Reciprocity is one of the main principles of knowledge platform CollectieveKracht. All members (citizen collectives, scientists, financiers, civil servants and network organisations) all contribute in a way. During a day like today, this is most evident.

Mini-lecture on science
The representatives gathered at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam, where the CollectieveKracht office is also located. Tine De Moor, professor of Social Enterprises and Institutions for Collective Action at the Rotterdam School of Management, gave an introduction to science. She discussed, among other things, what makes research ‘scientific’, what extreme citizen science is and what role knowledge platform CollectieveKracht plays in this.

Preference Explorer
In the second part, the citizen collectives learned how the Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) works, also known as the ‘Preference Explorer’. With the DCE, citizen collectives can identify the most important drivers for membership/participation. This is valuable, for example, for organisations that want to be sure that the policy is supported by the majority of their members. This tool was developed by Fijnanda van Klingeren and Tine De Moor. Participant Ton, representative of Zuid Doet Samen in Apeldoorn, sees one challenge: ‘I think it would be interesting to use this for our organisation, but it might be hard to create a context that generates sufficient response.’

Rule Resilience Scanner
Arthur Feinberg then gave a demonstration of the Rule Resilience Scanner, a digital tool to evaluate the robustness and adaptability of an organization. The representatives were able to enter the data of their citizen collective on a server, which then rolled out a user report. Arthur: ‘It was very worthwhile to present my tool today, because I could see how people use it and whether it is useful for citizen collectives. The tool is not finished yet. Thanks to this session, I have gained valuable insights into what is still missing and how I can make it work better.’
 

Strength training for communities
Finally, Irma Straathof (DuurzaamDoor) and Ilonka Marselis (Energie Samen) introduced the citizen collectives to their brand new analog tool, a strength training for communities. This tool helps to reflect on the social aspects of the community. For example, the training can help determine where there is growth potential and exchange experiences between energy communities. Sjaak (Roze Stadsdorpen): ‘This was a really nice way to start the conversation and I look forward to using this tool with other members of my organization.’ Patrick (Blauwe WijkEconomie): ‘The themes are well chosen and the questions are on point.'

Contributors
We thank the representatives of Buddy to Buddy Rotterdam, Straatjes Klimaatproef Coöperatie GOED, Robin Doet, Coöperatie Energiek Leiden, Stichting Vobis, Alex Energie Prins Alexander, stichting Blauwe WijkEconomie, Cult North, Bewonersvereniging Zelfbeheer Hoek Teilingerstraat, Roze Stadsdorp, Zuid Doet Samen, Stichting De Buitenwacht, Stichting Volontario.