How do we ensure that innovations are actually implemented in practice? And what role do practically trained professionals play in shaping change? In the documentary Beyond the blind spot, researchers Amber Kornet (Saxion) and Wouter van Zwol (Radboud University), together with various partners, show how Learning Communities (LCs) – in which people from different backgrounds learn and work together – can make a difference.
The documentary shows how practice-trained professionals play a crucial but often overlooked role in innovation and learning processes within sectors such as technology, logistics and energy. Personal stories, intimate interviews, and visual portraits are used to portray the experiences of participants in LCs. How do they learn? What do they need in order to contribute and grow? And what can organisations do to strengthen their involvement in a structural way?
From research to imagination
The film is based on years of research and practical experience of the makers within the installation and transport sector. Kornet investigated the functioning of so-called challenge-based Learning Communities in technical companies, and Van Zwol conducted doctoral research into leadership development in relation to sustainable employability in logistics. Both projects show that it is precisely the practical knowledge of professionals that is essential for successful innovations – but that this is often overlooked. The filmmakers want to change that.
Co-creation as a starting point
What makes this documentary special is that it is being developed together with participants from the Learning Communities. In co-creation, they contribute their experiences, doubts, successes and insights. This results in storylines that do justice to practice and touch on broader issues surrounding inclusion, learning and work. Participants are actively involved in the script and the recordings, which not only strengthens the content but also increases their ownership.
The aim of the documentary is to raise awareness of the added value of practice-trained professionals in learning and innovation processes. At the same time, the film offers concrete inspiration for policymakers, HR professionals, managers, educational institutions and other organisations that want to work with Learning Communities. The documentary shows how it can be done: collaborating, learning and innovating with everyone on board.
The film will be screened at conferences, film festivals, industry organisations and via social media from 2026 onwards, in the form of short video clips and a full-length film. Dialogue evenings and working sessions will also be organised around the themes of the documentary.
The project is made possible in part by a grant from the NSvP (Dutch Foundation for Psychotechnics) and co-financing from Saxion, Topsector Energie and TKI Dinalog, among others. The documentary is being developed in collaboration with professional filmmakers, with support from the Creative Business programme (Saxion).
By bringing together practice, policy, research and creation, Beyond the Blind Spot aims to encourage people to look, think and act differently.