This article focusses on small-scale community-based care initiatives developed by citizens in small villages in rural areas in the Netherlands, with special attention to some interesting case studies in the North and South of the country. These initiatives will be contextualized. First, the demographic processes impacting the Dutch care and welfare domain will be discussed in more detail (chapter 1). Subsequently, chapter 2 will focus on citizens’ initiatives, attempting to put them in a broader theoretical framework using theories on voluntary engagement, social cohesion, and a line of reasoning from social capital theory. Finally, in chapter 3, these findings will be used to describe and discuss small-scale community-based care initiatives in the Netherlands in general with a specific focus on two relatively new types of small-scale initiatives built around a social support worker.
In a growing number of economic branches, citizens are becoming more active, as part-time producers, service providers, suppliers or even entrepreneurs. They compete with traditional companies, but often operate through new business models.
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After the arrival of refugees in the Netherlands, many citizens wanted to act and help the social inclusion of refugees. Community initiatives emerged where some of the initiatives even grew into potential Social Enterprises. In this research we investigated the main issues initiatives around refugees encounter when growing into a social enterprise (RQ1). Through the organization of learning networks we gathered data form initiatives who were currently in this process. The two main issues that arose were making a good business model and in what way impact can be measured when the impact area is the social inclusion of refugees. Our second research question (RQ2) investigated in what way the social initiatives help refugees in their social inclusion process. For this research question we interviewed refugees whom where involved with one of the initiatives participating in our research. Our main findings are that the participants in this research are all trying to take control over their lives, learning how to make a change and are trying to achieve a life that is good for them. They attributed various benefits to their active participation in the initiatives. They all mention that they met new people, that the people who started the initiative were very helpful and that they liked participating.
