Recent challenges such like climate, demographic, political, economy and market changes are the foundation for the establishment of the Regional Cooperative Westerkwartier (RCW) in the Northern Netherlands. This RCW is managing a vast range of regional programs and projects developed by multi-stakeholder …

In the shift towards the Big Society, it is widely proclaimed that citizen participation and citizens’ initiatives are indispensable to maintaining services that used to be run by local or regional governments. Despite the increased interest in citizens’ initiatives, research has scarcely debated what …

The goal of this paper is to present the emergence of a new cooperative model for sustainable regional development through social enterprise, rooted in a historical context of societal change in the Netherlands. Our case study is the Gebiedscoöperatie Westerkwartier (GCW), a large-scale area and integrated …

Gebruikt als illustratie op meerdere meetings, workshops en congressen

A year later, in 2013, the Westerkwartier Area Cooperative was established – a new form of cooperation at the regional level, involving hundreds of dairy farmers, other SMEs, Terra MBO as the representative of the knowledge institutions in the region, the National Forest Service in the Netherlands (‘Staatsbosbeheer’), …

Sustaining historical buildings does not always align with the ambition to promote sustainability in the built environment. In this paper we explore the dynamics and strategies that spring from this basic tension, by investigating the differences and similarities between expert’s valuation and peoples’ …

Het lectoraat Duurzaam Coöperatief Ondernemen aan de Hanzehogeschool Groningen pleit voor een regionale regie via ‘Gebiedscoöperaties’, zodat lokale en sectorale initiatieven elkaar kunnen versterken

http://dx.doi.org/10.14261/postit/EF4989E2-2F5F-4E6B-B91D7CFEBE91755DIn 2015 and 2016, Saxion University of Applied Sciences organized the 2nd and 3rd edition of the Regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference (RIEC).This paper is debating the regional implications of Corporate Social Responsibility …

The transformation from the current energy system to a decentralized renewable energy system requires the transformation of communities into energy neutral or even energy producing communities. Increasingly, citizens become 'prosumers' and pool their resources to start a local energy initiative. In this …

Duurzaamheidsbalans: verschillende onderzoeksrapporten laten zien dat Europese grondstoffen voor eiwit in veevoer milieuvriendelijker zijn dan soja uit Zuid-Amerika. Het is daarom vanuit milieu-oogpunt wenselijk om meer regionaal geteeld eiwitrijk veevoer te gebruiken in Nederland. Ketenaanpak: De Raad …