Participation, Community-based initiatives and Social Entrepreneurship

Participation, Community-based initiatives and Social Entrepreneurship

• Article

  The transition to a natural gas-free  society calls for both strong governance and room for customization and participation. Click here to read the article.

  

• Workshops and Masterclasses 

  Vital questions from research on sustainability and performance of civic initiatives, including: in what ways are sustainability and performance measurable and why relevant to research? What key factors are appropriate, and how do they explain the sustainability and performance of civic initiatives? In what ways can civic initiatives and governments consider the key factors to promote sustainability and performance

  

• Podcast

  During the first Corona lockdown in March 2020, numerous initiatives arose in Rotterdam to help fellow citizens through the crisis. These initiatives have great social added value. How do these initiatives come about, and how do you best support them? Find out by listening to this podcast.

  

• Research

  • For the municipality of Rotterdam, advice has been given, and research has been carried out into the various forms of resilience and how the municipality can invest more in stimulating resilience. This can be seen by clicking here.
  • For the Knowledge Workshop Liveable Neighborhoods and the department of Sustainability of the City of Rotterdam, we did a learning monitoring in 5 pilot areas in Rotterdam, where natural gas-free initiatives started. The central question was: What can we learn from the gas-free area regarding the relationship between neighbourhood characteristics, the chosen area approach and interim results? In particular, we looked at how residents are involved, how tasks are linked and the organization and governance. Finally, we present the results in a report, a harvest letter and a video. These can be viewed by clicking here.

  

• Public appearances

  • Vivian Visser was a guest on the talkshow De Nieuwe Maan to discuss the fuss that arose after a road closure in The Hague's working-class neighbourhood, the Schilderwijk. Based on her research, she explained how we could understand why residents of this neighbourhood, mostly lower educated and people with a migrant background, did not participate in the decision-making process when the municipality invited them to do so. She also discussed several possible solutions and areas for improvement. Click here to view the interview.
  • Vivian Visser was invited as a speaker at the online talk show Studio P, organized by the Knowledge Hub for Participation of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, around the question, "Can everyone participate?" There Vivian presented the results of the GovernEUR research on inclusiveness in citizen participation. This excerpt can be seen by clicking this link here.

   

  

• Column

  Vivian Visser's research is cited for interpreting how democracy is developing in the Netherlands. The columnist argues that the less educated do not feel that they are legitimate actors for participation and that civic participation is becoming a private affair between highly educated citizens in good positions. Click this here to read the column.