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Support for the Saxony-Anhalt Citizens’ Advisory Board on Structural Change

Client

State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt

Year

ongoing


The end of the lignite mining era poses major challenges for some regions in Germany: traditional jobs are being lost, economic and social insecurity is growing, and workers need to retrain or find new directions for their careers.

At the same time, the transition offers opportunities: new green industries and technologies can flourish, restored open-cast mining sites are becoming recreation centres and nature reserves, and new jobs are being created.

For this transformation to be a success, all stakeholders – companies, policymakers, educational institutions and civil society – must work together to create a new economic and social foundation for the region. Saxony-Anhalt’s citizens’ advisory council on structural change in the Central German mining region is actively involving its citizens in the long-term design of this structural change. Prognos is supporting the citizens’ advisory council.

Making structural change in the Central German mining region socially and economically sustainable

The citizens’ advisory council “Structural Change in the Central German Lignite Mining Region” is a long-term citizen participation process for structural change in the Central German lignite mining region in Saxony-Anhalt. It is the most important link between citizens and the regional committee.

In its advisory capacity, the citizens’ advisory board contributes the perspectives of the citizens to regional development. The focus is on the everyday experiences and perspectives of people from the areas of Saxony-Anhalt that are particularly affected by structural change: Burgenlandkreis, Saalekreis, Mansfeld-Südharz, Anhalt-Bitterfeld and the city of Halle.

The main objective of the citizens’ advisory council is to monitor the ecological, social and economic compatibility of the structural change and to advise the various committees in this regard. By actively involving citizens, the change can be implemented democratically, transparently and collaboratively – which ultimately can be traced back to the initiative of the state and administration.

Prognos organises and moderates

Prognos supports the citizens’ advisory council in an organisational, moderating and mediating capacity. In doing so, the project team not only contributes event and moderation experience, but also knowledge of the opportunities and challenges of structural change.

Many years of supporting other structural change regions has given the project team the technical and methodological expertise to specifically moderate the discussions and support the participants in formulating viable recommendations.

In addition, Prognos advises the staff unit “Structural Change in the Central German Mining Region” (State Chancellery and Ministry of Culture of Saxony-Anhalt) on how the advisory board and its recommendations are incorporated into the various political and administrative decision-making bodies. In this way, the project team helps to ensure that the advisory board becomes an effective and democratic instrument in the structural change process. Prognos is responsible for:

  • strategic and content-related conception of the citizens’ advisory board,
  • classic and creative moderation,
  • comprehensible and transparent documentation,
  • reliable and participant-focused event organisation,
  • integrative and representative staffing of the citizens’ assembly,
  • process-oriented communication with and for the citizens’ assembly, and
  • supportive advice for targeted public relations.

Links and downloads

Further information on the citizens’ assembly (Saxony-Anhalt website)

Project team: Nicolas Allié, Frauke Dornberg, Christina Schenten, Christian Schoon

Lastest update: 14.11.2024

News from the project

Sitzung des Bürgerbeirats Strukturwandel Sachsen-Anhalt

| Event

Christian Schoon und Christina Schenten moderieren die Sitzung des Bürgerbeirats „Strukturwandel im Mitteldeutschen Revier“ in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Do you have questions?

Your contact at Prognos

Christian Schoon

Senior Project Manager

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Christina Schenten

Project Manager

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