Zivilgesellschaftliche Verantwortungsübernahme für gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt vor Ort [Enhancing societal cohesion by civil society assuming on-site responsibility]
Interview-Set

Abstract:
The project examines citizens' place-based engagement and considers these activities as a contribution to civil societies’ assumption of responsibility. The aim is to understand cohesion within its embeddedness in different socio-spatial framework conditions.
The project’s background is formed by current ecological, economic, and social crises that affect society as a whole and whose consequences are reflected in new negotiation processes. In particular, responsibilities and competencies are being renegotiated and attributed between the state, the market, and civil society. While state responsibility is maintained or expanded in some regulatory areas, citizens are addressed as more responsible in others. Relevant examples encompass activities in citizens’ immediate living environment, which unbureaucratically contribute to socio-spatial development, e.g. providing everyday support, and participating in processes to design, shape and create their surroundings.
Thus, a renewed and crucial relevance is ascribed to the assumption of responsibility by civil society – defined as the provision of voluntary, unpaid, and common good-oriented activities. Consequently, citizens’ contributions are encouraged by several incentives and impulses.
Using this as starting point, the study referred to interviews with engaged citizens from German study areas, which differ in terms of essential spatial characteristics. In contrast, interviews from international data collections in Albania, Greece, and Northern Macedonia were analysed.
Finally, i) linkages between social and spatial framework conditions, the assumption of responsibility (on a local level), and cohesion are to be reconstructed. In practice, this knowledge can ii) provide a range of innovative options for action to stakeholders in politics and spatial planning.

Contributor:
Baier, Jessica; Knaps, Falco; Othengrafen, Frank

Funding Institution:
BMBF

Temporal Coverage:
8/2021 - 3/2023

Time Dimension:
cross-sectional study

Sampled Universe:
volunteering citizens from a total of four different study areas in Germany (as well as from Northern Macedonia, Albania and Greece)

Sampling:
theoretical sampling; snowball sampling

Collection Mode:
personal interview, online interview

Geograhic Coverage:
Hannover; Leipzig; Mulda; Beckum

Resource Type:
audiofiles, transcripts, videofiles

Availability:
limited access due to general data protection regulation of the EU; little consent from the interviewpartners to share the data for secondary use

Institution:
Leibniz Universität Hannover