First knowledge exchange platform for citizen collectives: CollectivePower

On Friday, February 11, 2022, the research team Social Enterprise and Institutions for Collective Action (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam), led by Professor Tine De Moor, launched a new cross-sectoral knowledge exchange platform for citizen collectives: CollectivePower. It is the first platform to support a broad group of citizen collectives that are organized from the bottom up, such as energy cooperatives, food collectives, healthcare cooperatives and collectives that focus on improving the liveability of a village or neighborhood. CollectivePower was developed to support these groups and bring science and society closer together. In doing so, the platform connects to the bottom-up practice of “extreme citizen science” that takes into account local needs and culture and works with broad networks to design new knowledge creation processes that can change the world.

Since 2005, the number of new citizen collectives has grown. These collectives are active in many different fields: from health care and energy to food, land use, social security and housing. They perform important functions for citizens especially at the local level in areas that are not taken up by either the government or the market. After collectives have successfully established themselves, there is often a need for advice to perpetuate as a permanent and proactive organization. The platform accommodates four different labs, each focused on a specific target group of stakeholders. These Partner Labs are the Network Lab, Finance Lab, Government Lab and Science Lab. Given the similarities between citizen collectives, regardless of the sector in which they operate, CollectiveKracht can further improve the viability of these organizations through cross-sectoral knowledge exchange.

‘From a scientific point of view, it is important to explore new citizen collectives, as these organizations are increasingly being put forward as solutions to a range of societal issues and sustainability challenges such as the energy transition, sustainable use of resources and an aging population. ‘As more information becomes available through CollectiveKracht, research into the added value of these citizen collectives is made more insightful,’ said Tine De Moor of Rotterdam School of Management.

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