A broad consortium of scientific and societal organizations, including the national government, umbrella organizations, universities, municipalities, and funding bodies, will collaborate over the coming years on the research project Empowering Citizen COllectives in societal transitions (ECCO). For this project, €6.8 million has been awarded by the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA).
From 16 to 20 June, representatives of Social Enterprises & Institutions for Collective Action were present on the 20th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC). On 16 June, our research group organized the session ‘Common concerns. Environmental literacy among commoners in early modern Europe’, chaired by Marianne Groep-Foncke.
On 10 April, professor Tine De Moor (RSM, Erasmus University) gave a lecture at the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, College of Economics and Management in Xianyang, China. The lecture was titled “Why History Matters for Today’s Community-Based Solutions: managing commons in Western Europe from past till present.”
The research group Social Enterprises & Institutions for Collective Action welcomes Brechtje Polman and Mickey Steijaert as part of the team. Both of them will work as community builders on the CollectieveKracht platform, developing its scope by connecting with citizen collectives and relevant stakeholder groups, such as scientists, civil servants and financiers. They look forward to bringing their enthusiasm for collective action to CollectieveKracht and to help bridging the gap between citizen collectives and science.
Welcome! See the profile pages of Mickey and Brechtje for more information.
On March 27, the symposium ‘Aspiring Commons – (Re)discoveries and Learning Opportunities from the Global South’ took place. This event brought together academics and practitioners to explore the lessons we can learn from commons initiatives in the Global South.
Can researchers in the field of humanities speed up and scale up their research by making use of AI-driven aides? Dr. Marianne Groep-Foncke of Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University Rotterdam) presented her research during the International Symposium on Grids and Clouds 2025. Her presentation was titled ‘Easily accessible LLMs in historical studies: opportunities, limitations, pitfalls‘.
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Research group Social Enterprises & Institutions for Collective Actions welcomes Nadja Yampolskaya in her role as team supporter.
“I am excited to join the SEICA and CollectieveKracht team because their focus on social innovation and collaborative approaches perfectly aligns with my passion for applying technology to solve real-world problems. My background in computer linguistics and user research allows me to turn complex information into practical, human-focused solutions. I believe technology, combined with community-led initiatives, can bring sustainable positive change. I’m excited to contribute my skills to collective power for social impact.”
Welcome! See her profile page for more information.
An article published in Bestuurwetenschappen explores how closer collaboration between government and citizen collectives can contribute to tackling societal transitions and restoring trust in democracy. The Dutch article “Citizen collectives at the helm? In co-creation with the government towards successful transitions” is a collaboration between the following researchers working in the academic field of citizen collectives in the Netherlands: Tine De Moor, Darinka Czischke, Carola van Eijk, Marianne Groep-Foncke, Lukas Held, Ina Horlings, Lise Jans, Reinout Kleinhans & Ingmar van Meerkerk.
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On 18 February, dr. Ismael Vaccaro, Associate Professor at McGill School of Environment and Department of Anthropology, Bieler School of Environment, gave an online presentation as part of our SEICA Open Seminar Series, titled: ‘Reimagining modern politics in the European mountains: confronting the traditional commons with the novel conceptions of the common good.’
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We are delighted to invite you to a thought-provoking symposium featuring Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Ruth is a renowned scholar whose research spans governance of natural resources, agricultural development, and gender issues, with a strong focus on the management of commons and innovative field methodologies.
This symposium, titled Aspiring Commons – (Re)discoveries and Learning Opportunities from the Global South, aims to explore how practices from the Global South can inspire and inform collective action initiatives in Europe. The event will also include presentations and a panel discussion on how transdisciplinary approaches, reciprocity between academics and practitioners, and innovative frameworks can address wicked problems and support sustainable resource management.
The program, panel speakers, presenters and other details will be added to the event page. This event will take place at Campus Woudestein, Erasmus University Rotterdam. If you would like to attend, sign up through the form.