European Participation Network

Back to Projects page

CONTENTS

1. Brief Description

2. Network Mission- Comprehensive Theme

3. Partners

4. Keywords

5. Finances

6. Contact

 

1. Brief Description

The research network called “European Participation Network” has produced a proposal (EUCIPMA) in the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission in order to maintain comparative European research on marginalised citizens' participation and the role of welfare services in enabling or hindering their full citizenship.

The project includes eight partner universities in Europe and is coordinated coordinated by the University of Jyväskylä, Kokkola University Consortium, Finland.

2. Network Mission - Comprehensive Theme

The EUCIPMA (European Citizenship and Participation of Marginalised Groups) addresses the core challenges of European social cohesion and diversity. It will improve the comparative policy-related knowledge connected to the critique of citizenship and participation issues. The proposal’s main ideas are novel, insofar as they aim at discovering and promoting relevant practices that enable the participation of exactly those groups of citizens who are scientifically identified as being the most ‘non-participative’ in European societies in the field of traditional participation. The factors causing non-participation are complex and diverse, and can include unemployment, low income, low educational status, migration, or discrimination by gender or living areas. However, evidence also suggests that “non-participatory groups” often create other forms of participation themselves, including, civil society initiatives, self-organizations, and virtual participation.

The scientific expertise of the EUCIPMA consortium focuses on the link between the participation of marginalised citizens and the welfare service system. A large number of people within the target groups are users of various welfare agencies and social projects. The detailed research question of the proposal focuses on the role of relevant organizations, including welfare service agencies, EU-funded social projects and Civic Society Organizations (CSOs), in enabling or hindering participatory citizenship of disempowered groups.

3. Partners

Participant no.

Participant organisation name

Part. short name

Country

1 (Coordinator)

University of Jyväskylä

Prof. Dr. Aila-Leena Matthies

Dr. Kati Närhi

JYU

Finland

2

Oslo University College

Ass. Prof. Dr. Sissel Seim

Bennedichte Olssen

Tone Alm Andearssen

OUC

Norway

3

Växjö University

Prof. Dr. Tapio Salonen

Sara Hultqvist

Dr. Päivi Turunen

VXU

Sweden

4

University of Zaragoza

Prof. Dr. Carmen Marcuello

Pilar Pujol

Emma Juaneda

UNIZAR

Spain

5

Aalborg University

Ass. Prof. Dr. Lars Uggerhöj

AAU

Denmark

6

University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg–Stendal

Dr. Susanne Schlabs

Prof. Dr. Roland Roth

HSMD-SDL

Germany

7

Durham University

Prof. Simon Hackett

Prof. Dr. Lena Dominelli

UDUR

United Kingdom

8

University of Ljubljana

Prof. Dr. Darja Zavirsek

Dr. Lea Sugman Bohinc

UL

Slovenia

9

European Anti Poverty Network

Director Fintan Farrell

EAPN

Belgium


4. Keywords

  • Citizen participation
  • Welfare services
  • Practises for strengthening marginalized groups
  • User-involvement/ Involvement of users' experiential knowledge in developing services
  • Professionals' mobilization and support of resources for service users

 

5. Finances

In the process of creating the network and preparing for applying for funding, this project has gained funding from Academy of Finland and NordForsk.

6. Contact


Coordinator: Aila-Leena Matthies

Back to Projects page