Interview with Aline Muller, Executive Director of the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) — Legacy Forum
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At the Legacy Forum 2025, we had the pleasure of speaking with Aline Muller, Executive Director of the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER). She clearly distinguishes between succession—focused on the transfer of financial and material assets—and transmission, which also encompasses the passing down of values, vision, and working methods from one generation to the next.
For her, this intangible transmission is based on what might be called “invisible capital”: a taste for concrete analysis, the search for evidence-based data, and the desire to generate a measurable and tangible impact. In both the family and philanthropic spheres, moving beyond mere intuition and truly measuring the impact of actions has become a key challenge for those who wish to build a lasting legacy.
Art as a Lever for Social Cohesion
When asked about broadening art’s audience, Aline Muller emphasizes its potential role in social cohesion. In a context where numerous indicators point to the growing fragmentation of our societies, art can create a shared emotional experience and bring together very different audiences around a common experience.
She advocates, however, for a rigorous approach: artistic initiatives and cultural sponsorship programs should be tested and evaluated to verify their actual impact on inclusion, social bonds, or openness to others. This requires methods inspired by experimental research (particularly controlled trials) and a culture of rigorous project evaluation.
Luxembourg, a Laboratory for Evidence-Based Policy
Luxembourg is often presented as a laboratory for new approaches to public policy. Aline Muller highlights the country’s ambition to become a European model for evidence-based policies.
Historically, the Grand Duchy’s economic success has rested on its ability to attract and integrate talent from abroad. This demographic and economic reality makes policies on integration, inclusion, and social cohesion all the more crucial. Research conducted in Luxembourg can thus fuel a broader call for public policies grounded in solid data, rather than solely on perceptions or short-term reflexes.
Putting research to work for real impact
At the heart of the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)’s mission is the commitment to putting research at the service of society. It is not merely about producing scientific articles, but about providing concrete insights into:
- public policy,
- socio-economic actors,
- and, more broadly, all organizations—including family and philanthropic ones—that wish to engage in ways that yield tangible and verifiable impact.
The goal is not to replace intuition or vision with statistics alone, but to build a synergy between values, convictions, and evidence. By linking data, experimentation, and decision-making, LISER helps give greater substance to this “invisible capital” that is passed down from one generation to the next.
About the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)
The Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) is a public research institution in the social and economic sciences, under the supervision of the Ministry of Research and Higher Education. Founded in 1989 and established as a public research center in 2014, LISER conducts basic and applied research to advance scientific knowledge, inform public policymakers, and contribute to sustainable socio-economic development in Luxembourg, Europe, and beyond.
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