AGORAge field activities officially began in late August with the delivery of a questionnaire to Borgo Mazzini Smart Cohousing and Casa Albergo residents. Developed in the previous months by URV researchers and Casa Albergo team, this instrument aimed to collect some demographic data, investigate the motivations behind the choice to live at a caring facility, the type of relationships with other residents and professionals, daily habits and personal definition of community. A questionnaire was also distributed to the team of professionals in charge of Borgo Mazzini, with the intention of gathering information about their role and duties, daily routines and relationships among residents, and finally their opinion about the possibility of defining Casa Albergo and Borgo Mazzini as community.
To this day, researchers from the University of Tarragona are working on data analysis, while ISRAA team is conducting in-depth interviews with some of the residents who have shown interest in participating in the activities. The purpose of these interviews, which are themselves the result of discussions between members of the two organizations, is to delve deeper into their views on decisive issues as the ingredients they believe are indispensable to build a caring community, and what contributes to making an environment (whether physical or social) welcoming and familiar.
In the meanwhile, the two teams are discussing the methodology to be adopted in conducting the focus group with residents, scheduled for early December. The intention is to work with maps as a tool to facilitate discussion and reflection on the themes of spaces and relationships linked to them, with a particular focus on Borgo Mazzini area. A second focus group will then be aimed at professionals in order to track the ongoing community building initiatives, the level of residents’ participation and response, their needs and desires with regard to activities to be implemented, and finally the relationship with families.