The Collaborative Research Centre 1342 "Global Dynamics of Social Policy" is an association of eight research institutions at the University of Bremen, cooperating with Constructor University Bremen, Bielefeld University and the University of Duisburg-Essen. The CRC 1342 is funded by the German Research Foundation since 2018. The current funding period is running until the end of 2025.

The Collaborative Research Centre 1342 analyses the global dynamics of public social policy. The CRC abandons the traditional OECD centrism and comprehensively incorporates the Global South into the analysis. Since a country's social policy cannot be explained solely by domestic circumstances, international relations and networks are being taken into account: trade relations, migration, war and colonialism as well as the worldwide dissemination of ideas and legal regulations have great influence on the social policy developments of the individual countries. In addition, research at CRC 1342 is based on a broad understanding of social policy including - among other aspects - education policy.

The following institutions of the University of Bremen are part of CRC 1342:

• SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy
• Institute for Intercultural & International Studies (InIIS)
• Research Group Information Management at the Faculty of Computer Science
• Research Centre for East European Studies
• Institute for Labour and the Economy
• Institute of Geography
• Institute of History
• Centre of European Law and Politics

Also involved are:

• China Global - Center for the Study of China & Globalization (Constructor University Bremen)
• Institute of Social Work and Social Policy (University of Duisburg-Essen)
• Unit Transnational Social Policy (Bielefeld University)