Research Day 2026 IOS Platform Bottom-up Initiatives for Societal Change

On 19 March 2026, the IOS Platform Bottom-up Initiatives for Societal Change will organise the Research Day 2026 focusing on facilitating the interdisciplinary sharing of expertise on our main research topics and to help to create (new) networks and collaborations.  

Why join?

Researchers affiliated with our platform will present their work. The aim of this Research Day is to facilitate the interdisciplinary sharing of expertise on our main research topics and to help to create (new) networks and collaborations. This event in particular offers young researchers a unique chance to bring forward their research and to expand their academic network.

Sessions

Entrepreneurship-Led Sustainable Development in Africa

Join Erik Stam, Robert McDonald, Emmanuel Mensah, Christina Bidmon, and Milou Derks for a dynamic session on how entrepreneurship can drive sustainable development across Africa. The session uncovers how institutional weaknesses create development traps—and how locally rooted, productive entrepreneurship can spark virtuous cycles that unlock Africa’s vast potential and contribute to global sustainable development.

World Café — Building Change from the Bottom Up

In this interactive World Café session, participants explore how different changemakers contribute to transitions towards a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive society. The session brings together three complementary perspectives: citizen‑led initiatives, entrepreneurship and business, and the role of governments and intermediary organisations in enabling societal innovation. Participants rotate between themed tables and briefly share a research idea or question they would like to develop further. Each round focuses on what participants can offer, what they need, and what they want to learn. The aim is to identify shared questions and spark new interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations within the platform. All attendees are warmly invited to join the conversation and explore new research opportunities together.

From grassroots to governance: the maturation of citizen collectives in the Netherlands

Tine De Moor, Professor of Social Enterprise and Institutions for Collective Action at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam, will deliver the keynote lecture on the maturation of citizen collectives in the Netherlands. She will explore how these initiatives have grown into a diverse and influential movement shaping energy, housing, care and food systems through democratic governance, local stewardship and long‑term community orientation. Their evolution shows that such collectives are not a temporary trend, but a vital complementary governance form whose impact on just and sustainable transitions is increasingly visible across Dutch society.

Programme

Registration

Attendance is free of charge. Because of the room capacity and catering, registration is requested via the link below.