In the spotlight: Chris Vlam on the value of bottom-up initiatives

The Netherlands has a long tradition of associations that provide essential services like housing, home nursing, and infant care to many. But these associations – collective housing corporations (woningcorporaties) and healthcare organisations such as cross associations (kruisverenigingen) – have changed considerably, from being local, community-based initiatives to large, professional organisations. SCOOP PhD researcher Chris Vlam is studying how these associations emerged, who took part in these movements, their politicisation, and their subsequent collapse.

Solutions for society’s problems

The study of associations is important, Chris argues, because they remind us that there are several ways to organise a society. The Netherlands, at this moment, is largely organised along state and market-driven lines. The neoliberalisation of society “has led to rising inequality, especially in the housing sector,” Chris points out. Can housing associations help us manage the current inequalities in housing? Historically, housing associations were local initiatives providing affordable housing for their chosen tenants, building and maintaining homes through member meetings and run by volunteers. Chris explains that this community-based approach allowed associations to produce and allocate resources based on consensus. Nowadays, increased government support for the private market has severely restricted associations, leading to neighbourhood segregation and limiting access to social housing. “Even if we can’t go back to the past,” Chris says, “we can see the value of bottom-up initiatives like this,” and use them as inspiration to find solutions for society’s big problems.

Community-based healthcare

In the twentieth century, home nursing, infant and child care, and public health was organised by so-called cross associations (kruisverenigingen), especially in rural towns. Their slogan was 'By all, for all', and they operated on a cooperative basis, with member contributions based on individuals’ financial circumstances. By pooling their resources together, associations could loan out materials and hire trained nurses. Having a community-hired nurse in a small village far away from a hospital meant that “more people gained access to healthcare that previously couldn’t.”

Chris says that one of the best parts of her research is “giving a bit of a voice to the past,” particularly to stories of community cooperation. In one incident detailed in the regional archives of South-Utrecht, Christ found that, in 1960, the members of the local green Cross in Cothen and Langbroek organised several fundraisers to buy the district nurse a car, so that she didn’t have to ride to patients on her motorbike in the bad winter weather.

"Even if we can’t go back to the past, we can see the value of bottom-up initiatives"

The key to sustainable cooperation?

Although “it’s hard to pick one” ‘key ingredient’ to sustainable cooperation, Chris’ research points to the importance of being a member of a broader network – belonging to a group that will represent you, lobby for you, and provide benefits. “Being part of a group helps,” Chris says, “but also the feeling that you have a voice.” In her research, she’s found how people belonging to associations were given the opportunity to speak up about their issues and discuss problems with their community, before the association found consensus on everyone’s needs. It means that people “aren’t alone with their problems and that they can find a solution together."

You can find more about Chris Vlam’s research project here.