Projects
Here you will find an overview of the research projects I am currently involved in. In order to address the transformative challenges of our time, they place a strong focus on trans- and interdisciplinary formats and feature a wide range of methodologies. What unites them is my research interest in the significance of identities on an individual and collective level for the empowerment of social participation and inclusion in processes of transition.
TEN.efzn
Transformation of the energy system Lower Saxony
Project description
In “TEN.efzn”, we are intensifying our social science research in the field of energy transitions. The project is the largest collaborative project ever funded in Lower Saxony and aims to strengthen and expand interdisciplinary, cross-location energy research. As members of the “Social Dynamics of Energy Transformation” research platform, we are closely interlinked with technological energy research in collaboration with six research platforms: Together, we are working on solutions for the energy system of the future.
We are particularly concerned with the social impact of energy transition on aspects such as justice and equality. Therefore, we are researching how participation can be designed to integrate a wide range of stakeholders. We also want to understand how people come to act collectively and how their understanding of their role in the transformation can change. We pay particular attention to cooperative approaches, as they offer promising opportunities to promote collective action in energy transitions.
Team
Project lead: Prof.in Dr.in Paula-Maria Bögel
Research assistants: Adelheid Böckmann & Anna Theis
Financing
Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) & Volkswagen Foundation
Call for proposals: “Initiative for a joint research project as part of the zukunft.niedersachsen program”
Project name: “Transformation of the energy system Lower Saxony“ (TEN.efzn)
Just Power Up
Potentials of energy cooperatives for the transition of the energy system
Project description
A long-standing research focus of the working group “Transformation Management in Rural Areas” at the University of Vechta is the topic of energy transition. We are particularly interested in the social processes that accompany the transformation of the energy system. We consider “Just Transition” and social justice, as well as inclusion and participation, as preconditions for a change of society as a whole and as the basis for a successful transition.
The transformation processes of our time go hand in hand with changing demands on regional actors. In particular, local authorities and citizens in rural areas are increasingly being asked by politicians to take responsibility for the sustainable development of their own region. Against this backdrop, our ongoing research project ‘Just Power Up’ is investigating the social, democratic and transformative potential of bringing citizens together in energy cooperatives for a societal energy transition. To this end, we are working in close cooperation with the cooperative association of the Weser-Ems region.
Team
Project lead: Prof.in Dr.in Paula-Maria Bögel
Research associate: Neneh Braum
Student assistants: Lilly Gerlach, Ulrika Heller, Anne Möller, Melanie Strzelecki
Financing
Energie-Forschungszentrum Niedersachsen (EFZN)
Call for proposals: “Accelerating the transformation of the energy system between the energy crisis and climate change mitigation”
Project name: “Development of a scalable approach for an inclusive energy transition”
Dimensions of justice in sustainability-oriented transformation processes in rural areas
Doctoral programme funded by the Hans-Böckler Foundation
Project description
Sustainability transformations have become a central topic in current scientific and social discourse and are predominantly viewed in a positive light. However, they are always accompanied by social impacts (also known as ‘transformation pains’) and raise questions of social justice that have so far been little understood, empirically researched and thus reflected upon. This has consequences for the legitimacy of the design and management of such processes.
The aim of the doctoral network is to close this gap. The network pursues a comparative case study approach, with a total of eight dissertations examining aspects and concepts of justice in different sustainability transformation processes (focusing on rural areas).
Team
Project lead: Prof. Dr. John-Oliver Engler and Prof. Dr.
Jana Zscheischler
Participating scientists: Prof. Dr. Paula Bögel andProf. Dr. Karl Martin Born
Financing
Hans-Böckler Foundation
Call for proposals: ‘Dimensions of justice in sustainability-oriented transformation processes in rural areas’