Sharing and Participating: Pathways to Equal Social Participation Across the Life Course

The once-celebrated ‘Golden Age’ of welfare states is increasingly seen as outdated, marking a paradigm shift towards proactive approaches that prioritise prevention, empowerment and societal resilience rather than direct state intervention. This is reflected in the transition from the ‘Providing State’ to the ‘Enabling State’ (Küntzel, 2012; Evers & Guillemard, 2012). This shift forms part of broader social-policy transformations in which traditional welfare provision is being restructured to address demographic change and population decline (Hall, 2013). Amid these ongoing neoliberal transformations, inclusion remains a central concern (Hall, 2013). Given rapid socio-demographic change, (forced) migration, population ageing and new configurations of diversity and intersectionality, some groups risk being inadvertently overlooked by welfare states. Although concepts such as integration, involvement and inclusion have informed key principles for addressing marginalisation, inclusion policies and strategies often produce unequal outcomes. Building on previous research and the urgent need to understand the complexity and ambivalence of inclusion approaches in healthcare, social care and other areas of migrants’ lives, this project examines the design and implementation of inclusion policies and their political, spatial and practical implications in place-based initiatives in Germany, focusing on the ageing/migration nexus. Examining how diversity approaches are conceived and managed in everyday situations and large-scale institutional strategies provides a basis for understanding structuring and disciplining practices in shared spaces of encounter. The project also considers dynamics of neglect or ‘benign neglect’ beyond active policies and municipal organisations, which can further entrench widespread inequality and structural marginalisation. It also recognises the importance of an intersectional approach to overlapping realities and experiences related to gender, ethnicity and LGBTQ+ identity, especially in the context of (voluntary or forced) migration and ageing populations. This perspective enables a deeper understanding of how diversity approaches affect different population groups and of the broader cross-sectoral implications of inclusive approaches in care and welfare initiatives for older people, while opening avenues for further research on inclusion.

The existing research gaps concern, in particular, how inclusion and migration-related diversity can be designed and institutionally embedded in the context of Ageing in Place. There has been insufficient research into which structural, political, spatial and social conditions shape the development and effectiveness of such initiatives and how these affect the well-being and quality of life of older people, particularly older migrants.

In addition, little is known about how older people and other local stakeholders are involved in designing and implementing inclusive services and what forms of participation emerge.

The aim is to analyse inclusion approaches and outcomes in the context of ‘Ageing in Place’ initiatives with regard to migration and demographic change.

As a first step, the project develops a robust theoretical framework for analysing inclusion approaches and their socio-spatial and affective effects across regional and institutional contexts, with a particular focus on ‘Ageing in Place’ initiatives. A comprehensive literature review synthesises insights from different disciplines to establish a solid conceptual basis for examining inclusion approaches and outcomes. This framework underpins subsequent empirical research and enables a differentiated understanding of the multiple dimensions and effects of inclusion across regional and institutional contexts, especially in ‘Ageing in Place’ initiatives.

The conceptual mapping work was presented and discussed collectively as part of the project.