APPROPRIATING THE COMMONS: ARTICULATING THE CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF WELFARE AND CHARITY

Social inequality is growing in Norway, and we are currently witnessing a change in how voluntary organizations emerge, develop and distribute their work. ACTWEL’s point of departure is a hypothesis that the observed transformation entails a new emphasis on charity, which may entail more profound changes to the cultural configuration of the relationship between the voluntary sector and the state/municipalities. The project explores the consequences of these changes for the Nordic welfare state - its legitimacy, and the social bonds in the welfare society. In ACTWEL we therefore explore what drives and shapes the ongoing transformation of the roles of and relationships between the welfare state and civil society in Norway, and which social and cultural consequences these entail. ACTWEL begins with a scoping and literature review which will provide insight into current trends as well as into historical developments of the field. In our media analysis (WP2) we will employ mixed methods to examine how civil society and volunteer work are represented, and to explore social media platform-related work by voluntary organizations. Fieldwork on three cases of voluntary/civil organizations (WP3) will involve participatory observations as well as in-depth interviews. WPs 1–3 will furnish the insights and input for WP4, which will involve developing a conceptual framework and vocabulary for understanding how the cultural configuration of individual autonomy and the management of the commons are changing. Uncovering the social dynamics that are transforming both the state/municipalities and the voluntary sector will provide new and relevant understandings of the relationship between the welfare state and civil sector, relevant for researchers, stakeholders and policymakers.

ACTWEL focuses on the cultural resilience and adaptability of the Scandinavian welfare model in facing new challenges. Understanding how to cope with these changes will be crucial for long-term social sustainability. Developing a new theoretical framework and critical vocabulary for conceptualizing the cultural transformation of welfare and charity, ACTWEL aims to explore how the cultural configuration of individual autonomy and the management of the commons are changing. ACTWEL begins with a scoping and literature review, which will provide insight into current trends as well as into historical developments in the field. When mapping social policies related to civil society (WP1), we will be using Bacchi’s (1999) WPR approach to policy analysis, which asks “what’s the problem represented to be?” In our media analysis (WP2) we will employ mixed methods to examine how civil society and volunteer work are represented, and to explore social media platform-related work by voluntary organizations. Fieldwork on three cases of voluntary/civil organizations (WP3) will involve participatory observations as well as in-depth interviews. WPs 1–3 will furnish the insights and input for WP4, which will involve developing a conceptual framework and vocabulary for understanding how the cultural configuration of individual autonomy and the management of the commons are changing. WP5 Project management will secure project coordination, objectives, and deliverables.