Frequently asked questions

A citizen collective is a group of citizens who work together to achieve a common goal, who collectively gather resources for this purpose and who establish a democratic organization for the long term to manage and distribute those collective resources.

CollectivePower is primarily there for representatives of citizen collectives. In addition, the various partner labs provide a space for researchers, (local) governments, network organizations, and financial institutions to exchange knowledge and information. 

On CollectivePower, as a representative of a citizen collective, you can connect with other collectives, (local) governments, researchers, funders, and network organizations. You’ll also find a number of tools that are directly available to your collective — such as the self-scan, relevant real-world examples, practically translated scientific insights, and various forums.

CollectivePower was initiated by the research group Social Enterprise and Institutions for Collective Action, affiliated with the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The group continues to operate as an independent academic research team, viewing its contribution to the platform as part of its social responsibility. Its tasks include engaging collectives and other stakeholders to participate, structuring, managing, and making knowledge and information accessible, and offering specific knowledge tools. The team is happy to introduce themselves to you!

CollectivePower is a powerful, practical, and impartial knowledge platform that supports the development and resilience of citizen collectives — both by encouraging knowledge exchange between different stakeholders and by actively providing scientific insights, translated into the daily practice of collectives.

On CollectivePower, the knowledge needs of citizen collectives take center stage: the challenges they face shape the platform’s content. It serves as a bridge — connecting collectives with one another (both within and across sectors), and linking them to governments, researchers, supporters, and financial institutions.

• Gain insight into how your own collective functions with the help of a scientifically grounded self-scan.
• Use scientific tools to conduct further research within your collective.
• Access the full knowledge base.
• Start new discussions in thematic discussion groups.
• Respond to existing discussions.
• Submit (research) questions to our partners at the Financelab, Sciencelab, Governmentlab, Supporterslab, and Networklab.

For now, the sign-up questionnaire is only available in Dutch.

Before we create a profile for your citizen collective, we first ask you to complete a self-scan about your collective. Based on the information collected, the platform administrators will create a unique page for your collective within two working days — no action needed on your part. You’ll be able to find the page here. Once your collective has its own page on CollectivePower, you can create a personal profile. There's no need to fill out the self-scan again for this.

During registration, you'll complete a scientifically grounded questionnaire (15–20 minutes) that helps your citizen collective gain insight into its current situation and the challenges that lie ahead. This process allows you to independently deepen your understanding of your collective’s dynamics and resilience. In addition, it helps identify where extra knowledge or information might be needed — whether from other collectives, or from government, academia, or financial institutions.

For two key reasons: first, knowing more about the specific characteristics of your citizen collective allows us to better match relevant information to your profile. The more we understand how your organization operates, the easier it becomes to offer meaningful support. It also helps when we receive input and contributions from all parties involved — our platform is built on the principle of reciprocity.

Reciprocity — the idea that you give something in order to receive something in return — is a core value for many citizen collectives. The knowledge platform CollectieveKracht is also largely based on this principle. This means that contributing input as a collective goes hand in hand with benefiting from useful information and insights.

By sharing data, collectives help researchers conduct meaningful analyses and draw evidence-based conclusions, which in turn can be used to better support collectives in their growth. The more data collectives provide, the stronger and more representative the scientific insights will be. That’s why, as part of the registration process, we ask you to complete a short questionnaire (15–20 minutes) about your collective.

Participation in CollectivePower is and will remain free of charge for citizen collectives. However, we do expect active involvement: by sharing knowledge and experiences with other collectives, and by occasionally taking part in scientific research. Only through mutual exchange can we truly support one another — and ultimately, help your own collective move forward as well.

CollectivePower is a non-commercial platform. We do not sell your data to third parties and will not send you commercial offers. However, we may (optionally) recommend certain information or tools from our platform that are relevant to the specific situation of your citizen collective. Data about your collective may also be used for scientific research. This is done in a pseudonymized manner, meaning it cannot be traced back to you or your collective. For more information, please read our Privacy Statement.

We also expect reciprocity from the funders, researchers, civil servants, and network organizations that join us. For this reason, we exclude (commercial) parties that see CollectivePower as a platform to connect with potential customers. Do you believe that, from your position, you can make a meaningful contribution to strengthening the resilience of citizen collectives? If so, we invite you to get in touch with us via the button below.

CONTACT

Citizen collectives from Flanders are welcome and can register. Part of the platform is useful to them. However, the labs focused on government and finance are not tailored to the Flemish context and therefore not applicable.

That depends. Many citizen collectives operate like a business, for example as a cooperative or a social enterprise. CollectivePower is intended for these types of organizations as well. However, it does not apply to companies where the primary goal is profit generation and distribution among shareholders.