The Socioscope: on the relationship between micro- and meso-entities

New session of the "Paris IAS Ideas" online talk series, with the participation of Pr. Helga Nowotny (ETH Zurich, ERC) and Paris IAS fellow for a one-month writing residency as part of the "Paris IAS Ideas" series.

The "Paris IAS Ideas" online talk series features short and stimulating presentations from fellows of the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, marking the beginning of 1-month writing residencies.

Only online and in English
Free event but registration required.
Register via the form at the bottom of the page to receive the connection link.

Presentation

So far, the Socioscope project has collected qualitative data about the activities of more than 700 local initiatives engaged in increasing sustainability in the domain of food, in 35 countries and 9 languages. Deploying the ‘transaction grid’, i.e. mapping the interactions and relationships of each local initiative with other stakeholders in terms of who gives and receives what, soon made us realize the importance of entities at the meso-level: municipalities, NGOs, firms, consultancies, government programs and other coordinating bodies. This raises questions about their different modes of operation; their resources, strategies, motivations; and the impact they have.

The data collected so far (to be continued in 2026) in "Zones in Transition" situated in geographies with different cultural, political and economic histories and in different present geopolitical contexts, allow us to pursue a more systemic approach to the questions raised above. It enables the synthesis of the perspectives from different actors and their relationships, in different regimes. For instance, it turns out that the relationships between micro-and meso-entities in varying ‘Zones in Transition’ gives rise to the emergence of different notions of sustainability.

If we want to understand how processes of transition occur, we must find out whether a multi-level approach is sufficient, or whether are there better ways to conceptualize and operationalize the dynamics of the relationships between micro- and meso-entities. This will be the focus of her one month stay at the Paris IAS.