Sustainable Development and Responsibility

This is the most recently developed research program at SASS, capturing the exciting opportunity to deal with one of today’s most timely topics, which is only expected to grow further in its relevance. It has been organised around the research project Encouraging Social and Environmental Responsibility, supported by the Slovenian National Research Agency (ARRS) and the Jean Monnet Chair European Governance for Sustainable Development, supported by the EU Erasmus+ program. It also draws from the results of the Central Europe and Adriatic-Ionian Interreg programs and other projects dealing with social entrepreneurship, integration of immigrants and sustainable tourism. It is also closely connected to the work the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) program within UNES CO and the international research network, dealing with social transformations in the framework of the European Sociological Association.


The need to combine economic prosperity with the responsibility towards sustaining the natural environment and social solidarity is becoming an increasingly important challenge: for individuals in  heir everyday lives, for entrepreneurs and managers, for decision makers and other employees in the public sector, for the active members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the local, regional, national and international level.


The research program welcomes combinations of sociological perspectives with anthropology, psychology, economics, political science and other disciplines. It places social actions and structures in the contexts of natural environment and technological development.

The program draws from a variety of theoretical approaches, such as critical realism, social systems theory, theory of planned behaviour, cultural political economy. It employs qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods, drawing from extensive data collected through previous research.

Head of Research Programme: Prof. dr. Matej Makarovič

Matej Makarovič

Members:

Tea Golob, PhD

Janja Mikulan Kildi, PhD

Klavdija Zorec, PhD