Vigdis Broch-Due appointed new member of the DNRF board

Vigdis Broch-Due, Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, was in December 2019 appointed to the DNRF board by the minister for Ministry of Higher Education and Science, Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen.

The board of Danish National Research Foundation consists of nine members, whom possess insight into research at an international level. Vigdis Broch-Due is one of two members representing the humanities and social sciences. DNRF has a capital of about 6 billion DKK, with an annual distribution of research funding of 400-470 million DKK.

The foundation has 40 Centers of Excellence in their portfolio, and has been the primary force of Denmark being in the research forefront in Europe.

The appointment also comes with a deep sense of responsibility to both the scholarly community and the surrounding society in Denmark

– I am deeply honored by my appointment to serve on the DNRF board, Broch-Due says, and continues: – My enthusiasm for this chance to participate in the excellent work the foundation is doing in shaping frontline research also comes with a deep sense of responsibility to both the scholarly community and the surrounding society in Denmark.

Professor Broch-Dues academic carrier has grasped a broad specter of research topics, and she has done research in many countries and  continents. Her interdisciplinary experience is broad, and she served as a scientific director/CEO of the Center for Advanced Study (CAS) in Oslo, 2015-2018. – I hope my broad experience will be beneficial, in cooperation with other collegaues in the board, she says.

Broch-Due emphasizes that this is an opportunity to gain knowledge from another Nordic country with many similarities as Norway, that has chosen a different research profile. – Not only is fundamental research funded on a much larger scale in Denmark, the structure is also very different. Rather than having one centralized funding agency (such as the Research Council of Norway) under governmental control, Denmark has chosen a diversified model with several independent foundations/councils run by academics and not politicians. This has proven a winning strategy, and one we could draw important lessons from in our own efforts to improve Norwegian research impact internationally, Broch-Due concludes. 

Groundbreaking research and interdisciplinary engagements

– The DNRF has long proven to be a pioneer in stimulating groundbreaking research and interdisciplinary engagements. As we all know, novel ideas and scientific breakthroughs are often born at the interface between scholarly traditions and different modes of thinking. In order to tackle the complexity of the world we all share, we need to build bridges between disciplinary islands and work together across the humanities and the natural and social sciences. I have been so impressed by the powerful initiatives developed to these ends by the DNRF, Broch-Due concludes.

The Department of Social Anthropology warmly congratulates Broch-Due with the appointment and wishes her best of luck!