s founding history, read retired Director Prof. Peter Farago’s presentation for FORS’s 10th anniversary, Designing and Creating a Social Science Research Infrastructure in Switzerland, or the summary of FORS 15th-anniversary podium and presentation.