research for the common good

Creating knowledge in service of justice

Our approach to research focuses on the world’s most pressing social concerns and develops innovative, interdisciplinary, scholarly approaches to understand and address them.

Higgins Labor Program

The Higgins Labor Program is an interdisciplinary unit of the Institute for Social Concerns sponsoring research, education, and community engagement on issues involving work.

Journal of Poverty and Public Policy

The Journal of Poverty and Public Policy provides a platform for scholars to share research, enacting the institute’s aim to apply scholarship for the common good and address the preferential option for the poor.

Justice Labs

ND Justice Labs are opportunities for research collaborations among teams of faculty, community stakeholders, and both undergraduate and graduate students.

SPIRE: Scholarship in CST

The Global Catholic Social Tradition Network. The network systematically explores ways to apply the Church’s social teaching to concrete social problems that communities face around the world.

Virtues and Vocations

Virtues & Vocations is a national forum for scholars and practitioners across disciplines to consider how best to cultivate character in pre-professional and professional education.