Barbara Pfetsch and David Schieferdecker are part of the research project "Social Cohesion and Civil Society: Interaction Dynamics in Times of Disruption", which is funded within the first Grand Challenge Initiative of the Berlin University Alliance. The project is funded with €1.1 Mio over the course of three years. Prof. Barbara Pfetsch is Principal Investigator of the subdivision "Discourses of Cohesion", David Schieferdecker is Co-Principal Investigator of "Subjects of Cohesion". The team includes researchers of communication studies, sociology, linguistics, psychology, and political science. Collegues from FU work with researchers from Humboldt University, Technical University and various other research institutions (such as WZB and University of Oxford) as well as civic initiatives.

The project investigates social cohesion from a perspective focussed on civic engagement and interaction. Its main subjects of interest are complexities and ambivalences of cohesion and the conditions and causes of social exclusion. After a three-step selection process, it is one of six projects selected for funding. The Berlin University Alliance is made up of the Free University, Humboldt University, Technical University, and the Charité, founded to create an integrated research space in Berlin. The Alliance itself is funded through the Federal Excellence Initiative.