Buurtbox Pilot
Help us test resilient digital infrastructure in the neighbourhood
What happens when a neighbourhood loses internet and electricity during an emergency?
Buurtbox is an open-source, energy-efficient offline information station designed to keep essential digital information available when normal digital infrastructure is unavailable.
We are now looking for organisations and communities that want to help us test this concept in practice.
We are looking for pilot partners for the first Buurtbox prototype, planned for Q1 2027.
What is a Buurtbox?
A Buurtbox is a small, locally accessible information station that can continue operating during an internet or power outage.
When normal infrastructure is unavailable, the Buurtbox can provide a local Wi-Fi network that residents can access with an ordinary smartphone — without an app, internet connection or mobile subscription.
Depending on the pilot, the station could provide access to information such as:
- first-aid and emergency instructions
- local emergency procedures
- neighbourhood maps
- information from public authorities
- practical information for vulnerable residents
- locally relevant guides and resources
The project is open source and is intended to become a piece of public digital infrastructure that communities can understand, use and help shape themselves.
Why run a pilot?
The technology is only one part of the challenge.
We need to understand what information people actually need during an outage, where a Buurtbox should be located, how people would use it, and what role municipalities, emergency organisations and local community organisations could play.
A pilot allows us to test these questions in a real neighbourhood before scaling the concept.
What does a pilot look like?
A pilot could start small.
Together with a local partner, we would:
- Select a suitable location.
- Identify relevant local needs and emergency scenarios.
- Determine what information should be available through the Buurtbox.
- Install and test a prototype.
- Observe how residents and professionals interact with it.
- Collect feedback and identify improvements.
- Document the results openly where possible.
The exact scope can be adapted to the partner and neighbourhood.
Who are we looking for?
We are particularly interested in working with:
Municipalities and public-safety organisations Organisations involved in emergency preparedness, public information and neighbourhood resilience can help validate the practical use case.
Community organisations and local hosts Community centres, libraries, neighbourhood organisations and other trusted local places could provide a natural home for a Buurtbox and help involve residents.
Housing associations and neighbourhood developers Organisations responsible for residential communities can help explore how resilient infrastructure can become part of neighbourhood design.
Civic-tech, open-source and research organisations Partners with knowledge of digital commons, open hardware, community participation or technological resilience can help us develop the concept responsibly.
A pilot can involve one organisation or a combination of several local partners.
What we need from a pilot partner
We are not looking for a large commitment at this stage.
Depending on the pilot, we may need:
- access to a suitable location
- feedback from professionals and residents
- help identifying relevant local information
- participation in testing sessions
- a contact person who can coordinate the pilot
- practical feedback on installation, maintenance and use
Most importantly, we need partners who are willing to learn with us.
What does the partner get?
A pilot partner gets the opportunity to:
- explore a new approach to neighbourhood resilience
- help shape an open-source public infrastructure project
- test practical solutions for communication during outages
- involve residents in the design of local resilience measures
- contribute knowledge and use cases to the development of Buurtbox
- learn from the results of the pilot
The aim is not simply to install a device. The aim is to understand whether this approach can become useful, trusted and sustainable infrastructure for communities.
An open project
Buurtbox is being developed as an open-source project.
We believe resilient infrastructure should not depend entirely on proprietary platforms or a permanent internet connection. Where possible, the knowledge, software and hardware developed through the project should be reusable by other communities.
Pilot partners can therefore contribute not only to one installation, but to a model that could potentially be replicated elsewhere.
Interested in becoming a pilot partner?
We would love to hear from municipalities, safety organisations, community organisations, housing associations, researchers and other organisations interested in neighbourhood resilience and digital infrastructure.
You don’t need to have a fully defined pilot proposal.
At this stage, an initial conversation is enough. We can discuss your neighbourhood, the challenges you see, and whether Buurtbox could be useful in your context.
Email: info@buurtbox.org