Macroscope

In this project we will construct a population level Macroscope, building on existing infrastructures and services from ODISSEI and CLARIAH to deliver unique opportunities for Social Science and Humanities scholars. A Macroscope is an instrument for the holistic study of complex social dynamics and the Dutch Macroscope will consist of four complementary and mutually reinforcing layers that support different phases of the research lifecycle in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). First, the Macroscope Core will adapt foundational infrastructures to accommodate the complex, sensitive, and highly interrelated data found across the SSH domain. Second, the Data Harvesting Ecosystem will enable unprecedented levels of data variety. Through integrated data systems, new technologies, and intensive collaboration, it will be possible to collect diachronic, dynamic, population scale, network data on a plethora of social issues. Third, the AI Collaboratory will provide a community-oriented platform for the training and evaluation of complex models and tools including a next generation of secure Large Language Models with a vast array of applications for research. Fourth, the Macroscope Gateway will enable scholars from across the domain and beyond to utilise the Macroscope. Once completed in 2030, SSH researchers will be able to securely bring together an unprecedented range of data, tools, and computational resources to answer societal questions that cannot be addressed presently and conduct groundbreaking multi-disciplinary research into multi-scale, complex social dynamics such as how the Dutch language is evolving in a multimedia world or how demographic change is shifting the social fabric of the Netherlands