Session: Researching volunteering in crises

In the session „Researching volunteering in crises“ we want to take a critical look at research on volunteering (in the sense of different forms of engagement from volunteerism to the so-called spontaneous volunteers) in the context of population protection. Contributions to the following questions are cordially invited: Which current research approaches contribute to a better understanding of engagement in crises? What is the state of knowledge and where are research gaps and challenges? How and in what funding contexts do we conduct research on engagement in crises and disasters? What biases need to be overcome? What are the strengths and weaknesses of different methodological, conceptual, and theoretical approaches? How do science and practice come together, and what are the obstacles that may also prevent transdisciplinarity and the implementation of research results? What are the boundaries of the "glass cube" that are difficult to cross?

We invite contributions from different methodological, conceptual and theoretical approaches that deal with research approaches to engagement in population protection and would like to reflect on them in a larger context.

Contributions in English or German are welcome!

Session background

In the BBK-funded research project "ATLAS-ENGAGE" (Atlas of Civil Society Engagement in Population Protection, duration 2021-2023), we are conducting a meta-study on research results and practical approaches in the field of new forms of participation in civil protection and discussing them in the context of societal changes. In order to enable a networking of recently completed, current and soon to be started research projects on volunteerism in population protection, we would like to propose a session on this topic area for the BBK conference „Forschung für den Bevölkerungsschutz“ vorschlagen. Our concern is to think ahead together and to reflect on research experiences (also critically). We see the session as an opportunity not to wait for the publication of results, but to bring together research projects in progress and current issues with a focus on engagement, plus to discuss topics that may be neglected in publications or hardly to place. We cordially invite you to participate in the session with a research presentation!

Deadline

In order to be able to plan the session, we ask for the submission of a short abstract (max. one DIN A4 page) until 25.09.2022 to: sara.merkes@fu-berlin.de

Contact & Questions

Theresa Zimmermann und Sara T. Merkes
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterinnen
Katastrophenforschungsstelle Berlin (KFS)
Carl-Heinrich-Becker-Weg 6-10
12165 Berlin

Sara T. Merkes
Tel.: +49 30 838 65668
Fax: +49 30 838 465668
Email: sara.merkes@fu-berlin.de
www.polsoz.fu-berlin.de/kfs/