Send message to Contributors

Short Abstract

This contribution examines how participation approaches can improve food-related public services in the German-Polish border region. Nutrition is addressed as one part of a broader project on digital public service provision but forms the primary focus here.

Abstract

Our contribution explores the potential of participatory research in supporing the re-working of food-related public services and the formation of new coalitions for community wellbeing in peripheral rural areas. We are especially interested in how participatory research can help identify and explore the potential of digital technology in these processes The setting of our project is the German-Polish border region, where demographic ageing and depopulation pose challenges for local food systems.

The project employs an experimental, multi-stage qualitative-ethnographic design, with different degrees of participation across its stages. Walks through villages, informal conversations and key informant interviews provide the empirical grounding for selecting participatory methods for the later stages. These will include visioning, needs assessment and ideas for designing public digital services with and for engaging older adults in this European border region.

In this paper, we discuss the entry points identify in the early stages of the project for exploring how participatory research can improve the involvement of older adults, strengthen local knowledge, and promote equity and sustainability of local food systems, and through it, community well-being in peripheral regions.