What is "unu-merit"

The United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT) is a joint research and training institute of United Nations University and Maastricht University, based in Maastricht in the southeastern part of the Netherlands.

The institute explores the social, political and economic factors that drive technological innovation, with a particular focus on creation, diffusion and access to knowledge.

Following the integration of the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG) in December 2010, the institute now covers all aspects of governance in domestic and global organizations, from risk assessment to policy analysis, design and evaluation. In its enlarged form UNU-MERIT functions as a research centre and graduate school for over 80 PhD fellows and 100 Master’s students, and as a 'UN think tank' addressing a broad range of policy questions on science, innovation and governance.

One of the institutes's founders and former directors was Luc Soete. The current director is Prof. Dr. Bart Verspagen.

The institute was based in a historic building in the centre of Maastricht near the city's main square, the Vrijthof till August 2015. In September 2015 the institute moved to a new location in Boschstraat in the newly developed Sphinx Quarter.