Project R-11495

Leader: Dorp op punt (Research)

We set up a project around three village community hubs: a 'cancelled' hub ('t Dorpshuys in Opoeteren), an operational hub ('t Kruispunt in Pelt) and a searching hub (het Steger). Our goal is to work with the collectives behind these initiatives to learn how we can make village community hubs more agile, profitable and self-sufficient. Specifically, we want to learn (1) from the experiences of the cancelled hub: what worked well and what worked less well? What made them decide to quit? Based on these insights, we want to (2) strengthen the operational hub by expanding their network, introducing new knowledge (eg legal knowledge), implementing limited investments, etc. With the knowledge we gain here, we want to finally (3) develop a business plan together with the seeking hub for the start-up as well as for the use and management of their project. We ultimately process all these insights (4) into a Village Community Hub model. This is a scenario that supports professional actors from civil society, but also from local and provincial services to strengthen entrepreneurship within village communities

01 January 2021 - 30 June 2023