Development of a social reporting framework for the Mittelsachsen district

Project lead:  

Prof. Dr Isolde Heintze

Duration

December 2014 to December 2025

 Project team member: 

Tabea Esche

Friederike Haubold

Since 2014, the project has been dedicated to providing local stakeholders with impetus for the further development of social administration, to helping them help themselves in carrying out autonomous social planning reporting, and to providing them with ongoing support and guidance as they update their reports. The core of the project is therefore the establishment and further development of a small-scale social monitoring system.

On this basis, the first social report for the Mittelsachsen district was published in 2017. As part of the reporting initiative, a data-driven typology of social spaces was also developed. Only continuous social reporting is effective and can reflect long-term developments.

The social monitoring system has been steadily expanded, and on this basis, the second social report for the district of Mittelsachsen was published in 2020. The social planning information system thus forms the cornerstone of integrated social planning in the district of Mittelsachsen and serves as a scientifically sound basis for decision-making for local politicians and stakeholders in the social sector.

All good things come in threes, and so the third Social Report for the district of Mittelsachsen was published at the end of 2024. In the current review period from 2019 to 2022, it is particularly evident that global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have had a significant impact on local social conditions.

From 2016 to 2019, the brochure ‘Municipal Profiles of the Local Authorities in the Mittelsachsen District’ was produced every two years. Selected indicators provided information on developments in the areas of population, finances and income, children’s health, inclusion, employment, social participation and political participation. The aim now is to transfer this small-scale analysis into a digital format. As part of a collaborative project with students from the Faculty of Computer and Life Sciences at Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, a prototype dashboard was developed in 2023 and 2024 to make social indicators available online. Further development is now continuing within the project.

Since the start of the collaboration, Master’s students in Social Work have been involved in the project as part of multi-semester research projects. The aim is to conduct in-depth research into selected social issues. Key areas of research to date have included asylum in Central Saxony, educational recommendations for grammar schools, excessive debt and prevention strategies in the district of Central Saxony, options for advice and information on care in rural areas, and social participation – what local authorities – education in later life and the educational interests and motivations of older people.

Latest developments

The district of Central Saxony has set itself the task of developing a strategy on policy for older people by 2025. This strategy is intended to address the opportunities and challenges associated with demographic change – in particular, the increasing ageing of the population in Central Saxony – and to promote healthy ageing within the local community. Master’s students are making an academic contribution to this by examining the diverse life situations of (future) older people as part of the current practice-based research project.

The project blog, which was launched in 2022, has come of age and is now integrated into the website www.mittelsachsen-sozial.de. Here you will find a wealth of information about the project, guidance on the methodology of social reporting, and the latest updates on the students’ projects. However, the blog remains the centrepiece of the platform. It provides regular updates on the findings of local social reporting, socio-political issues and selected social projects and events in the Mittelsachsen district.

Outlook

The municipal social reporting initiative that has been launched will be continuously updated and expanded. The fourth social report is due to be produced in 2028 as part of the cooperation project. 

Mittelsachsen District

Integrated Social Planning for the District of Central Saxony:

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Link to the blog

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New practical project on the living conditions of older people in the Mittelsachsen district

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Article from the University Communications Department dated 13 December 2024

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Article from the University Communications Department dated 26 February 2024

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Article from the University Communications Department dated 4 April 2023

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Article from University Communications dated 13 October 2022

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Press article on research project

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Master’s students present their research findings

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3 March 2023  

VSOP Annual Conference

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28–30 March 2022  

Third round launched

24 January 2019
For the third time, Master’s students are addressing current issues in the Mittelsachsen district. Read more

Practical Research Day II

23 January 2018
Final presentations by Master’s students
; working groups present their findings more

Practical Research Project ‘Development of Social Reporting for the Mittelsachsen District’

Master’s students present their initial research findings – read more

Second Practical Research Day

27 January 2016
Presentation of findings from the Master’s students’ practical research project more

First Practical Research Day

23 June 2015
Presentation and discussion of the project’s findings to date – read more

Setting up a practical research project with Master’s students

Small-scale social monitoring in cooperation with the Mittelsachsen district – more

9 June 2015

Launch event for the project

‘Development of social reporting for the Mittelsachsen district’ more

26 February 2015

Memorandum of Understanding between the District of Central Saxony

and Mittweida University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences

18 December 2014