Research Programme 2: Predicting trends in undesirable social phenomena

This research programme focuses on analysing, modelling and forecasting the impact of the introduction of modern energy technologies and innovations on vulnerable groups in the Moravian-Silesian region. It focuses on groups identified in the field of social work as: (1) children and families at risk; (2) the elderly; (3) people in residential social care facilities; (4) people at risk of or affected by crime. The programme is based on the assumption that the success and sustainability of the energy transition depends on the ability to prevent or at least mitigate its negative consequences for the most vulnerable parts of the population in the Moravian-Silesian Region. The research outputs aim to provide expert recommendations to ensure the legitimacy, effectiveness and sustainability of the energy transition and minimise its negative impacts.

Head of the research team: doc. PhDr. Alice Gojová, Ph.D.
Associate professor at the Department of Social Work at the Faculty of Social Studies for the University of Ostrava. For more than 25 years she has been researching social work interventions and social exclusion, her specialty is community-based, participatory and critical approaches to social work. She has been a researcher or co-investigator of several basic and applied research projects and has experience in interdisciplinary and interdepartmental research cooperation and contract research. She has worked in a number of managerial positions, is a successful supervisor of doctoral students and supervises a follow-up Master's degree programme in Social Work with specialisations in Social Work with Families, Social Work and Criminology and Social Work Development and Management.