Andrea Walter

Prof. Dr. Andrea Walter is a Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the Hochschule der Polizei und Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen (HSPV NRW), based at the Dortmund campus. She is affiliated with the Department of General Administration / Pension Insurance and specializes in Social Sciences, particularly civil society, local governance, and civic engagement.

• University: Hochschule der Polizei und Verwaltung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• School: Faculty of Public Administration
• Department: Department of General Administration / Pension Insurance
• Academic Rank: Professor
• Email: andrea.walter@hspv.nrw.de
• Location: Hiltropwall 4-12, 44137 Dortmund, Room A.1.14

She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Münster in 2014 with scholarships from the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and FAZIT-Stiftung. Prior to her professorship, she worked as a project manager at Bertelsmann Stiftung and as a research associate at WWU Münster, contributing to third-party funded projects. She has held visiting researcher positions at WU Wien, Stockholm School of Economics, and Georgetown University.

Her research centers on civil society, local democracy, civic engagement, volunteerism, gender in nonprofit organizations, and social innovation. She investigates how civil society actors interact with public administration, the governance of local services, and the sustainability of volunteer-based institutions. Her work emphasizes participatory governance, informal decision-making, and gender equity in nonprofit leadership.

Her recent publications span topics such as volunteer firefighters, civic engagement during the pandemic, local integration, and the value of civil society. These works reflect a strong focus on empirical social research applied to public administration and policy, often in collaboration with practitioners and policymakers. Her research combines qualitative and policy analysis methods, contributing to both academic discourse and practical governance improvements.

Scientific awards and recognitions include the Carl Goerdeler Prize for her municipal science dissertation (2016). She has also been actively involved in academic and public service, including:

• Co-Editor of Voluntaris - Zeitschrift für Freiwilligendienste und zivilgesellschaftliches Engagement (since 2023)
• Member of the Research Commission at HSPV NRW (since 2019)
• Deputy Program Director of the Master of Public Management (MPM) at HSPV NRW (2020–2024)
• Reviewer for BMBF, BMEL, Stiftung Mercator, and journals such as Voluntas and Bristol University Press

She supervises research projects and advises on policy, including serving on the advisory board of the Kompetenzzentrum Bürgerbeteiligung, the jury for Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, and the Forum Zivilgesellschaftsdaten. She is also active in networks such as DVPW, ISTR, and the BBE Berlin working group on civil society research.

Prof. Walter leads the BMBF-funded project SROI – Stärkung des Ehrenamts für die Sicherung lokaler Daseinsvorsorge (2021–2024) in collaboration with Kreis Lippe and WWU Münster. She has coordinated and contributed to numerous EU and national research projects on civil society, social innovation, and public administration. Her work bridges academic research and practical policy application, fostering collaboration between municipalities, citizens, and civil society organizations.