iSPO and Community networking / Community development / Social planning

In many fields of action, the “social space” is considered as a promising reference for professional social action, civic engagement and the strengthening of the civil society. Time and again addressing social spaces and neighborhoods has proven to be an effective approach to access the most diverse social groups and to implement support and promotion measures efficiently and effectively.

  • Orientation towards living environments and resources: The focus of the concept “Social Space Orientation” is the activation and strengthening of existing (often hidden) resources and potentials of urban quarters and neighborhoods as well as the people living in them. By attaching supporting measures to the immediate living environments, reference systems and needs of the residents, a particularly high degree of effectiveness is sought.
  • Complexity: Social space-related projects are characterized by a high level of complexity. Often, they involve the diverse professional support systems (such as youth welfare, elderly care or community work), based on civic engagement and private-sector services, and therefore require a careful stakeholder management. Tailored process designs, steering structures and interventions are to be created that reconcile the specific interests of the numerous actors and link existing resources in a way that is profitable for all.
  • Methodological peculiarities: Currently existing planning and steering instruments rarely cover entire social spaces (instead of individual projects) and thus frequently neglect the “user perspective” of the residents.
  • Results orientation: The development of socio-spatial support and care structures is linked to goals for the districts and neighborhoods as well as the people living in them. Orientation towards results (particularly at outcome and impact level) should therefore be a matter of course in the planning and implementation of social space-related projects.

Our Services:

  • Social space analysis and network analysis
  • Development of instruments for communal or socio-spatial social planning
  • Development of concepts for (urban) district development
  • Strategic and operational planning for the creation, organization and management of social network structures
  • Development of results models and indicators for the monitoring of district development processes
  • Evaluations of district and neighborhood development projects