On 9 December the new national Citizens Collective Monitor 2025 (Burgercollectieven-monitor 2025) will be published by CollectieveKracht. Drawing on data from 431 initiatives, the monitor shows how citizens collectives are increasingly developing into important actors in the public domain. CollectieveKracht is a knowledge platform set up by the research group Social Enterprises and Institutions for Collective Action at Erasmus University Rotterdam and works together with a broad network of organisations and citizens collectives.
The Netherlands faces major societal challenges. Citizen's collectives offer alternative solutions to many of these issues. They play an expanding role in areas such as the energy transition, innovations in health and social care, community led housing, local food chains and community democracy. The Citizens Collective Monitor provides evidence-based insights that help to understand and support this movement. Where are the initiatives active, how do they function and what opportunities and obstacles do they experience?
The monitor offers a broad and indepth overview of the current state of local self organisation in the Netherlands. It also includes a detailed analysis of initiatives in the sectors energy, housing, health and social care, and nature, food and agriculture. The results are relevant for policymakers, umbrella organisations, civil society institutions and citizens who want to understand how collective action is developing and what support is needed to strengthen the resilience of the movement.
Professionalisation continues
The monitor shows that local initiatives are increasingly developing into structural societal actors. Many initiatives join umbrella networks, use proven organisational models (for example the Dutch community farming model Herenboeren) and combine different activities in order to have broader local impact and improve their resilience.
Institutional foundations remain fragile
Despite this growth the legal and governance structures of many initiatives remain vulnerable. There is a clear need for more knowledge sharing, legal advice and support to help build durable organisational structures. Policymakers, funders and intermediary organisations can play an important role here.
Working with government requires mutual understanding
Citizen's collectives operate between market and state. They are neither, but instead form a third logic based on solidarity, self-organisation and local roots. The monitor shows that cooperation with government is desired but often difficult for precisely this reason, as these different logics can clash.
Sectors, size and organisational forms
The 431 participating collectives are mainly active in health and social care (27.6 percent), energy (17.9 percent), housing (15.5 percent), and food, nature and agriculture (11.4 percent). Common legal forms are foundations (36 percent), cooperatives (27 percent) and associations (26 percent). A large share of the collectives has a substantial membership base: 48 percent have more than 200 members. Energy and health care collectives in particular tend to have large groups of participants.
Key challenges
The monitor shows that initiatives face several structural challenges. Financial issues are the most common. Many initiatives struggle with external funding and financial independence. Internal organisation also requires attention. A quarter of all collectives find decision making and democratic participation complex. Retaining active members and volunteers remains difficult. Although initiatives contribute to broad societal wellbeing and community cohesion, participation is still socially selective. Energy initiatives, for example, tend to attract higher income groups, while health and social care initiatives reach more people with lower incomes.
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Discover all national figures and substantiated insights in the Citizen Collectives Monitor 2025
CollectieveKracht is the knowledge platform for and by citizen collectives from all sectors: from energy to housing, from healthcare to food. Want to know more? Visit the CollectieveKracht website
Press enquiries?
Tessa Moolenaar
CollectieveKracht
t.moolenaar@rsm.nl
+31 10 408 9805- Related content
