Confronting the Anthropocene

This research sheds light on building resilience and social innovation to empower communities against calamities and tackle environmental challenges.

• Lectoraat: Sociale Innovatie
• Betrokken onderzoekers: Deanne Boisvert(opent in nieuw tabblad), onderzoeker Sociale Innovatie
• Financier: NWO
   

Exploration of Community Resilience and Social Innovation

Humans cause and increasingly suffer from negative environmental impacts. Increasing the resilience of communities is one proposed response. However, there is no consensus on what socio-ecological resilience is nor on its value in helping communities withstand calamities. This qualitative research explores community resilience and responses to environmental challenges among groups involved with one of the following networks: Transition, the Dark Mountain Project, or the Alaska Federation of Natives.

Purpose

The results of this PhD-research will contribute to the theorization and operationalization of community resilience. The study consists of the following data collection and analysis phases, which are repeated with each network:

1. In-depth interviews with active, adult participants from several communities associated with each network. Interviews are transcribed and then analyzed in four different stages.

2. A discourse analysis of publicly available, material written by network leadership and staff.

3. Observations of the interview situation and/or participants’ communities and projects

Comparison between the networks is also a key facet of the study. Thus, the last phase will be to compare and contrast the findings from each network, related to community resilience and responses to environmental challenges.

Early results

Initial results suggest a underlying process to becoming a network member, institutionalizing fluidity into community responses, and an emerging idea of “the toll” of living outside the mainstream, experienced by people who individually or collectively engage in practices that are beneficial to the environment.

Publications

• Boisvert, D. M., & Suransky, C. (2023). “Connecting Better and Wider”: A Constructivist Grounded Theory and Situational Analysis Exploration of Community Resilience in the Anthropocene Among the Transition Network. The Qualitative Report, 28(8), 2437-2463. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2023.6163 

Meer weten? 

Neem contact op met Deanne Boisvert, onderzoeker Lectoraat Sociale Innovatie

Deanne Boisvert(opent in nieuw tabblad)
d.boisvert@windesheim.nl(opent in nieuw tabblad)