Expedition BGE is directed onto referenda in various federal states in Germany for the implementation of test projects on unconditional basic income on the part of the state governments.
To this end, signatures are collected from citizens, which, if they are in sufficient number, constitute a petition for a referendum leading to a referendum in which a majority of those entitled to vote can instruct the state government to launch pilot projects on unconditional basic income.

Signatures are collected in the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen. If enough signatures are collected for a petition for a referendum, the population in the respective state can vote on whether the unconditional basic income should be tested in that state.

Even if the majority of votes is not reached in a referendum, this action reaches a broad public and gives many people food for thought. It brings the topic of basic income closer to one’s own front door, connects it with direct democracy and enhances its charisma in politics and through the media.

At the same time, the project sees itself as an educational campaign. Because by asking all citizens to vote on this subject, further education is stimulated in matters such like: Future of work, culture of initiative, human dignity … in which society do we want to live?
And with the implementation of test projects, the debate on a universal basic income (UBI) is constantly enriched with news and tangible results.

The FRIBIS Group “Expedition Basic Income” primarily serves the project focus of combining scientific research and social dialogue on the topic of UBI. Education and research intensify the debate. Findings from the pilot projects are scientifically elaborated, backed up and made available to the public.
The scientific preparation, evaluation and presentation of the planned pilot projects is carried out by this FRIBIS Group.

Transfer team, activists

• John “Joy” Ponader
  Founder & campaign strategist
  Among other things co-founding of Mein-Grundeinkommen and Sanktionsfrei as well as the Basic Income Initiative Munich, co-organiser of several basic income congresses.
  Joy Ponader has been actively involved with the topic of basic income for 14 years
• Lucia Lang
  Project manager in political campaigning
  Among others Amnesty International, Deutsches Studentenwerk, Federal Ministry of Education and Research
  B.A. Cultural Studies (focus on social sciences)

Science team, scientists

• Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schupp
  Professor at the Institute of Sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin and researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin).
  Main areas of research: Empirical social research, social indicators, social structure and social inequality.
• Laura Brämswig
  Founder & campaign strategist
  e.g. strategy consultant and partner at Ashoka (consulting and development of socio-political projects, various studies on social innovation)
  Msc Social & Cultural Psychology (London School of Economics), Bsc Business Psychology and Politics (Leuphana University & Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
• Janina Kopp
  Research Insights Manager – Content Creation & Community Building
  u. A. Science management and research, science communication, research funding and the development of new research and cooperation formats (VDI/VDE-Innovation und Technik; DZHW)
  M.S. Ecotrophology; M.A. Science Research
• Leonie Schraven
  Lawyer & Business Psychologist
  u. A. veedu GmbH, BSP Business School Berlin , Talents4Good GmbH
  B.A. Business Psychology, First State Examination in Law
• Burhan Yalcin
  Research Assistant
  Götz Werner Chair of Economic Policy and Constitutional Economic Theory at the University of Freiburg, Germany