Laura Geerts • March 31, 2022

Informal community care and longer independent living with Hoplr

5 minutes read

It’s most seniors’ desire to live in their own homes for as long as possible. But living independently doesn’t mean ‘not needing help’. It means finding the help that all... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 2, 2022

Volunteering: Five reasons why a smart volunteering programme is neighbourhood-oriented

2 minutes read

Many residents are willing and able to help the vulnerable members of their community. Local governments and organisations offer support and structure in the form of volunteering p... Read more

Laura Geerts • January 28, 2022

What do residents expect from neighbourhood communication: 5 insights from our survey

4 minutes read

Neighbourhood communication on Hoplr More than 120 cities and municipalities use our neighbourhood communication functionalities to reach 15% to 60% of their inhabitants immediatel... Read more

Laura Geerts • January 19, 2022

Look out Luxembourg: Trailblazer Commune of Strassen nails its launch of Hoplr

4 minutes read

In the summer of 2021, the Department of Integration of Strassen approached us to launch our digital neighbourhood network. With Hoplr, Strassen aims to stimulate social cohesion w... Read more

Laura Geerts • December 8, 2021

Neighbourhood stories on Hoplr: share images from past and present

2 minutes read

As a holiday gift to our users, we launched an exciting new feature in November: neighbourhood stories. With it, we encourage users to share their meaningful photos of the neighbo... Read more

Laura Geerts • October 19, 2021

Neighbourhood Scan: a neighbourhood analysis in collaboration with residents

5 minutes read

The neighbourhood scan is a participatory measuring instrument that maps the social capital of a neighbourhood, in dialogue with its residents. This methodology is based on a few ... Read more

Laura Geerts • October 15, 2021

Case study Municipality of Knokke-Heist: this is how services work together for varied neighbourhood communication via Hoplr (five steps)

6 minutes read

Many different government departments deal with information that may be of value to a neighbourhood. From public health and community development to garbage collection and road wo... Read more

Laura Geerts • July 9, 2021

Case study: City of Deinze supports community development and caring neighbourhoods with Hoplr

5 minutes read

About one year after the city-wide launch of Hoplr in Deinze, 3,772 households (22.6%) have registered. Uniquely, this government's Service Dashboard is managed by the Local Commu... Read more

Laura Geerts • May 25, 2021

Case study: Digital neighbourhood network Hoplr on the rise in Wallonia and Brussels

4 minutes read

Hoplr's communities are located all over Flanders. More than 2,000 neighbourhoods in Flanders' five provinces house about half a million users. But in French-speaking Belgium too,... Read more

Laura Geerts • April 27, 2021

Case study: 5 ways the municipality of Waalwijk works on clean neighbourhoods with residents

5 minutes read

The municipality of Waalwijk uses neighbourhood communication and citizen participation to create attractive neighbourhoods. Not only during the creation of its spatial planning. ... Read more

Laura Geerts •

Case study: municipality of Opwijk on handling the corona pressure

5 minutes read

The Hoplr neighbourhoods of Opwijk (14,900 inhabitants) celebrated their first anniversary at the end of March 2021 (with an impressive conversion rate of 27%). Since then, every ... Read more

Laura Geerts • March 9, 2021

[PRESS RELEASE] Hoplr raises 2 million euro for further expansion

3 minutes read

Ghent, 9 March 2021 - Belgian start-up Hoplr has just completed its third capital round for an investment of 2 million euros. Thanks to the investment funds of Belfius, Matexi and... Read more

Laura Geerts • January 15, 2021

ACTION PLAN – The local community is crucial for a smooth socio-economic restart post COVID-19

6 minutes read

The world is holding its breath as vaccination strategies offer some hope, and an end to the corona era seems to be within reach. The European Commission, federal governments and ... Read more

Laura Geerts • January 11, 2021

Community development worker’s guide to digital neighbourhood network Hoplr – 10 best practices

9 minutes read

Community development plays a crucial role within the neighbourhood, as it stimulates cohesive communities and inclusion. At Hoplr, we believe to contribute to this transformation... Read more

Laura Geerts • December 27, 2020

From local community to an inclusive and caring neighbourhood with Hoplr

7 minutes read

Private neighbourhood networks encourage involvement and primary care within the local community. In addition, community workers can use Hoplr to support their field work. This wa... Read more

Laura Geerts • December 16, 2020

CASE STUDY: Waterloo community building pioneer of Wallonia with Hoplr

6 minutes read

In 6 months time, more than 2,280 households (21%) registered for one of the 6 Hoplr neighbourhoods that were launched in Waterloo in early January 2020. Neighbours post an averag... Read more

Laura Geerts • November 15, 2020

Meet citizen engagement expert Dr Jonas De Meulenaere

5 minutes read

This year, Hoplr has been working on the expansion of the knowledge centre. This is based on three pillars: neighbourhood communication, neighbourhood care and citizen engagement.... Read more

Laura Geerts • November 13, 2020

Hoplr connects help offers and requests through new neighbourhood help functionalities

3 minutes read

In a caring neighbourhood, residents can count on each other for small - and sometimes larger - help requests. The neighbourhood is an important link within a person's care net... Read more

Laura Geerts • November 4, 2020

Case study: municipality of Zele leads by example and gets the most out of Hoplr

5 minutes read

The municipality of Zele (>20,000 inhabitants) aims to use Hoplr to its full potential. They're doing this by connecting a multitude of departments to the dashboard, involving ... Read more

Laura Geerts • October 20, 2020

Case Study: city of Halle consults citizens at street level with verified survey

4 minutes read

Last year, the city of Halle received multiple reports about the traffic situation in a number of streets in Lembeek. There were five possible solutions. To determine the best pos... Read more

Laura Geerts • August 26, 2020

Hoplr’s social impact on Belgium’s biggest cities: Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent

6 minutes read

Now that Hoplr is gaining international interest, local governments all over the world are asking us: ‘What is the effect of Hoplr on big cities?’. To kick off this article... Read more

Jennick Scheerlinck • June 21, 2020

Digital network Hoplr for local governments: social inclusion and citizen participation

6 minutes read

Hoplr for the local community How does Hoplr work?What is Hoplr used for?Hoplr platform for local governments The social impact of HoplrWhy is local community building important? ... Read more

Jennick Scheerlinck •

The Hague: case study and details of a Hoplr community building pilot

6 minutes read

In 6 months time, over 4,100 households (12%) have registered in the 10 neighbourhoods that were selected for the Hoplr pilot in The Hague. Neighbours post an average of 100 messa... Read more

Laura Geerts • June 2, 2020

Mechelen and Hoplr: one in three households is registered

4 minutes read

Mechelen, such a great city. The authentic setting, filled with culture, friendly people, picturesque squares, … But what makes it such an amazing place to us? It was the very f... Read more

Laura Geerts • March 22, 2020

ACTION PLAN – accelerated rollout of digital neighbourhood network Hoplr during corona crisis: how and why?

5 minutes read

These last couple of days, we have received numerous requests to enable an accelerated rollout of our digital neighbourhood network. Both new as well as local governments that had... Read more

Laura Geerts • March 14, 2020

Together against corona: inspiration and heartening actions from Hoplr neighbours

4 minutes read

As said by alderwoman of Hasselt Lies Jans in an article about Hoplr, Corona and the associated measures taken by the government (social distancing in particular) have resulted in... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 26, 2020

How we keep our communities positive and constructive

6 minutes read

Social media: radicalization or fraternization? Social media lead to radicalisation. You often hear or read it. But why is that? Is it even true? And how do we make sure the Ho... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 16, 2020

Hoplr helps local governments build towards social and caring smart cities: answers to 10 FAQ’s

7 minutes read

Hoplr connects government and citizens: it all starts and ends with the community. It’s our mission to connect citizen and government, as well as citizens among each other. T... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 5, 2020

Hoplr functionalities for citizen participation with the local community

4 minutes read

Hoplr makes it easy for citizens to rely on each other and on the social capital of the local community. For example, they use Hoplr to share information, to socialise, to organis... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 4, 2020

Trailblazer municipality Olen enhances local community feeling

4 minutes read

Olen was one of the very first municipalities to get started with our Service Dashboard, back in 2017. Their goal was to connect citizens, and enhance the local community feeling.... Read more

Laura Geerts • January 14, 2020

Digitally stimulate community care with Hoplr: 10 practical tips

4 minutes read

Community care: someone’s role in the local community greatly impacts their wellbeing. As a community worker or other social profile within the government, you’re probably ... Read more

Laura Geerts • October 17, 2019

Reaching citizens: how municipalities are successfully extending their reach on Hoplr

10 minutes read

Several municipalities are reaching up to 40% of households In municipalities Boechout, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Bornem, Schilde, Hove, Olen, Mechelen, Veurne, Ranst and Kalmthout... Read more

Laura Geerts • September 4, 2019

Municipality Sint-Katelijne-Waver concludes successful participation project

4 minutes read

Citizens Sint-Katelijne-Waver participate in multi-year plan 2020 - 2025 Inhabitants of Sint-Katelijne-Waver were asked nine questions on Hoplr in July 2019. The questions cove... Read more

Laura Geerts • May 2, 2019

City of Bruges on Hoplr: results of a successful pilot project

5 minutes read

Hoplr made its debut in the Venice of the North at the end of 2018: a pilot project in collaboration with the City of Bruges. 14 neighbourhoods are activated - which accounts for ... Read more

Laura Geerts • April 17, 2019

Citizen communication through Hoplr: practical examples

4 minutes read

It's Hoplr's mission to bring neighbours closer together. But that's not all we're in for. By facilitating citizen communication, citizen participation and community care, we aim... Read more

Laura Geerts • March 23, 2019

Citizen participation: how physical encounters are key to more citizen engagement

7 minutes read

Neighbourhood network Hoplr enables neighbourhood communication and citizen participation. But in order to achieve successful and representative citizen participation, two non-dig... Read more

Laura Geerts • March 19, 2019

High engagement on first citizen participation project in Boechout

4 minutes read

At the beginning of this year, the brand-new board of Boechout presented its new policy note to the city council. At least, a first version. The municipality gave its residents th... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 28, 2019

Socialisation of care: local community as a key player

6 minutes read

The healthcare sector is under immense pressure. In May 2018, more than 14,000 Flemish adults with disabilities were waiting on a budget to finance their care. At the same time, S... Read more

Laura Geerts • February 4, 2019

Citizen communication at the level of the neighbourhood with City of Antwerp’s project ‘Noorderlijn’

5 minutes read

Imagine: you step outside your door on a regular Monday morning. You get into your car, head for work and... Darn. Detour. Roadworks happen all the time, but you have to admit, if... Read more