Grand societal challenges such as forced displacement are extreme and complex issues that are challenging to individuals and might seem insurmountable. How do local actors make sense of, position themselves in, and act on such challenges? We conducted a case study of the collective sensemaking narratives of 71 actors involved in the refugee crisis in Lesbos, Greece. We elaborate how actors make sense of their role in the local response to this grand challenge and explain why some ultimately chose to cooperate to address the plight of refugees whilst others distributed tasks or avoided responding altogether. We identify three collective sensemaking narratives which actors use to validate such action strategies aimed at alleviation, personal recovery, or structural change; and as characterized by different forms of interaction and emergent collective sensemaking. We contribute with our paper to the study of responses to grand challenges by showing how a collective sensemaking framework can be used to understand local responses. We also contribute to extant theorizing on collective sensemaking by showing how actors make sense of grand challenges through interactions with other actors and how their narratives inform individual and collective action.

诸如强迫流离失所之类的大社会挑战是极端而复杂的问题，对个人具有挑战性，似乎是无法克服的。当地参与者如何理解，应对此类挑战并采取应对措施？我们对涉及希腊莱斯博斯岛难民危机的71名演员的集体意义叙事进行了案例研究。我们详细阐述了行为者如何在当地应对这一巨大挑战中发挥作用，并解释了为什么有些人最终选择合作以解决难民的困境，而另一些人则分配任务或避免完全回应。我们确定了三种集体意义的叙述，参与者可以用来验证这些旨在缓解，个人康复或结构变化的行动策略；并具有不同形式的互动和新兴的集体意识。通过展示如何使用集体意识框架来理解当地的应对措施，我们与论文一起为应对重大挑战做出了贡献。我们还通过展示演员如何通过与其他演员的互动来理解重大挑战以及他们的叙事如何告知个人和集体行动，为现存的关于集体意义制定的理论做出贡献。