MOSACA II- Mobile Working in Satellite Offices Close to Home in Combination with Sustainable Transport Services in Northern Hesse

Duration: January 2023 to December 2024

Funding code: 67WM22001

As part of the predecessor project MOSACA I, a target vision for work and mobility in 2035 was developed. This was done in close cooperation with local stakeholders, such as municipalities, companies and providers of coworking spaces. The result envisages a comprehensive network of coworking spaces in the near future, combined with sustainable transport options in the rural area of North Hesse. This network will allow employees in the region to reduce their commutes and share resources. After all, around 65,500 employees commute to the Kassel region every day, quite a few kilometers of which are covered by car. This has a negative impact on the environment and is also time-consuming and cost-intensive.

The aim of the follow-up project MOSACA II is to test and promote a more decentralized rural working day in northern Hesse in 2035. To this end, a roadmap on how a more decentralized rural working day could become a reality by 2035 is being developed together with those responsible in the cooperating districts (Kassel district, Waldeck-Frankenberg district, Schwalm-Eder district) and other stakeholders from regional management and local LEADER groups. In addition, a real-world laboratory will make it possible to experience what the combination of coworking and sustainable mobility services could look like in practice.

The MOSACA II project is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). Other partners are EcoLibro GmbH and CoWorkLand eG. The Department of Transport Planning and Transport Systems (VPVS) at the University of Kassel is responsible for project management, communication and promotion of the real-world laboratory and for recruiting cooperating companies. Finally, the VPVS is also responsible for the planning, implementation and evaluation of the empirical research accompanying the impact assessment. The Green Office of the University of Kassel supports the Traffic Planning and Transportation Systems unit in communicating with the relevant departments, in public relations work and in preparing and evaluating the empirical surveys.

Within the framework of MOSACA II, a backcasting workshop will be held with the central actors of the region right at the beginning. With the help of this workshop, a roadmap will be jointly developed to gradually move closer to the target image for 2035 and to ensure the further distribution of tasks and quality management.

As part of a real lab, interested companies in the region will then enable their employees to work in coworking spaces (CWS) close to their homes and to cover commuting distances using sustainable transport options. In addition to the existing CWS network(https://www.coworking-nordhessen.de/), two more suitably located pop-up CWS will be established. The needs of participating companies and employees for coworking and transport services will be surveyed, and needs-based solutions will be developed. The combined coworking and transport offer will be evaluated with accompanying research in order to assess the effects in the direction of a mobility turnaround and to identify potential for continuation.

In the form of a multiple survey, CWS users will be interviewed in a partially standardized manner at several points in time, once at the beginning, halfway through and towards the end of the pilot project. The central question is how everyday situations, everyday mobility, consumption and travel behavior change as a result of CWS use. The interview partners are selected according to the principle of Theoretical Sampling . The interviews will be recorded in summary form and evaluated with the help of a computer according to the method of qualitative content analysis and typing. 

The MOSACA II project is intended to test and advance the conditions for mobile working and reduced commuting in rural northern Hesse by 2035. For this purpose, an action plan is being developed in a participatory process with local authorities in order to achieve the formulated target. Successful implementation will be ensured by locally anchored contractors and close cooperation with local companies and communities.

The aim is also to generate further demand among regional companies through the innovative test offer and to expand the range of coworking locations in combination with transport services in northern Hesse.

Digitization plays a central role in this: Through the smart booking of both resources and workstations in the coworking spaces as well as car-sharing vehicles, users can experience an improvement in their everyday working lives through digital solutions.

Funding program: #mobilwandel2035 (Link: https: //www.bmuv.de/mobilwandel2035)

Funding source: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) (Link: https://www.bmuv.de/)

Project executing agency: Zukunft - Umwelt - Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH (Link: www.z-u-g.org)

Subcontractor: EcoLibro GmbH (Link: https://ecolibro.de/)

Subcontractor: CoWorkLand eG (Link: https://coworkland.de/de)