This working-paper is based on the practice-oriented seminar “Social Research Methods: Investigating Civil Society and Civic Engagement” designed and led by Prof. Dr. Chiara von Hollen-Pierobon at Viadrina University during the summer semester of 2025. The seminar provided students with a dual foundation by combining theoretical grounding in civil society studies with applied methodological training through the conduct of a class-based research project. As part of the seminar, students carried out qualitative interviews, ethnographic observations and focus groups involving a range of local civic actors, including cultural and arts initiatives, environmental organizations, and elderly support networks. The paper presents the main results of the fieldwork conducted within the framework of the seminar, providing an empirically grounded snapshot of the state of civil society and civic engagement in Frankfurt (Oder). The city is historically shaped by its position at the crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe, while its location on the border between Germany and Poland endows it with significant potential as a transnational bridge. The findings shed light on support structures for civil society, the role of networks, the importance of sensory approaches and locally grounded perspectives, as well as the major challenges faced by civic actors in the city. In addition, this working paper offers a set of recommendations derived from students’ field experiences and their engagement with local civil society organizations. It concludes by reflecting on the role of universities as spaces for engaged scholarship, not only as sites of knowledge production but also as active civic actors embedded in their local contexts. In this sense, the paper highlights university civic engagement as a core dimension of academic responsibility, emphasizing the capacity of universities to foster dialogue, support local civil society, and contribute to addressing societal challenges through sustained collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Hollen-Pierobon et al. (Thu,) studied this question.