Participatory Action Research to Address Un/Under-employment at the Local Level

Project Scope The research project focuses on the problem of rising unemployment and underemployment (particularly for the young and women) in Greece during the ongoing crisis and recession. The underutilization and waste of human resources, reflected on shrinking work opportunities and hindered access to employment, has become a major cause of economic inequality and social exclusion. Unemployment and precarious employment are increasing out of proportion; while already in 2010 Greece had the highest unemployment rate among graduates of 25-29 years old compared to all other OECD countries. Top-down policies and fragmented regulatory reforms have ineffectively addressed joblessness, as they neglect local specificities. No concern has been given to the skills and qualifications of the labour surplus and its potential contribution to the development of the local community. To this purpose, the project will provide territory-specific accounts of un/underemployment patterns and tools to reverse the situation. Within the proposed conceptual and analytical framework, un/underemployment will be explored in relation to regional/local economic structures and specialisation. The research focuses on certain localities: Sparta, Tripoli, Rhodes and Kastoria are proposed as target municipalities, representing a range of differentiated growth patterns and production specialisation within the national context – therefore, allowing for the comparative analysis of diverse employment and unemployment patterns. The results will fuel Participatory Action Research (PAR) involving labour, businesses and other local stakeholders in the development of strategies integrating human capital in sustainable economic recovery (Europe 2020 Strategy and NSRF in Greece). Through PAR the project intends to overcome mainstream research and policy drawbacks. This requires the empowerment and mobilization of the un/underemployed and related local actors, to jointly address joblessness through bottom-up place-based action