Having been awarded full marks by the European Commission, in September 2022, the Horizon Europe-funded BOLSTER Project got underway under the coordination of Tilburg University.

To help construct a flawless proposal, faculty at Tilburg University built an interdisciplinary consortium that brought together leading academics and industry experts from six different universities, four NGOs and two SMEs.

To build the multinational consortium, the coordinators leveraged Crowdhelix’s machine learning platform to quickly identify collaborators whose expertise could aid an investigation into how marginalised communities will be affected by the European Green Deal.

From the outset, researchers at Tilburg University recognised that their strengths lay in sustainability, humanities and social sciences. As such, they leveraged the Crowdhelix platform to quickly connect with experts who possessed complementary capabilities.

This meant that instead of spending a disproportionate amount of time networking or pouring over standard services for finding suitable collaborators, the coordinating team were able to swiftly begin piecing together their impeccable proposal. 

Their approach was validated after the proposal for the Bolster project was awarded full marks. Having joined Crowdhelix in 2018, the success of the coordinators also reinforced Tilburg University’s ambition to support its faculty to create new opportunities and partnerships in specific clusters.

By providing its faculty with the tools to generate meaningful connections with equally ambitious researchers, innovators and businesses, Tilburg University was able to amplify its reputation as a successful and forward-thinking research institution.

Tilburg University continued to reinforce its reputation as a leader in the field of sustainability by launching the ‘Just Transition’ Helix on the Crowdhelix platform. This open innovation hub brings together researchers, industry actors, national/EU-level policymakers and civil society groups to better understand the link between transition strategies and the impact on marginalised communities.

Specifically designed around Tilburg University’s research strengths, the ‘Just Transition’ Helix also acts as a focal point for collaboration by enabling unique opportunities that promote peer-to-peer learning and the dissemination of key project results.

Tilburg University has demonstrated how organisations can harness the Crowdhelix platform to put themselves at the forefront of innovation by providing thought leaders with the space and time to build pioneering consortia that generate compelling funding applications.

Through the ‘Just Transition’ Helix, Tilburg University has also been able to foreground itself at the centre of an expert global community that desires to put social justice at the heart of Europe's green agenda.