“Public service infrastructures constitute the foundations of social cohesion. When these foundations begin to crumble, start to slip or collapse entirely, the situation becomes dangerous. Only careful observation and timely adaptation can sustainably maintain the functionality and performance of infrastructures and thus ensure that communities stick together in the long term,” says Prof. Dr. Volker Beckmann, spokesperson for the research group.
The research will focus on public service infrastructures. These ensure the basic provision of goods and services for the general public and the central prerequisites for these. This includes infrastructures for health, safety and policy-making, as well as the agricultural and food system, local and civil society infrastructures, and green infrastructure.
An interdisciplinary approach to viable solutions
Academics from the fields of economics, geography, criminology, psychology, theology, medicine, and political science will analyse these areas from a socio-technical and system dynamics perspective. Each discipline examines at least one infrastructure and contributes to a shared understanding of adaptation processes. Their findings will contribute policy recommendations for safeguarding basic services in rural and peripheral areas.
The research group emerged from the “Think-Rural!” consortium at the University of Greifswald. Researchers from all five faculties belonging to the consortium have been working together in an interdisciplinary and problem-oriented manner for several years. In addition to academics from the University of Greifswald, researchers from University Medicine Greifswald, the University of Rostock, and the RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau are also involved. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research (IFZO) and the Alfried Krupp Institute of Advanced Studies in Greifswald are supporting the work.
Developing a profile for Greifswald’s research domain on the Baltic Sea region
“We are united by a distinctly rural perspective. The research group now offers us excellent opportunities to consolidate and expand this unique collaboration,” says Beckmann. AdaptInfra is strengthening the University of Greifswald’s profile in cutting-edge research on rural areas, the Baltic Sea region and OneHealth.
Further information
DFG research groups are collaborative working groups comprising several outstanding researchers who work together on research tasks. The funding is intended to facilitate close cooperation in the medium term and is provided for an initial period of four years, with the option of a further four-year extension.
Around ten doctoral candidates, one postdoctoral researcher, three Mercator Fellows and 12 professors will be collaborating closely as of 1 July 2026.
Contacts at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Volker Beckmann
General Economics and Landscape Economy
University of Greifswald
Soldmannstr. 15, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 4122
volker.beckmannuni-greifswaldde
Responsible members of professorial staff
- Prof. Dr. Volker Beckmann, General Economics and Landscape Economy, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Paula Prenzel, Urban and Regional Economics, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
- Prof. Dr. Daniel Schiller, Economic and Social Geography, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Stefan Harrendorf, Criminology, Criminal Law, Law of Criminal Procedure and Comparative Criminal Law, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Silke Schmidt-Schuchert, Health and Prevention, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Samuel Tomczyk, Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medicine Rostock
- Prof. Dr. Tobias Braune-Krickau, Practical Theology, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Steffen Fleßa, General Business Administration and Health Care Management, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, Institute of Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Neeltje van den Berg, Institute of Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Christine Tamásy, Human Geography, University of Greifswald
- Prof. Dr. Jochen Müller, Political Sociology and Methods of Political Science, University of Greifswald