NIERS - Niederrhein Institute
for Regional and Structural Research

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Niederrhein Institute for Regional and Structural Research

The NIERS - Niederrhein Institute for Regional and Structural Research (NIERS) deals with issues of regional structural change, regional sustainability and future viability from a regional science perspective. The analysis of specific industries and industry complexes is just as much a part of the institute's work as research into small-scale changes in the "Lower Rhine" region and beyond.

The NIERS uses methods of empirical regional and social research as well as primary and secondary data collection and analysis. A high degree of interdisciplinarity characterizes the institute's work both internally and externally and contributes to the continuous development of the institute's topics.

The target groups of NIERS' activities include the scientific community, local and regional stakeholders and the wider public. As an affiliated institute of a university, we also see research-based teaching and learning as part of our mission, meaning that students should also be mentioned as a further target group. Our work is based on a circular understanding of knowledge and transfer. This means that our research and project partners as well as the above-mentioned target groups are both the addressees of and the initiators for our work.

Head of the institute

Prof. Dr. Angelika Krehl
Institute Director NIERS Economics, regional and sectoral structural policy
News archive

Ongoing research projects

R³ - Regional.Responsibility.Resonance

The R³ project investigates how resonance can be created, innovations can be initiated and change can be successfully shaped in structurally weak regions through commitment to the common good. The central idea is to better understand the effects of resonance-promoting Corporate Regional Responsibility (CRR) on social innovation, especially in structurally weak regions, and to make them usable for shaping change and regional innovation.

Contact

Projectmanagement Project management
Prof. Dr. Angelika KrehlDr. Anna Herzog
Dr. Ann-Marie KrewerSaskia Griffig
Christina Masch
Marieke Vomberg (on parental leave)

ENDORSE

ENDORSE - Enhancing development of entrepreneurial strategies at university locations affected by brain drain is aimed at universities and colleges in locations affected by brain drain and aims to provide a concept to promote entrepreneurial activities. University/college locations affected by brain drain need to ensure collaboration between the university and local stakeholders to create a business-friendly environment for student entrepreneurs and graduates that can compensate for the lack of other opportunities in these locations.

Contact persons

Project management Project management
Prof. Dr. Angelika KrehlChristina Masch

 

Socio-demographic analysis of HSNR students

Socio-demographic analysis of students at The Hochschule Niederrhein and its catchment area

The project on the socio-demographic analysis of students at The Hochschule Niederrhein aims to present a comprehensive analysis of the development of the student body and to integrate it into the regional socio-demographic context. To this end, data from the university statistics will be evaluated and the results compared with the corresponding age cohorts in the university's catchment area. The interdisciplinary teaching project offers insights into the socio-demographic changes at the university and promotes interdisciplinary cooperation between the Faculties of Business Administration and Economics and Applied Social Sciences.

Contact

Project management Project management
Prof. Dr. Angelika Krehl Lorena Götzen (SHK) until 31.08.2023
Prof. Dr. Moritz Hess Martina Wintgen (SHK)

Small-scale analysis of the real estate markets

Small-scale analysis of real estate markets in German cities and regions. Location, image, prices, approaches to regional economic implications

Against the background of large disparities in housing development between urban and rural/peripheral regions with increasing demand for housing on the one hand and balanced or declining demand for housing on the other, the project aims to contribute to understanding the characteristics of the real estate market in Germany and its dynamics. To this end, rental and property prices as well as the duration of advertisements in selected regions are examined spatially and over time. In addition, the influences of property characteristics and the (urban) spatial location on price development and listing duration will be examined.

Industry structure & innovation potential analysis

Comparative, regionalized industry structure and innovation potential analyses for the lignite mining areas "Rheinisches Revier" and "Lausitz"

As part of the project, the adaptation requirements of the energy and climate policy-based coal phase-out in the two lignite mining regions "Rheinisches Revier" and "Lausitz" are being examined. Together with the Leibniz-Institut für ökologische Raumentwicklung e.V. (IÖR), NIERS is investigating the socio-economic, political and historical context in which structural change is taking place in the two coalfields and what this means for the design of structural policy measures. On the one hand, the regional innovation potentials are determined with the help of socio-economic data. Secondly, qualitative analyses are used to examine the extent to which the local population is involved in structural change.

Contact

Project management Project management
Prof. Dr. Angelika KrehlSteffen Büssers

 

Completed research projects

Publications

NIERS Discussion Papers

The Niederrhein Institute for Regional and Structural Research (NIERS) has decided to publish its own series of discussion papers. With the "NIERS Discussion Papers on Regional Economic Research", NIERS aims to contribute to the stimulation of scientific discussion within its own university, but also with the national and international "scientific community" and with practice partners. The discussion papers appear irregularly in German or English and are published exclusively online (in pdf format). They are open to all socio-economic work with a spatial reference. All contributions must be scientifically sound, yet application-oriented.

The discussion papers offer established researchers, young academic staff, but also students of The Hochschule Niederrhein a forum in which they can present their work for discussion. These can be contributions that are intended for publication in peer-reviewed journals, but for which the authors hope to receive constructive criticism; however, these can also be reports on NIERS research work, lectures, excerpts from students' theses and interesting seminar and project assignments by students.

The editor of the "NIERS Discussion Papers on Regional Economic Research" from issue no. 16 onwards is the head of NIERS, Prof. Dr. Angelika Krehl). The views expressed in the articles by the respective authors are not necessarily shared by the editor, but are the sole responsibility of the authors.

Publication proposals can be submitted to Prof. Dr. Angelika Krehl (angelika.krehl@hs-niederrhein.de) or to Christiane Trappmann (christiane.trappmann@hs-niederrhein.de). Manuscripts must use the format template provided by NIERS and meet the formal requirements for scientific papers.