In the joint project “Solidarity City”, cooperative possibilities for action in times of climate change were researched. In its sub-project, the Academy for Participatory Methods (APM), represented by nexus e.V., analysed the particular importance of participation for cooperative approaches in establishing climate-relevant behaviour. Cooperative participation opportunities can contribute to establishing climate-relevant behaviour. The participation in decision-making guaranteed in cooperatives offers a starting point for transforming individual values into collectively binding decisions and for linking the individual and organisational levels. The project took up existing co-determination structures in cooperatives. Participation exists primarily in the participation in members’ meetings and the election of representatives. These traditional participation opportunities are aligned with the founding purpose of the cooperative. The aim of the project was to examine the existing instruments with reference to climate protection and to supplement them with new instruments. The results can be used for other bottom-up approaches. The project team analysed existing participation options and worked out connection possibilities for participatory methods. New participation structures were tested in three selected cooperatives:

  • Open Space
  • Future workshop
  • World-Café

Duration: 07/2010 – 06/2013
Client: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF)
Team: Dr. Birgit Böhm (Project management), Dr. Christine von Blanckenburg
Project partner: Zentrum Technik und Gesellschaft der Technischen Universität Berlin