University of Groningen
Citizens’ initiatives in depopulating rural areas de Haan, Erzsebet Mancy
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Publication date: 2019
Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database
Citation for published version (APA):
de Haan, E. M. (2019). Citizens’ initiatives in depopulating rural areas: Understanding success, failure and continuity from multiple perspectives. University of Groningen.
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Propositions belonging to the PhD thesis
Citizens’ initiatives in depopulating rural areas
Understanding success, failure and continuity from multiple perspectives Erzsi de Haan
1. Governments and professionals who understand the function of citizens’
initiatives from the perspective of initiators are better able to facilitate citizens’ initiatives (this thesis)
2. Citizens’ initiatives as an alternative mode of service provision in
depopulating rural areas can result in more inequality among communities in terms of access to services (this thesis)
3. The failure of citizens’ initiatives is mostly not a result of a lack of
knowledge and skills of the initiators (this thesis)
4. Initiators will go to great lengths in order to make their citizens’ initiative a
success (this thesis)
5. Governments and professionals should play a role in preventing social
damage as a result of failed initiatives (this thesis)
6. A fruitful relationship between governments and citizen's initiatives can be
impeded by the difference in scale at which both operate (this thesis)
7. Understanding phenomena such as citizens’ initiatives can improve by not
merely focusing on success stories, but also analyzing examples of failure (this thesis)
8. The shift towards the participation society requires new roles for
governments, institutions and citizens, which are not always in place (this thesis)
9. ‘A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle’ (J. Keller) is illustrative
for initiators and other volunteers: they lose nothing and actually benefit from helping something or someone (this thesis and PhD Life)
