Research

Social and Health Policy Research

This research area addresses new paradigms that have emerged in the transformation of the welfare state:

• Activation primarily targets the (re-)integration of employable individuals into the labor market through labor market policy measures following the principle of “support and demand.”
• Personal responsibility and prevention have become central in health promotion, labor market participation, and retirement planning. Individuals who do not act responsibly are expected to bear the consequences themselves.
• Autonomy and self-determination aim to strengthen clients’ rights of choice and participation in social services and healthcare provision.

At the same time, trends of economization and privatization characterize the transformation of social and health policy. The social service market is increasingly structured according to efficiency criteria, and social risks are organized according to management principles.

These transformations in social and health policy respond to broader societal challenges—restructuring of the labor market, demographic change, migration movements—and are linked to emerging social risks that must be addressed and managed.

Health and Social Care Research

This key research area examines the provision of services and products in the social and healthcare sector, particularly for vulnerable individuals, including prevention and health promotion. Research typically begins with an identified need for support, which may require highly diverse, multi- and inter-professional care concepts and structures. Citizen-oriented services of municipal administration, aspects of public safety and security, and specific needs in crisis situations are also analyzed.

The overarching goal is to enable individuals to lead their lives as autonomously and independently as possible. The meso level focuses on the organization of services in outpatient, (partially) inpatient, municipal, and regional settings. Socio-technical systems, such as smart health solutions embedded in comprehensive frameworks (Smart City, Smart Region), are increasingly integrated into care provision and require careful study of their impacts. The macro level—system-level governance by public administration, including incentive structures and organizational components—is also a key perspective.

Professionalism and Professionalisation Research

This research area is crucial in both health sciences and social work. It aims to study practical action in the diverse fields of social and health services and generate professional knowledge that informs academic programs, as well as training and continuing education of practitioners and managers. In doing so, it contributes to the professionalization of practice.

Research also addresses social and health policy, aiming from a professional-theoretical perspective to adequately shape institutional conditions. The practical work of health and social service providers is determined by sometimes conflicting interactions between:

1. The competencies and professional self-understanding of practitioners,
2. The needs and life circumstances of patients, clients, or users,
3. The organizational, economic, and cultural conditions of service providers,
4. Institutional conditions, particularly legal frameworks and political programs,
5. Broader societal challenges, such as labor market changes, demographic shifts, rising social and health inequalities, digitalization, and migration movements.

Inequality, Participation, and Inclusion Research

Social inequality regarding groups or communities — along diversity dimensions such as social or geographic origin, gender, sexual orientation, religious or cultural identity, age, and physical or mental ability — exists both at the level of individual interaction and on structural and institutional levels. Exclusionary ideologies and authoritarian practices targeting these diversity dimensions have gained relevance in many countries. This raises questions about the resilience of democratic structures and processes, as well as the capacity of democratic actors to mitigate discriminatory structures and practices while strengthening inclusive participation and social inclusion.

The structures and practices of social and political discrimination have significant consequences at both the individual and societal level, potentially causing psychological and physical harm and contributing to social and economic conflicts. Understanding these dynamics and supporting strategies to manage and overcome them is central to this research area.

Project DemSoz – Welfare State Reform “from below”

“Representation of Weak Interests through Social Work as a Democratization of Social Policy?” (DemSoz)

At the heart of this research project on advocacy and interest representation through social work lie key questions of democratic theory: how and by whom social policy reforms are initiated and implemented, and how opportunities for participation are utilized. The project is (inter-)disciplinary in nature and situated at the intersection between political science research on welfare states and the academic discipline of social work.

The central research question is to what extent the needs and interests of employable long-term unemployed individuals and their family members are integrated into social policy reform processes at the federal, state, and municipal levels.

The project consists of five interrelated subprojects, each combining two disciplinary perspectives. On the one hand, it draws on the policy cycle model from political science and focuses on the political actions of social work actors—particularly welfare associations acting as advocates for marginalized interests. It examines the policy phases of problem definition, agenda setting, policy formulation, and implementation.

On the other hand, it builds on the social work discourse on the political mandate, extending it innovatively by examining social work professionals who have entered formal politics as career politicians and act as lobbyists representing the interests of social work clients within the political system.

• Subproject 1 asks whether and to what extent social phenomena—such as poverty, long-term unemployment, or homelessness—have been defined and perceived as problems during the COVID-19 pandemic through processes of articulation within the German poverty discourse. The subproject employs a narrative-discursive approach that conceptualizes policy and reform processes as a discursive competition over the definition of political problems, demands, and measures. Special attention is given to the role of welfare associations as social work actors.
• Subproject 2 investigates the role of welfare associations in placing social problems on the political agenda. As central institutions of social work, these associations wield significant socio-political influence in representing weak interests. The focus lies on how social problems from social work practice are systematized within welfare associations and introduced into the political process. The specific topic under study is education and participation for children in families receiving basic income support.
• Subproject 3 explores how and under what conditions social work actors can successfully participate in policy formulation processes at the subnational level to represent the interests of their clients. It examines the definition and negotiation of reform proposals that address existing policy goals within both formal and informal networks among diverse actors. Specifically, the study investigates local measures to reduce the causes and consequences of child poverty, using two independent cities in North Rhine-Westphalia as case studies.
• Subproject 4 focuses on the practical implementation level of street-level work by welfare mediators in general social counseling. Using semi-structured interviews with social work professionals, the project first seeks to describe how welfare mediators carry out their roles in practice. It then aims to analyze when and how these professionals become politically active in their everyday work and how they understand their professional identity. Additionally, problem-centered interviews will be conducted with individuals who have experience with the basic income support system to explore how clients perceive the support provided by social workers in their street-level activities.
• Subproject 5 focuses on (former) social workers and social pedagogues who have chosen to pursue politics as a profession. Through data analysis, these actors will first be identified at the federal, state, and municipal levels. Subsequently, an online survey will be conducted to gather information on their career paths, motivations, and political socialization. In-depth, problem-centered interviews will then reconstruct their political actions. Of particular interest is whether—and how—these individuals succeed in representing the interests of social work clients within their political offices.

This project is a collaboration between Prof. Dr. Sigrid Leitner (TH Köln, professorial member of the PK NRW) and Prof. Dr. Simone Leiber (University of Duisburg-Essen, university partner at PK NRW). Additional doctoral and professorial members of PK NRW participate through involvement in research-practice dialogues, workshops, and conferences.

Example of Collaboration:
Prof. Benjamin Benz (Protestant University of Applied Sciences Bochum, professorial member of PK NRW) participated as a commentator at the expert conference “Welfare State Reform from Below: Social Work and the Representation of Weak Interests”, held on March 30, 2023, in Cologne.

https://demsoz.web.th-koeln.de/veranstaltungen/

Further networking opportunities for doctoral candidates are provided through the doctoral program “Political Action in Social Work”, developed within the DemSoz project and institutionalized at PK NRW.

https://demsoz.web.th-koeln.de/nachwuchsfoerderung/

Project Duration: November 2021 – October 2024
Funding: Ministry of Science and the Arts of North Rhine-Westphalia (Program Line Profile Building 2020 NRW)

Project TransCareTech – Technology Development for Practical Use

The Transformation in Care & Technology (TransCareTech) project develops a new, integrated perspective on care and technology in the social and health sectors. It takes a holistic approach that addresses the needs of professionals, clients, and family members, while also considering organizational frameworks and health-economic aspects.

The project involves members of the PK NRW from various departments, working together with additional colleagues: Prof. Dr. Annette Nauerth and Prof. Dr. Katja Makowsky (HSBI, professorial members / Department of Social and Health Studies), Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer (HSBI, professorial member / Department of Media and Interaction), and Prof. Dr. Axel Schneider (HSBI / Department of Technology and Systems). Several doctoral programs across different departments of the Promotionskolleg NRW are planned within this framework.

The aim of the project is to develop practical and affordable technologies that ultimately reach real-world application. To achieve this, TransCareTech collaborates with an established network of practice partners. The expertise of these partners is interlinked with the research competencies of CareTech OWL (HSBI) within the project.

Two real-world laboratories connect research from six innovation cores (see below) with actual clinical, nursing, and social care processes. Industry and technology partners find in these laboratory spaces a research and development environment that is closely aligned with users, fostering user-centered technological innovation.

• The “Geriatrics” real-world lab (lead: Prof. Klemme, Prof. Nauerth) focuses on the care of older adults with multiple chronic conditions. In cooperation with hospitals, medical practices, therapeutic and social support services, and counseling institutions, it bridges the gap between specialized hospital care and outpatient or independent home-based care.
• The “Early Support” real-world lab (lead: Prof. Makowsky, Prof. Rademaker) supports and provides care for pregnant women, children up to the age of three, and their parents through midwifery, therapy services, gynecology, pediatrics, social work, and counseling.

The research program is structured into six innovation cores (IK):

• IK1. Hard-Soft-Bioware Co-Design (Lead: Prof. Schneider)
  Development of partial models of the biological human system, complementing the modeling of technological care artifacts that closely interact with the human body.
• IK2. Data Awareness and Digital Human Twin (Lead: Prof. Jungeblut)
  Development of advanced perspectives on data storage, data security, and AI/ML-supported data processing methods tailored to the specific demands of care processes and structures.
• IK3. Context-Sensitive Engineering of Care Technology (Lead: Prof. Hülse)
  Development of methods and procedural models for the systematic inclusion of users and professional application contexts in technological design.
• IK4. Translational Care Research (Lead: Prof. Rademaker)
  Development of models that link basic and applied research with care practice, enabling rapid transfer and mutual learning processes.
• IK5. Technology in Care Education (Lead: Prof. Dr. Marisa Kaufhold)
  Development of digital technologies (e.g., virtual and augmented reality) for educational processes in care contexts.
• IK6. Transformation of Socio-Technical Care Systems (Lead: Prof. Bamberg)
  Identification of factors influencing the adoption of socio-technical systems in care settings and analysis of success factors for transformation processes at the levels of practice and system.

Early Career Support and Cooperation with PK NRW
The project establishes several early career research groups, including postdoctoral researchers, doctoral candidates, and master’s students. Opportunities for exchange and collaboration for doctoral candidates in the fields of social work and health are provided through the doctoral program “Technology & Care Transformation” (linked to Innovation Cores 4–6) within TransCareTech. The points of contact for this program are Prof. Dr. Annette Nauerth and Prof. Dr. Udo Seelmeyer.

The project was presented as part of the department’s lecture series in the summer semester of 2023.

Project duration: November 1, 2021 – October 31, 2024
Funding: Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia