Renowned cultural sociologist Prof. Dr. Willem de Koster, Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR), has been awarded the prestigious Vici grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). He will receive €1.5 million for the project ‘Understanding the different meanings of climate change among the public: a mixed-methods study’. Having previously secured both a Veni and a Vidi grant, this Vici award completes an exceptional NWO trilogy. The Vici grant is an incentive for adventurous, talented and pioneering researchers.
Climate change is one of the most debated issues of our time. Some people are profoundly concerned and support far-reaching climate policies, while others do not see climate change as very problematic and reject climate measures. Gaining a better understanding of these highly divided views is crucial. De Koster’s project reorients public opinion research by systematically studying what climate change means to different people, why these meanings differ, and how these meanings shape their responses to information campaigns and policies. The project innovatively combines in-depth interviews with a range of large-scale quantitative methods to develop these insights. The findings will help create more legitimate, inclusive and effective campaigns and policies, educate current and future professionals, and inform the general public.
Willem de Koster: ‘I am truly delighted with this grant, which enables my team and me to break new ground in studying an important form of societal polarization. Although this is an individual grant, I am indebted to numerous colleagues; their critical feedback has been invaluable in refining my ideas and exemplifies the team-based science that increasingly defines our school.’
Dean Semiha Denktaş: ‘I am very proud of my colleague Willem de Koster. With this project, he concludes an impressive series of NWO grants, addressing an issue that is both socially and scientifically urgent.’
The Vici project is part of De Koster's research programme, in which he combines cultural-sociological insights and methods with those from other social science disciplines to address a wide range of issues. In addition to political views, policy preferences, voting behaviour, and trust in institutions, his research interests include health inequalities.
About Willem de Koster
Prof. Dr. Willem de Koster (1984) has been a Professor of General Sociology, in particular Cultural Sociology, at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences since 2021, as part of the Governance and Pluralism team. He has received various research grants, including an EUR Fellowship (2013) and multiple NWO grants: Conflict & Security (2010), Veni (2014) and Vidi (2018). De Koster was a member of the Young Erasmus Academy from 2020 to 2025 and was named Best PhD Supervisor of the Erasmus Graduate School of Social Sciences and the Humanities in 2021. In 2023, together with Kjell Noordzij and Jeroen van der Waal, he won the prestigious biennial British Journal of Sociology Prize for making an outstanding contribution to increasing sociological knowledge.
In addition to his research, which he publishes in leading academic journals in a variety of disciplines, De Koster is committed to high-quality teaching. He contributes as Chair of the school’s Test Committee and teaches in the Dutch-taught master's programme on Polarization, Democracy and Society, which he co-founded, as well as in the interfaculty Research Master Sociology of Culture, Media, and the Arts.
De Koster also contributes to the institutional infrastructure of the social sciences. He served on the board of the Netherlands Sociological Association for six years and has been a member of the scientific advisory board of the widely used, large-scale European Social Survey since 2023.
About the NWO Vici Grant
The Vici grant is designed to fund scientifically innovative research, providing experienced researchers with the opportunity to expand their research group and further develop their research agenda. Vici is part of the NWO Talent Programme, which aims to create space for adventurous, talented, and groundbreaking researchers to pursue research of their own choosing. The Vici grant is intended for senior researchers whose academic achievements clearly exceed standard expectations. These researchers have established leadership and mentoring qualities.
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Marjolein Kooistra, communications ESSB, + 31 683676038, kooistra@essb.eur.nl
