Ecovillages as Incubators for Sustainability Transitions (EVIST)

Unit of analysis: Ecovillages Universe: Ecovillages from selected countries with registration at the GEN International Database (https://ecovillage.org/projects/) on 28.02.2022 with a minimum of eight permanent residents aged over 15 and at least two years of communal living at a shared location.

To ensure the inclusion of ecovillages located in diverse geographical, economic and social contexts, we included in our sample countries with the highest and lowest GDP per capita levels, which had at least six ecovillage registered in the GEN international database. This database is based on self-identification, allowing ecovillages and similar initiatives to register themselves. Moreover, the database is not constantly updated. Consequently, there are projects in the database that do not exist anymore, or that do not meet our selection criteria. A total of 36 countries were included in the the sampling (21 from the Global South and 15 from the Global North), from which we received responses from ecovillages in 30 countries. This country selection allowed us to compare diffusion activities between ecovillages located in the Global North and in the Global South.

Incentivization: We offered various incentives to the ecovillages to motivate them to participate in the survey (conditional to the completion of the survey questionnaire). These were: (a.) An invitation to participate in an online session where the research team provided a report of the results of this survey, followed by a networking session with other ecovillages from their region. (b.) A ticket for a sweepstake in which one responding ecovillage from each GEN region would win a voucher of CHF 200 for a free course from the GEN Learning Platform, from the CASA Latina website or for consultancy hours from one of the consultants from the GEN regional networks. And (c.) The results of the survey in the form of articles, reports and any other output we generate.