The expectations on transformation processes in the development of structurally weak regions have remained unfulfilled over the last 10 years. Today, transformation research faces new challenges. It has become apparent, that the scientific and theoretic prerequisites have, up to now, been discussed inadequately and that in this particular field of research no complex research has been established or it has been insufficiently institutionalized. To understand the opportunities and risks of the transformation processes and to have an impact on the development of structurally weak regions, the research instruments must either be adapted or, in some aspects, developed anew. Using an interdisciplinary and complex initial research approach, the research team is going to face the new, current challenges and problems of the transformation process. The scientific results are to be used in various fields of research and regions as well as in the economy. We welcome a broad variety of perspectives: those of scientists and researchers, of regional and national actors, of business and political representatives - all are invited to join the discussion. The goal is a multilayered and interdisciplinary discourse about transformation research, enriched by different perspectives coming from as many participants as possible who are interested in the subject.

A changing society – what conditions do we find in so-called structurally weak regions, what risks have to be considered, what opportunities and endogenous potential provide important advantages? What conditions enable an economically fair and ecologically lasting development? What are the resources in a region marked by structural problems, lacking the driving force of development, and what processes can help to awaken and use this force? Can the transformation process be interpreted as an opportunity to break- out of old routine, as an opportunity to embark on a new path of development?