Publications

Current forms of alternative consumption are used to discuss the extent to which such changes benefit from digitalization in terms of social innovation.

The achievements of communities that are committed to the common good on the basis of pluralistic and democratically negotiated values have been increasingly discussed again for some time as solutions to social problems. In particular, communities seeking alternative forms of consumption are of some interest. The affinity between the problems of everyday life and those of social-ecological change that have been overcome in the process is possible. But to what extent does this motivational coalition play a role in the involvement of the active in such a community? The representative survey presented here on behalf of the Federal Environment Agency provides information on this.

A basic postulate of the article by Jürgen Howaldt and Michael Schwarz (2017) is a supposed “double deficit”: according to the authors, there is a lack of both a concept based on social theory and sufficient empirical research and political attention in the context of social innovation. In order to fill these gaps, elements of a concept based on social theory are offered, coupled with references to empirical research findings. In the following, we would like to address some of the problems of both the postulate and the perspective presented and introduce an alternative reading of deficits and research desiderata in the context of social innovation into the discussion.

The interaction between science, politics, and the public has been undergoing a profound transformation for several decades, with a closer involvement of the public in the decision-making and problem-solving processes of science and politics observed in many areas of society. One format that has become increasingly important in recent years is called Citizen Science. Citizen Science is generally understood as the collaboration between citizens and scientific institutions that allows the public to be more closely involved in science. Against the background of an increasing social importance of Citizen Science, the applicability for departmental research was examined within the framework of a UFOPLAN project and a concept for the application of Citizen Science in the departmental research of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) was developed. It is primarily aimed at UBA staff, but also at representatives of other departmental research institutions. The purpose of the concept is to offer them a guideline with which they can, on the one hand, check the suitability of Citizen Science approaches for planned research projects. On the other hand, a rough estimate of the expected additional effort (e.g. time required for communication and coordination with citizens) and the benefits for the respective research project (e.g. broader, lifelike data basis) in selected fields of application (e.g. climate, water, noise, soil) can be made on this basis. Four Citizen Science formats could be identified that are particularly suitable for the Federal Environment Agency as a departmental research institution. The type “co-design” involves citizens in the research process from the beginning, or the impulses come from the citizens themselves. The second type, “co-production,” corresponds to the most common Citizen Science activities to date. Another type is “virtual participation,” in which large amounts of data, often virtual, are obtained via crowdsourcing approaches and sensor carrier approaches. The fourth type focuses on “autonomous research”. This can be understood as the activities of individuals or interest groups such as professional societies or associations that are generally active without any particular institutional affiliation and conduct research independently.

What do alternative consumption and business models look like, which economic and social structures shape the Sharing Economy and what effects do it have? Sharing Economy refers to the trend towards sharing, exchanging and borrowing. Botsman & Rogers (2010) speak of collaborative, communal consumption, which they understand as a form of social coexistence. Lamla (2013) sees a new experimental participation in such consumption models. The effects of analog, but especially of digital sharing on the actors involved, on the social market economy and society as a whole are extremely complex and difficult to predict. Accordingly, they are assessed and discussed controversially. The debate focuses on competition aspects, employment and the labour market, the social security system, sustainability and ecology, as well as everyday consumer practices and the interrelationships between these different areas.

Climate change is not a problem of nature – climate change is a problem of society. This, however, under the very restrictive condition that a society that is differentiated into its own logical functional systems, self-interested organisations and stubborn everyday interactions, and thus structurally highly confusing, makes climate change an issue. Under these conditions, climate change is a problem of sometimes colliding, sometimes cooperating, at any rate highly different problem definitions and constructions of the most diverse functional areas, of the most diverse affected and committed organisations, of largely disinterested or then overly committed everyday interactions. An understanding of these circumstances helps to clarify how ‘society’ acknowledges ecological problems at all and chooses certain forms of dealing with them as feasible – and others not. The volume brings together theoretically and empirically oriented contributions, each offering analyses at the macro, meso, and micro levels.

Recent environmental debates appear to be increasingly technical as a result of climate change. As a result, those approaches discussed under the heading of sustainability that place environmental changes in a comprehensive societal context are marginalised. The perspective on socio-cultural innovations has gained a bracket for technical solutions and social conditions that does not view technology as detached from social processes, but as a social phenomenon. The anthology establishes a link between social science innovation research and social science sustainability research.

The publication series contains working papers that provide information on research activities at the Institute for Social Innovation.