Civic Initiatives Acting as Resilience Actors for Older People during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Case Study Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2020–2025)

Abstract This article examines how informal civic initiatives emerged as resilience actors within the ecosystem of social services for older people in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2025). Drawing on longitudinal qualitative research using constructivist Grounded Theory across two phases of data collection (2022 and 2025–2026), the study identifies six civic initiatives that emerged spontaneously during the pandemic and analyses their operational profiles, collaborative relationships with formal institutions, and post-pandemic trajectories. The findings reveal a typology of civic resilience actors differentiated by mobilisation logic, functional role, and capacity for sustained engagement beyond the crisis. A key conceptual contribution is the distinction between active resilience—sustained, institutionalised capacity—and latent resilience—dormant civic capacity that remains available for future mobilisation but is not systematically maintained. The authors conclude that the effectiveness of the local pandemic response in Cluj-Napoca was shaped by dense pre-existing civic networks and accumulated relational capital, highlighting the importance of civic infrastructure for social service resilience and future crisis preparedness.