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A broad consortium of scientific and societal organizations, including the citizen collectives, 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).

Equal collaboration with citizen collectives

The Netherlands faces major societal challenges such as housing, liveability, climate change, and the energy transition. At the same time, many citizens experience less control over their lives and living environments, and trust in the government is declining. In addressing these societal transitions, citizen collectives may be part of the solution, as they help communities strengthen their resilience and capacity to respond and adapt within their local surroundings.

Connecting society and science

ECCO aims to develop new models, methods, and tools through research that foster equal collaboration between governments and citizen collectives, thereby improving mutual trust. The project is led by Professor Tine De Moor (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ Rotterdam). Dr Jonas Torrens, Dr Tessa de Geus, and Professor Flor Avelino are joining the consortium from Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. The researchers are based at the Faculty of Geosciences Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development.

What excites me about ECCO is just how close we will be able to work with the citizen collectives. CollectiveKracht has done a wonderful job establishing close collaborations between (social) scientists and collectives, and their networks. In our work package, for instance, we are looking at what infrastructures exist or need to exist to allow for a wider mobilisation of citizens in these societal challenges

By developing models and both digital and analogue tools, citizens will gain access to practical knowledge and skills. New scientific insights will help demonstrate the value, credibility, and long-term impact of citizen collectives for governments. ECCO represents an important step towards a society where citizens and governments collaboratively shape the future of their living environment. The UU team will also seek to build synergies with Copernicus Institute initatives  and JUPITA, which closely connect with ECCo’s aims.

About NWA-ORC

In projects funded through the Research along Routes by Consortia (ORC) programme of the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA), researchers work together with knowledge partners and civil society organizations. This collaborative approach helps develop and apply knowledge to achieve both scientific and societal impact.