07/27/2023

Project for the Federal Office for Radiation Protection
New ConPolicy project on effective communication of radiation risks

UV rays or natural radioactivity such as radon are almost omnipresent. However, us, as humans, we often underestimate the dangers of radiation because we cannot perceive them with our senses. This poses a challenge for the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) to effectively inform the population about risks and protective measures.

The aim of this new research project is to determine how different information and communication formats affect risk perception and understanding. Together with partners from market research (INNOFACT AG) and academia (Professor for Risk and Health Communication Constanze Rossmann and Professor for Cartography and Geovisualization Gertrud Schaab), ConPolicy will conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses. Existing information materials such as brochures and social media posts of the BfS as well as map representations will be tested and analyzed. The tests are carried out by means of qualitative individual interviews as well as randomized online experiments.

Further information on the project can be found here.  

07/12/2023

Project for the German Environmental Agency
New ConPolicy project to strengthen youth engagement for sustainability through dialogue and transformative learning

Although fear of pollution and climate change is one of the biggest concerns of young people across all milieus according to recent youth studies, predominantly so-called 'idealistic' adolescents are involved in environmental and climate protection issues. Currently, there is little structured information available about those young people who are not (yet) involved in these issues. Therefore, it is not clear what their environmental attitudes are and how they can be approached, motivated and won over for participation.

Hence, the German Environmental Agency commissioned ConPolicy – together with a consortium of IKU – Die Dialoggestalter, UfU – Unabhängiges Institut für Umweltfragen and ism – Institut für Sozialpädagogische Forschung Mainz ieH – to investigate how adolescents and young adults who are not yet active in the field of climate and environmental protection, or sustainability can be addressed and sensitized with regard to these topics.

A special focus of the project lies on transformative dialogue processes to bring together actors from different thematic areas of open youth work as well as from youth associations. The results of the research project will lead to a practice-oriented handbook as well as to political recommendations for action for the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection. In addition, the results will be presented and discussed at a public youth forum with around 100 participants.

Further information on the project can be found here.

07/10/2023

Study within the CO:DINA project funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection
New ConPolicy publication on consumer-friendly and sustainable system design of digital platforms

Digital platforms are powerful, and they are being criticized for driving fake news, hate speech, and being a haven for “surveillance capitalism”. However, a blind spot in the platform debate has been the ecological impact of platforms on our daily lives. Platforms and online commerce are increasingly shaping our private consumption and are thus becoming an important lever for climate, environmental and resource protection in everyday life. Advertising-financed business models and the commercial growth logic of companies are turning social media platforms, search engines and online stores into consumption drivers, without regard for climate protection and resource consumption.

Within the framework of the CO:DINA project, funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV), ConPolicy project manager Dr. Otmar Lell has investigated the specific effects of digital platforms on consumer interests and sustainable development objectives, and how a consumer- and sustainability-oriented system design of platforms can succeed. The perspectives of digitalization experts and scientists from various disciplines were included. 

As a result, the study compiles numerous specific measures to correct existing deficits. Also, the study outlines political starting points for a platform architecture in accordance with the requirements of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Guidelines for Consumer Protection and the SDGs. The study is available here.

The results of this study and of two parallel studies by Prof. Dr Peter Rott and Prof. Dr Christoph Busch are now being further developed via Governance Innovation Labs, e.g. within the framework of the Science Platform Sustainability 2030 (wpn 2030).

Further information on the project can be found here.