Due to limited catchment areas and economic constraints, consumers in rural areas cannot be adequately reached by the conventional counselling and support services of the consumer advise centers. Outreach work is a promising strategy for solving this problem.
Against this background, the pilot project 'Consumer work in rural areas' of the VZ NRW, financed by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the district of Höxter, is testing an innovative concept of outreach consumer work in the district of Höxter. The project involves the development of an overarching approach consisting of mobile offers in the district on site, central and digitally supported counselling as well as digital self-help. The aim of the project, which will run from October 2021 to the end of December 2023, is to establish low-threshold structures on site and to systematically integrate them into the conventional information and support infrastructure of the consumer advise centers.
For this purpose, ConPolicy will provide ongoing scientific advice to the VZ NRW in a first work package through targeted workshops. In a further step, a customized evaluation concept will be developed to assess measures and effects. The third work package comprises the evaluation of the consumer work carried out in the district of Höxter. Finally, a report will present proposals on how the findings can be transferred to other rural regions in NRW and nationwide.
Further information on the project can be found here.