European Participation Network
CONTENTS
2. Network Mission- Comprehensive Theme
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