Sharon-Naomi Alcaide Manthey

For my PhD research I am focusing on the potential of civil society initiatives regarding the bottom-up organization and provision of services and infrastructure.

Due to the continuous challenges around international travel arrangements I have had to adapt my PhD research topic and am focusing on civil society initiatives, including social innovations, in disadvantaged areas of Germany (dt. "strukturschwache Regionen"). Ever since the German reunification the objective to create equal living standards in all areas of the country has been a priority on the policy agenda. This objective has not been achieved to date and there is a growing demand for new approaches to the issue of growing structural differences.