Discover HEC Research Center for Grand Challenges

The HEC Research Center for Grand Challenges is a faculty-wide focal point for research and teaching on grand challenges, which engages with society and the economy. Grand challenges comprise global societal problems, such as the transition to a carbon-free economy, the fight against poverty and inequality, and the alleviation of precarious working conditions. 

These challenges are complex and require the coordinated and sustained effort from business firms and other private and public actors, as well as the development of a transformative business strategy which acknowledges that companies have a responsibility that goes beyond making a profit. At the same time, there is a growing emphasis on the role of business schools to advance rigorous and societally relevant research on grand challenges. The Center acknowledges that economic and management research has a dual role in this context. 

Our ambition is to become a lighthouse and international center of excellence for research on grand challenges. The Center’s research activities are structured around the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, arguably the most universal and widely adopted grand challenges.