Project Details
Projekt
AdaptInfra Subproject 6: Social Entrepreneurship – Entrepreneurs as Pioneers of Change in Rural Infrastructure in the Agricultural and Food System?
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Christine Tamásy
Subject Area
Human Geography
Term
since 2026
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547031340
In Germany, the agricultural and food system is considered as critical infrastructure for general public services and is particularly important for the functioning of society. Agricultural production and the supply of food to the population are ensured by the private sector, which is the most important group of actors in this area of public services. The subproject examines the significance of the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship for the transformation of rural public service infrastructures, focusing on the agricultural and food system. In addition, explicit references to other rural infrastructure services are taken into ac-count, e.g. in the areas of care (nursing, childcare), education and culture. This creates an innovative, conceptual interface between agri-food studies on the one hand and rural infra-structure and entrepreneurship research on the other. The focus is on social entrepreneurs as niche players who find innovative solutions to current social or ecological problems and act as pioneers of change. They make a double contribution to transformation - in the agricultural and food system and in relation to rural infrastructure for public services-, which has not yet been taken into account in spatial science research. The investigation is based on detailed case studies in rural Germany, all of which are part of the critical infrastructure 'food' and produce food as well as having multiple content-related links to other infrastructures of public services. The starting point for the case selection is an exemplary agricultural initiative for social entrepreneurship in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a reference region. In addition, other agricultural initiatives throughout Germany with strong links to the transformation of rural infrastructures of public services will be selected.
DFG Programme
Research Units
