What Citisens does

Citisens B.V. is a privately held Dutch research and citizen-participation consultancy headquartered in Utrecht. Founded in 2016, the firm helps Dutch municipalities and public organizations engage residents through a defined methodology built around the principle of "participation first, then a plan." Citisens's core portfolio combines a proprietary resident panel of nearly 50,000 Dutch members, an eight-profile citizen segmentation model (Betrokkenheidsprofielen), a mayor-nomination consultation tool (MijnBurgemeester), generic resident consultation campaigns (Inwonersconsultaties), and an Interim staffing service that places participation and communication professionals into municipal teams. Since founding, the firm has conducted more than 300 surveys across sensitive topics including refugees, fireworks policy, waste management, and the energy transition, and its MijnBurgemeester tool alone has been deployed in 65+ municipalities. Distribution is enabled by an established geo-targeted advertising partnership with DPG Media (NU.nl, AD.nl and regional titles) that allows location-specific recruitment at national media scale.

Citisens operates a hybrid professional-services and recurring-revenue model. Core revenue is generated through project-based custom research engagements — mayoral consultations, omgevingsvisie (spatial-planning) participatory processes, energy-transition infrastructure studies, and crisis-communication support — sold directly to municipal communicators and participation managers through the company website, direct outreach, referrals, and conferences. A secondary recurring layer comes from panel subscription and prepaid credit (Strippenkaart) sales that allow municipalities to draw on the 50,000-member panel for ongoing research. The customer base spans 20+ named public-sector clients including Gemeente Amsterdam, Gemeente Rotterdam, Gemeente Arnhem, Gasunie/WarmtelinQ, HTM, Omgevingsraad Schiphol, and Sunrock, alongside dozens of additional unnamed municipalities. The firm maintains a sister-company research relationship with Necker van Naem and collaborates with Tilburg University, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Universiteit Utrecht, and Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen for joint evaluations.

The firm is founder-led by director Nicolette Ouwerling, employs 11–50 people, and operates exclusively within the Netherlands. No external venture or private-equity funding has been disclosed, and the company appears to be bootstrapped and profitable at modest scale. GDPR compliance is explicitly maintained, and no data is transferred outside the EU/EER. Strategic positioning centers on three durable pain points in the Dutch public sector: declining civic participation, thin municipal participation infrastructure (most municipalities have fewer than 5 FTE in communications), and difficulty reaching populations beyond the "usual suspects" through traditional consultation methods.

Name

Citisens

Legal name

Citisens B.V.

Website

https://citisens.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Citisens is a Utrecht-based Dutch research and citizen-participation consultancy that helps municipalities and public organizations conduct resident engagement, panel surveys, and participatory policy processes, serving 65+ municipalities through a 50,000-member resident panel and proprietary engagement-segmentation methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Sector Research / Civic Engagement Consulting

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector & Policy Consulting (BPAHACAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

City Clerk/Records, Elections & Civic Engagement (BPAIACAB)

Keywords

• Civic engagement research
• Resident participation consulting
• Municipal survey services
• Public sector research
• Citizen panel insights

Headquarters

HQ city

Utrecht

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Research & Consulting Services: Citisens generates revenue by conducting custom research projects for municipalities and public organizations. Projects include resident consultations, panel surveys, mayoral selection tools, and interim communication/participation advisory services. Pricing is project-based and not publicly disclosed; clients are primarily Dutch municipalities and public utilities.
2. Panel Subscription / Research Credits: Municipalities and organizations can access the Citisens panel via a 'strippenkaart' (prepaid credit) model for panel research. The company also offers a product called 'Strippenkaart panelonderzoek' suggesting a credit-based pricing model for recurring panel surveys.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Citisens conducts citizen engagement research and resident participation consulting for Dutch municipalities and public organizations, combining an actively-managed panel of nearly 50,000 Dutch residents, a proprietary 8-profile resident segmentation model (Betrokkenheidsprofielen), and custom-built consultation tools (including the MijnBurgemeester mayor-selection tool) to deliver representative, actionable insights on policy decisions, mayoral appointments, infrastructure acceptance, and Omgevingswet-driven participation processes. The firm also places interim participation and communication professionals inside municipal communications teams.

Product overview

Citisens offers a suite of participation and consultation tools for public organizations. The core portfolio consists of a resident Panel (nearly 50,000 members), MijnBurgemeester (mayor nomination consultation), Inwonersconsultaties (resident consultations), Betrokkenheidsprofielen (8 engagement profiles segmentation model), and Interim services. These products work together as a unified methodology: the engagement profiles segment the population, the panel and consultations gather insights, and interim professionals provide implementation support. The platform enables municipalities to listen to stakeholders and translate insights into actionable perspectives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Citisens Resident Panel (Panel) A proprietary, actively-managed research panel of nearly 50,000 Dutch residents used for representative survey research on civic topics, accessible to municipalities and organizations via the Strippenkaart panelonderzoek prepaid-credit product.
• MijnBurgemeester An online consultation tool that lets municipalities involve residents in mayor nomination processes by having them respond to statements about their ideal mayor profile, generating validated input for the selection committee (vertrouwenscommissie). Deployable online and on paper within three working days.
• Inwonersconsultaties (Resident Consultations) A low-threshold resident-consultation service that establishes the most accessible participation pathway for residents while simultaneously setting up communication infrastructure for future municipal use.
• Betrokkenheidsprofielen (8 Engagement Profiles) A proprietary segmentation model that classifies Dutch residents into eight engagement profiles (e.g., Gevestigde Beïnvloeders, Stadse Nomaden, Honkvaste Buurtbewoners, Kritische Vernieuwers) used to tailor communication and participation strategies.
• Interim Participation & Communication Staffing Placement of qualified interim professionals who support municipalities in organizing participation and communication, either as an external advisor or as a temporary extension of the municipality's communications team, contracted directly via Nicolette Ouwerling.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ residents reached in large municipal consultations (e.g., Alphen aan den Rijn RES consultation)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Necker van NaemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNecker van Naem is a sister company of Citisens specializing in municipal advisory services. The two companies frequently collaborate on large-scale municipal evaluation projects. For example, they jointly evaluated Amsterdam's administrative system in 2020/2021, combining Citisens's resident survey expertise with Necker van Naem's governance and administrative research capabilities.
• Bureau Nieuwe GrachtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBureau Nieuwe Gracht is a design bureau engaged by municipality Mook en Middelaar to develop the Omgevingsvisie. Citisens partnered with Bureau Nieuwe Gracht to deliver the participatory process component of the Omgevingsvisie project.
• EkwadraatminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEkwadraat is an energy transition advisory firm. Citisens co-hosted a webinar with Ekwadraat in October 2020 on the topic of 'Aardgasvrij' (transitioning away from natural gas), sharing lessons from their combined expertise in participatory processes and energy transition.
• GasuniecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGasunie commissioned Citisens to conduct resident consultations across 10 South Holland municipalities regarding the WarmtelinQ heat pipeline project. The project involved 2,336 residents and aimed to inform and involve communities in the energy transition infrastructure.
• SunrockminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSunrock, a developer of solar energy projects, partnered with Citisens to conduct acceptance research among Dutch residents regarding solar park developments. Citisens used its panel of 4,455 respondents to provide Sunrock with insights on resident preferences, financial participation, and participation methods for solar park projects.
• Sleeping BeautiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSleeping Beauties is a real estate project developer. Citisens was engaged to conduct neighborhood consultation for the redevelopment of the 'Scheer & Foppen' building in Utrecht, reaching 1,300 of 4,000 households and providing input for the project's design choices.
• Tilburg UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTilburg University collaborated with Citisens and Necker van Naem on the evaluation of Amsterdam's administrative system, contributing academic research on best practices in governance structures from the Netherlands and abroad.
• Erasmus Universiteit RotterdamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerErasmus Universiteit Rotterdam partnered with Citisens on research into reaching Rotterdam's small harbor-area neighborhoods (Hoek van Holland, Pernis, Rozenburg), contributing academic context on civic identity and municipal attachment.
• Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHAN collaborated with Citisens on research into social media content effectiveness for municipal communication, publishing findings in Frankwatching in December 2020 on how different resident engagement profiles respond to different content styles.
• Universiteit UtrechtminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversiteit Utrecht collaborated with Citisens and Bureau EMMA on the Rotterdam voter turnout research, conducting qualitative interviews with Rotterdam residents, key informants, and council members to complement Citisens's quantitative survey.
• DPG Media (NU.nl, AD.nl)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerDPG Media is a major Dutch media company operating NU.nl, AD.nl, and regional news platforms. Citisens uses DPG Media's advertising platforms for geo-targeted research recruitment campaigns, enabling location-specific reach of municipal residents for consultation surveys.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• CitizenLab: CitizenLab is a Belgian-founded SaaS platform for citizen participation serving municipalities and public organizations across Europe. While its product-led, self-serve model differs from Citisens' high-touch consulting approach, it competes for the same municipal participation budgets and signals the platformization direction of the market.
• Bang the Table (EngagementHQ): Bang the Table provides the EngagementHQ civic participation platform used by municipalities and public agencies to run online consultations, surveys, and participatory budgeting. It overlaps with Citisens' Inwonersconsultaties and Panel offerings at the tooling layer, though Citisens bundles it with deeper consulting.

Others

• Decidim: Decidim is an open-source participatory democracy platform used by cities and public organizations worldwide for citizen consultations and assemblies. It is an ecosystem participant / alternative tooling option that municipalities may adopt instead of bespoke consulting engagements, indirectly competing with Citisens' service offerings.

Direct peers

• Veldkamp Marktonderzoek: Veldkamp is a Dutch market and social research firm with a strong public-sector practice serving municipalities and semi-governmental organizations. It is directly comparable to Citisens on custom resident research, policy evaluation, and survey-based engagement projects for Dutch public clients.
• Necker van Naem: Necker van Naem is a Dutch research and advisory firm specializing in public administration, governance, and municipal evaluation, and is described as a sister organization of Citisens. They jointly deliver large-scale municipal evaluation studies (e.g., Amsterdam administrative system), competing with and complementing Citisens on complex civic research mandates.
• Motivaction: Motivaction is a Dutch research and consulting firm with strong positioning in social issues, civic engagement, and segmentation-based citizen research (e.g., Mentality segments). It competes head-to-head with Citisens on citizen segmentation, municipal engagement, and societal trend research for public-sector clients.
• I&O Research: I&O Research is a leading Dutch research firm specializing in public-sector and social research, including citizen participation, municipal surveys, and policy evaluation. It directly competes with Citisens for Dutch municipal research mandates and shares a similar client base of gemeenten, ministries, and public organizations.
• Bureau Veldboom: Bureau Veldboom is a Dutch research and advisory firm focused on public sector, citizen participation, and municipal policy research. It is a direct competitor to Citisens for Omgevingswet-driven citizen engagement projects and serves a similar municipal client base across the Netherlands.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar (Netherlands): Kantar (formerly TNS NIPO) is one of the largest global research firms with a substantial Dutch practice serving public-sector clients on citizen surveys, election research, and policy evaluation. It competes with Citisens on larger, multi-municipality research programs where scale and international benchmarking matter.
• Ipsos (Netherlands): Ipsos is a global market and social research firm with a Dutch practice covering citizen engagement, public policy evaluation, and social trend research. It overlaps with Citisens on municipal and governmental research mandates, but typically at larger scale and with broader international benchmarks.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citisens
• Xx.com/citisens_nl

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Citisens