BOLSTER project 1st round of interviews

The data contains interview transcripts. The interviews were implemented as part of the research project BOLSTER - Bridging Organizations and marginalized communities for Local Sustainablity Transitions in EuRope. Due to the (privacy) sensitive nature of the interviews, they are stored in a secure location within the Tilburg University network and cannot be shared The interviewees are representatives from stakeholder groups in each region (e.g. local, regional and national government, civil society organizations, private sector, and relevant umbrella organizations) in the seven targets regions covered by BOLSTER. These regions include: Halle (DE), Silesia (PL), Istria (HR), Praova (RO), Leon (ES), Starat Zagora (BG), Hainaut (BE). Two to three representatives from each of the major stakeholder groups in each region were selected for subsequent interviews. Special attention was given to ensuring an equitable mix of gender, age and socio-economic status of the persons interviewed. However, the sample composition was not intended to be representative of the different socio-demographic groups but rather of the institutional perspectives which were considered important to capture at this stage of the research. A snow-ball approach was employed to identify stakeholders that may have been overlooked in the desk research study and relevant contacts to approach them. The interviews were focused on exploring the following main themes: • The level of awareness and engagement of different stakeholders in the just transition process; • Their perceptions of the process and the challenges and opportunities for the development of the region that it entails; • The expected impacts and implications of the process for them and others in the region with a particular focus on the expected winners and losers from the reforms; • Perceived opportunities and capacities to influence the process; and • Major challenges related to that and suggestions on how they could be addressed.