Social Enterprises and Institutions for Collective Action

SEICA Open Seminar Talk: Axel Frejman
2024-04-30 11:00 - 12:00 (Europe/Paris)
Join us for a SEICA seminar with dr. Axel Frejman, a researcher in Classical Archaeology at Uppsala University. His research has to a large degree revolved around Greek sanctuaries in both modern-day Greece and Turkey. Special research interests include commons and shared resources. During this seminar, he will give a presentation titled: “Commons in Ancient Greece“.

This seminar is online. If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to collective-action@rsm.nl and you will receive a Teams-invite shortly.

Lecture Tine De Moor for series ‘Between Eden and the Fall' - Leibniz University Hannover
2024-04-23 18:00 - 20:00
Professor Tine De Moor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) will give a lecture titled: ‘The commons as a form of institution for collective action, in longitudinal perspective‘. This seminar is part of Leibniz University Hannover’s summer semester lecture series ‘Between Eden and the Fall: Common Land in Early Modern and Modern Western Europe’.

Seminar Tine De Moor for the Amsterdam Business School
2024-03-28 11:30 - 13:00
On March 28, Professor Tine De Moor from the Rotterdam School of Management (EUR) gives a seminar at the Amsterdam Business School (UvA), titled: ‘Contagious Institutions? A longitudinal study of institutional spill-over effects of European guilds and other forms of institutions for collective action.‘

Read the abstract here

SEICA Open Seminar Talk: Arjan van Dorsselaer
2024-03-26 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for a seminar with Arjan van Dorsselaer, a PhD Candidate from Utrecht University. He studies the drivers of social entrepreneurial ecosystems and how these influence the various scaling strategies employed by social enterprises. He will present a paper titled: “From Theory to Scaling Strategy: The Role of Community Capital in Social Entrepreneurial Ecosystems“.

This seminar is online. If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to collective-action@rsm.nl and you will receive a Teams-invite shortly.

PhD defence - Gigs of their Own: Can platform cooperatives become resilient?
2024-03-15 10:30 - 12:00
You are warmly invited to the PhD defence of Damion Bunders on 15 March 2024 at 10:30 in the Senaatszaal of Erasmus University Rotterdam. The dissertation is about platform cooperatives as an alternative form of organisation where gig workers own and manage a digital platform collectively. It includes an analysis of the challenges these cooperatives face to better understand the conditions under which they could become resilient organisations.

Please fill in the following form if you are attending the PhD defence (and reception afterwards at 12.00).

Register

You can also join the live stream.

Brief summary of the doctoral thesisThe gig economy, where mostly self-employed workers perform short-term service jobs intermediated by digital platforms, is often portrayed as offering a glimpse at the future of work. Platform cooperatives that are owned and controlled by gig workers themselves have emerged as an alternative form of organisation to the currently dominant investor-owned platforms. The appeal of platform cooperatives as an alternative is to provide more secure working conditions and democratic control over the platform. In his PhD project, Damion Bunders investigates the challenges that gig workers face when organising themselves in a cooperative enterprise. In particular, he provides insight into the initial feasibility and more long-term challenges of platform cooperatives as one institutional approach to organise work differently in the gig economy by analysing the conditions under which cooperatives of gig workers can become resilient. The project addresses questions on enterprise formation, member commitment, democratic governance, and coordination of collective resources. Damion takes a multi-disciplinary and multi-method approach, combining theory from sociology and institutional economics with interview, survey, and text analysis research. Just as economists have long wondered why firms are usually controlled by capital suppliers instead of by labour suppliers, this dissertation addresses the puzzle of why platforms are not more commonly owned and governed by workers.

AddressSenaatszaal, Erasmus BuildingBurg. Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA, Rotterdam

Application deadline - Part-time PhD programme
2024-03-15 00:00 - 23:59
Are you a business professional who wants to develop their academic skills? With our new part-time PhD programme, you can take part in academic study and research while maintaining your job.

Especially if you are a professional working for or with social enterprises, cooperatives, citizen collectives, or alternative governance regimes such as commons, we encourage you to apply for this six year programme. Afterwards you will receive a PhD degree from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Apply before March 15! Find more information here: https://www.rsm.nl/faculty-research/part-time-phd-programme

SEICA Open Seminar Talk: Enrique Santamaría
2024-02-27 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for the next Open Seminar Talk with Dr. Enrique Santamaría Echeverría. He is a researcher at Erasmus School of Law, Erasmus University and is an affiliate researcher of SEICA. His research focuses on the relations between the human body and the law. During this session Dr. Enrique Santamaría will give a presentation with the provisional title: “Governance of health data and biological materials for research and development: the case of data cooperatives”.

This seminar is online. If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to collective-action@rsm.nl and you will receive a Teams-invite shortly.

Institute of Historical Research Seminar - Tine De Moor 'Spreading from below'
2024-02-23 18:00 - 20:00
Professor Tine De Moor from (Erasmus University Rotterdam) will give a presentation titled ‘Spreading from below. on the diffusion and scaling of institutions for collective action in early modern Europe.’ Read more about the event here.

Oxford seminar series - Tine De Moor - 'Spreading from below'
2024-02-20 18:00 - 20:00
As part of the Economic and Social History Seminar, professor Tine De Moor from the Erasmus University Rotterdam will present a paper titled ‘Spreading from below. on the diffusion and scaling of institutions for collective action in early modern Europe.’ More information.

Workshop: Public Goods in History
2024-02-09 09:00 - 17:00
The Oxford Centre for Economic and Social History organizes the workshop ‘Non-rivalrous, non-excludable: an interdisciplinary workshop on the evolution of public goods in history’. It explores the evolution of public goods and how their provision is shaped by institutions and norms over time.

Economists have defined public goods as resources whose consumption by one individual does not diminish their availability to others, while also being accessible to all, regardless of their contribution to provision. However, the traditional lens often falls short in explaining how societies cooperate to provide public goods, a topic of increasing relevance in the face of contemporary challenges in public health and environmental sustainability. These issues highlight the urgency of understanding the provision of non-market public goods.

Speakers: Avner Offer, Tine De Moor, Sheila Pugh, David Gawkrdoger, Cesare Vagge, Joost Haddinga, Louis Henderson, and Victoria Gierok.

Details: This event is on February 9th, 2024 from 9am-5pm (GMT). It takes place in the Memorial Room of Jesus College Oxford.

Learning webinar: Citizen involvement through the Citizen Energy Cooperatives
2024-01-26 09:30 - 12:30
During the event, a panel discusses the role of energy communities in the energy transition. The panel consists of:

Thomas Bauwens, Assistant Professor at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, specializes in energy communities;

Louis de Fontenelle, Assistant Professor at the Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, specializes in public policies, energy, and sustainable transition policies;

Antonia Proka, an Energy Transition Expert and Project Manager at RESCOOP, the European Federation of Citizen Energy Cooperatives.

The event also includes the presentation of two European Union projects:

REC4EU (Renewable Energy Communities for EU Regions), dedicated to the development and promotion of renewable energy communities within European regions

LEEWAY (LEading coopEration toWArds energy communities policies tackling energy povertY), focused on energy communities and their policies, with a specific emphasis on addressing energy poverty.

Collectieve-Kracht meeting : financing citizen collectives
2024-01-25 15:00 - 19:00
In cooperation with KNHM and Triodos bank. More info follows.

Research seminar -'Together: The Dimensions of Collectivity in Collaborative Housing'
2023-12-19 15:00 - 17:00
Professor Darinka Czischke and PhD researcher Sara Lia Brysch organize a discussion that will feature insights of two recent publications: ‘Together: Towards Collaborative Living’ (Czischke, Peute & Brysch) and ‘Towards a new Existenzminimum: defining principles for the design of affordable collaborative housing’ (Brysch).

The seminar brings together a group of renown European scholars in the field of collective self-organized housing to reflect on the role of collectivity to improve the affordability and sustainability of a housing project. The event will take place in the faculty of Architecture of TU Delft. Find the programme here and register before December 15.

SEICA Open Seminar Talk: David Soto-Oñate
2023-11-28 11:00 - 12:00
Join us for the next Open Seminar Talk where SEICA visiting fellow Dr. David Soto-Oñate will present a work in progress project called “A polycentric approach for a post-growth social order”. Below you can find the abstract. Please send an email to collective-action@rsm.nl if you would like to attend this seminar online.

Open Seminar Talk: Max Harleman (GCSU)
2023-10-31 14:00 - 15:00
Max Harleman, Assistant Professor of Public Administration at the Georgia College & State University, will start off the new season of the SEICA Open Seminars. He will present his upcoming paper: Can Collective Action Institutions Outperform the State? Evidence from Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage.

This seminar is online. If you would like to attend, please send an e-mail to collective-action@rsm.nl and you will receive a Teams-invite shortly.

Webinar - Accelerating actions in living and caring for the elderly
2023-10-27 10:30 - 12:00
We would like to invite you for an online session hosted by De Haagse Hogeschool and CollectieveKracht. During this webinar we exchange ideas about the collaboration between health institutions, housing cooperatives, local governments and organizations for the elderly in creating spaces where living and caring for the elderly are combined.

This event is in Dutch. More information will follow later on the CollectieveKracht website. Would you like to join this webinar? Send an e-mail to collectievekracht@rsm.nl and you will receive an invite for the Teams meeting.

Book launch + Q&A - Together: Towards Collaborative Living
2023-10-24 20:00 - 22:30
During the book launch of ‘Together: Towards collaborative living’, the authors will explain why collaborative living is experiencing a revival in the Netherlands and what best housing practices enable this living form. Join us for an evening about why collaborative living is experiencing a revival and what best housing practices enable this form of living.

Authors: Darinka Czischke – Associate Professor, Housing and Social Sustainability | TU DelftMarije Peute – Qualitative researcher & LecturerSara Brysch – Architect, PhD researcher and Co-founder of etscha studio

SEWF Fringe Day
2023-10-10 00:00 - 23:59
From 9 to 13 October SEWF Week ’23 takes place, organized by the Social Enterprise World Forum. On the 10th is Fringe Day: a collections of related (and mostly free) events independent of SEWF.

Charging the Commons #1 - (Be)Commoning
2023-10-04 20:00 - 21:30 | Pakhuis De Zwijger, Piet Heinkade 179, Amsterdam, 1019HC, Netherlands
This is the first episode of the series Charging the Commons and it will center around the process of becoming a commons. What does establishing such a community entail? What steps does a group of people need to go through in order to become a commons? This early setup stage can profoundly shape the development process of such communities, for instance: its (economic) viability, the management of the shared resources, everyday practices, members’ relationship with each other or the community affiliation with the broader environment. Exploring the process of becoming a commons (becommoning) can reveal useful insights around challenges and external factors.

Lukas Held from CollectieveKracht participates in this conversation with Zsuzsanna Tomor (researcher at AUAS), Darinka Czischke (professor at TU Delft) and Joachim Meerkerk (PhD at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences).

Housing Cooperatives Day
2023-09-16 10:30 - 16:30 | Basecamp, 16A Nijverheidsweg, Utrecht, 3534AM, Netherlands
Cooplink organizes an event (in Dutch) around housing cooperatives. How do you organize, finance, design and manage the property? Professor Tine De Moor from the Rotterdam School of Management, gives the opening speech.

The event takes place on September 16, from 10:30h-16:30h in Utrecht. If you’re interested in coming to the Landelijke Wooncoöperatiedag, sign up and claim your free ticket.

Debate on commons, with Tine De Moor
2023-06-27 20:00 - 21:00
On Tuesday 27 June, debating podium Debatpodium Arminius organizes a debate on ‘commons’, featuring Energie van Rotterdam, Afrikaanderwijk Coöperatie and de Knarrenhof. Prof. Tine De Moor (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University) is one of the speakers, along with political philosopher Yara Al Salman (Utrecht University), Femke Stam (Knarrenhof), Jelte Boeijenga (Energie van Rotterdam), Annet Van Otterloo (Afrikaanderwijk Coöperatie), Sebastiaan Bonte (Leefbaar Rotterdam) and Tim de Haan (D66).

Zijn ‘commons’ de oplossing voor falen van overheid en markt?

'Collectieven en overheid: Genoeg geëxperimenteerd?!'
2023-06-16 11:30 - 18:30 | Parktheater Eindhoven, Elzentlaan 50, Eindhoven, 5615 CN
Collectieven en overheid: Genoeg geëxperimenteerd?! ​

CollectieveKracht and Europe Direct Eindhoven are organising an event on Friday 16 June with the theme ‘Collectieven en overheid: Genoeg geëxperimenteerd?!’. In the Parktheater in Eindhoven, we will share inspiring stories and examples, stimulate dialogues and share new insights from practice and science from The Netherlands and other European countries. Do we need more experiments and pilots or is it time to scale up? Have a seat and join the discussion during the 16th!

Registration for the event is free and can be done here.

More information about the event will follow soon!

Open seminar: Dr Anastasia Sergeeva
2023-05-16 10:00 - 11:30 | online
Dr. Anastasia Sergeeva (RSM) will present her paper “Values-based Trust as a Shift Parameter for Collective Organizing: The Case of Magnum Photos“.

The paper discusses how economic agents can address the concern of opportunism when organizing collectively. The study examines Magnum Photos, a cooperative of freelance photographers, and identifies two mechanisms by which shared values engender non-calculative trust, making collective organizing economically viable. The shared values attenuate hazards of opportunism, promote risk-bearing and innovation when property rights are assigned appropriately, and the size of the collective remains relatively small. The study concludes that Magnum Photos is a form of collective entrepreneurship adopted by risk-bearing agents bound by shared values, and provides unique insights into how economic agents can organize around shared values to mitigate opportunism and innovate in industries with measurement problems.

Please send an email to collective-action@rsm.nl if you would like to attend this seminar.

Webinar Herenboeren: Participation of Members
2023-03-15 20:00 - 21:30
On 15 March, Herenboeren’s Winter Webinar will take place with the theme ‘Participation of Members’. A key pillar of the Herenboerderij is social connectedness. The local community makes these cooperatives possible and is the buyer of the products. But how do we ensure sustainable connection and participation of cooperative members on the Herenboerderij? This question is the focus of the webinar. Two interesting speakers will give their insights during the webinar. Christiaan Bikker, project officer at the HAS, will share his findings on sustainable participation of cooperative members. And Professor Tine De Moor, initiator of CollectieveKracht, will talk about the resilience and development of citizen collectives.

The webinar is in Dutch and free and will take place from 20:00 to 21:30. Registration is mandatory and can be done via the registration form. More information can be found here.

ROTARY UTRECHT CELEBRATES ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY WITH INSPIRING AFTERNOON ON ‘DOING GOOD’
2023-03-10 13:00 - 17:00
Rotary Utrecht celebrates its 100th anniversary on Friday 10 March with an inspiring afternoon on ‘doing good’ in this day and age. The programme includes short lectures by interesting speakers, discussions, impressive live music, video clips of social initiatives and a closing drink.

The afternoon will take place at a special location in Utrecht: Gasthuis Leeuwenberg. Walk-in starts at 13:00 and the programme starts at 14:00. For more information about the afternoon and the speakers, click here.

Inaugural lecture Tine De Moor
2023-02-17 16:00 - 17:15
Prof.dr. T. (Tine) De Moor will publicly accept her appointment as professor of Social Enterprises and Institutions for Collective Action at Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University on Friday 17 February 2023 with an inaugural lecture entitled Shakeholder society? Social Enterprises, citizens and collective action in the community economy.

How to deal with the grand challenges of our current society? We know what to do, often discuss who should be taking the lead in this (governments? Companies? Consumers?) and there are many technological innovations that could help but we still fall short of making our economy more regenerative. Can a focus on an economy steered by the needs and collective action of citizens help us forward? Do citizens want to be involved and if so what happens already today? What are the benefits but also potential negative effects and pitfalls of enabling cooperative social enterprises? In “Shakeholder society?” Tine De Moor looks at the possibilities of bringing the roles of stakeholders and shareholders closer together.

For details, please see the official invitation.

If you wish to attend the lecture in person, we kindly request you to register via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/445089333177. A digital copy of the lecture will be provided afterwards.

If you are unable to attend, you can also attend the inaugural lecture via livestream: https://eur.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=73044ca2-67ab-477c-ad70-af5b00a38398

Symposium: 'From science to society: evidence-based lessons for (cooperative) social enterprises'
2023-02-17 11:00 - 15:45 | Erasmus Paviljoen, Burgemeester Oudlaan 350, Rotterdam, 3062PA, Netherlands
We have invited eleven fellow-scientists from various universities and different disciplines to talk about their research findings. What is the meaning of their research for society, particularly for citizen collectives, commons, and cooperative social enterprises. What insights from science can people put into practice on a daily basis?

We kindly invite you to attend the symposium. Click on the register button down below to get your tickets. Can’t attend the symposium in person? Then watch the livestream here.

After the symposium, Professor Tine de Moor will hold her inaugural lecture: “Shakeholder society? Social Enterprises, citizens and collective action in the community economy”.

Program

The symposium will be hosted by Karoline Heitmann and Damion Bunders, two PhD candidates at our own research team. The following scientists will speak at the symposium:

11.00 Karoline Heitmann (EUR-RSM) and Damion Bunders (EUR-RSM) – Introduction

11.10 Irene van Staveren (EUR-ISS) – The community economy as post-capitalism

11.25 Lucas Meijs (EUR-RSM) – The return of direct solidarity

11.40 Koen Frenken (UU) – Beyond the hype of the sharing economy

11.55 Jovana Karanovic (EUR-RSM) – Beyond Uber and Airbnb: Promises of Collective Ownership

12.15 Darinka Czischke (TUDelft) – Collaborative housing: Rethinking housing systems from a collective action perspective

12.30 Thomas Bauwens (EUR-RSM) – Scaling the Societal Impact of Community Enterprises for Sustainability: Challenges and Promises

12.45 Rob van Tulder (EUR-RSM) – A new area where theory and practice align: cross-sector partnership portfolio management

13.00 Lunch

13.45 Maryline Filippi (Bordeaux Sciences Agro) – Responsibility and collective action, the new perspectives offered by the territories

14.00 Karin Geuijen (UU) – How do social and community enterprises contribute to solving the challenge of the reception and inclusion of asylum seekers and refugees?

14.15 Arthur Feinberg (EUR-RSM) – Social interactions toward community resilience: learning from the urban commons

14.30 Amineh Ghorbani (TUDelft) – The social life of businesses: golf course, piggy banks and net-zero emissions

14.45 Round of questions

15.00 Coffee and tea

Afterwards at 16.00 Professor Tine de Moor will hold her inaugural lecture in the Aula of Erasmus University (a 3-minute walk away).

Open seminar talk: Yvonne de Kluizenaar (SCP)
2023-02-14 11:00 - 12:00
Dr. Yvonne de Kluizenaar studied Environmental health at Wageningen University & Research and did her PhD research in Societal health care at ErasmusMC. At the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau, she recently did a study to energy cooperatives, mapping how both citizens and civil servants think about the responsibilities of the different stakeholders in this field. N.B: the presentation will be in Dutch.

Open seminar talk: Bram van Helvoirt (HAS)
2023-01-31 11:00 - 12:00
Dr. Bram van Helvoirt is a lecturer and researcher Future Food Systems at HAS Green academy. His current research focuses on agrarian and food collectives, including the concept of ‘food as a common(s)’

Open seminar talk: Sverker Jagers (CeCAR)
2023-01-24 11:00 - 12:00
Prof. Sverker Jagers is professor at University of Gothenburg and guest-professor at Luleå University of Technology, director of CeCAR (Centre for Collective Action Research). His research is mainly focused on various aspects of environmental politics, from public opinion ot institutional theory. Currently he is working on corruption and wildlife management: the Logics of collective action in transnationally protected reserves, as well as on citizens’ support for environmental policy measures in a comparative perspective.
