Gebiedonline is a Dutch cooperative that provides online community platforms for neighbourhoods, villages, cities and thematic networks. The organisation’s core idea is simple: residents and local actors should be able to shape the digital tools they use to organise, exchange information and work together. On its website, Gebiedonline describes itself as a cooperative in shared ownership, where members can vote on changes to the platform, decide on the contribution fee, choose the organisational structure, and determine what data is stored and how it is used.
The platform is built for local participation rather than commercial scale. It is used to set up online spaces for neighbourhood connection, but also for broader initiatives such as sustainability and the energy transition. Users can share posts, activities, projects, requests and offers, and communities can activate functions such as newsletters, voting and event listings. According to the organisation, the software is owned by the cooperative itself, and the participating networks jointly own the platform and the data collected on it.
Gebiedonline says it was founded in 2016 by five communities in Gouda, Amersfoort and Amsterdam. By the end of 2024, it counted 70 member communities and more than 60,000 registered people, with 5,205 users active in more than one community. The organisation is linked to a wider ecosystem of civic-tech and public-interest partners, including CrossmarX, Waag Futurelab, the University of Applied Sciences of Amsterdam, Hogeschool Utrecht, Pakhuis de Zwijger and Public Spaces.