Citizen Collectives' Monitor

The Netherlands faces major societal challenges. Citizen collectives play a key role in strengthening democracy by encouraging citizen engagement with each other and with society. Citizen collectives are playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition, the local organization of care, the housing shortage, sustainable food chains, and community democracy. The movement is growing rapidly, but also faces many challenges. With scientific insights, we can help citizen collectives develop into resilient organizations.

In 2025, CollectieveKracht published the first Citizen Collectives Monitor, based on data from 431 initiatives.  It provides for the first time a broad and in-depth understanding of the state of local self-organization in the Netherlands. Where are citizen collectives active, how do they function, and what opportunities and bottlenecks do they experience?

Dive into the data

The monitor contains national figures and evidence-based insights that help better support this movement. It also includes an in-depth analysis of initiatives within four sectors: energy, housing, care & welfare, and food, nature & agriculture. The results are relevant for policymakers, umbrella organizations, social institutions, and citizens who want to understand how collective action is developing and what support is needed to strengthen the resilience of the movement.