As the response rate is low and the increases are small and not statistically significant, the results are primarily intended to serve as an indicator and to highlight trends. The employee and student panel acts as a barometer within the organisation and is not designed to be a representative population study.
At the same time, the responses offer valuable insights, including some tentative positive developments compared with the baseline measurement taken in early 2025.
Social safety remains an important theme
As with the first measurement, respondents give social safety a high priority. They consider the subject important to very important (average 4.4 out of 5) and feel motivated to contribute to a safe and respectful culture (4.3). The perceived responsibility to contribute oneself also remains high (4.3).
More knowledge and greater scope for action
On average, respondents feel slightly more capable of taking action in the event of undesirable behaviour than during the baseline measurement (from 3.3 to 3.4). Knowledge about what constitutes undesirable behaviour and where to go for support has also increased slightly. At the same time, the underlying figures show that a large group still do not feel sufficiently equipped to take action when they witness or experience inappropriate behaviour. There is therefore clearly a need for support and practical guidance on how to respond. Younger students (under 25) in particular indicate that they do not always know where to go and what steps they can take.
Support within the university
Respondents increasingly feel that support is available within Radboud University (increase from 3.2 to 3.4). Here too, the increase is small, and the underlying results show that a significant proportion of respondents still feel they are not receiving sufficient support. This remains a key area for attention in the coming period. Respondents who are staff members are generally slightly more positive, while respondents who are students sometimes feel less supported. This emphasises the importance of ongoing projects that specifically target students, such as new development modules and extra attention to social safety during the introduction period.
Communication: appreciation and points for attention
Communication about social safety is rated as clear and accessible (3.5 and 3.6). Respondents appreciate the visibility on campus, the training courses offered and the fact that the subject is being discussed more often. At the same time, there is still a need for more practical examples, concrete courses of action and a single clear point of contact for questions and reports. Respondents also want to better understand what happens when you file a report.
Next steps
The Prevent Care Cure project group, which is working to strengthen social safety within the university, is using these results to further improve policy and communication. The following points are currently being worked on:
- Launch of a single central contact point in 2026, so that there is a single clear starting point for advice and reports about undesirable behaviour and integrity, with transparent information about the reporting process.
- Integration into education, for example through knowledge clips in lectures (under development – from the new academic year onwards) and clear information during the introduction week.
- Strengthening leadership, including through the Impactful Leadership training course starting this year, which will better equip managers to pick up on signals and set an example.
- More attention to action perspectives, including through the available e-learning modules and training courses such as Constructive Dialogue.
The results show that there are tentative signs of improvement, but also that sustained effort is needed to strengthen social safety. With input from students and staff, we will continue to improve this theme step by step.
Would you like to know more or do you have a suggestion? View the latest project update or contact us at socialsafety [at] ru.nl (socialsafety[at]ru[dot]nl).
Would you like to contribute your ideas on these kinds of topics? Sign up for the Student Panel or Employee Panel!