This operational research project is part of, ‘Learning and Innovating to Improve Crisis Response – phase 3’ (2022 – 2025). This project, which aims to help structure the NGO sector, is funded by the French Development Agency, Fondation de France, the Principality of Monaco and the Auvergne Rhône Alpes Region.
Based on a series of case studies, this operational research project aims to improve understanding of the mutual aid that takes place spontaneously in crisis situations and the relations between mutual aid networks and professional aid organisations. The aim will be to make operational recommendations both for individuals and organisations for before, during and after a crisis.
The aims of this study are to:
- Understand the socio-political and legislative context of the host crisis in Briançon since 2015;
- Identify the solidarity initiatives undertaken by citizens and associations in Briançon since 2015 and analyse how they have changed over time;
- Understand how the commitment of volunteers is shaped and transformed when the ‘crisis’ drags on;
- To understand how solidarity and mutual aid are expressed throughout the exile process;
- Understanding collective perceptions and media treatment of the ‘cultural other’;
- Analyse the interactions (and tensions) between state solidarity mechanisms (institutions), civil society interventions (associations) and the initiatives of activist groups (self-managed collectives) in the reception of refugee populations;
- Understand how ‘counter-institutional solidarity’ replaces the State when it no longer respects international humanitarian law (observation area: Le Pado).
The methodology is based mainly on semi-directive interviews and a collection of testimonies, life stories and personal histories. They will mainly target exiled people, civil society solidarity actors and institutional aid actors, as well as local institutions and citizens.