Connected for Impact in your work

As a university staff member, how do you give meaning to the Radboud strategy ‘Connected for Impact’? Anouk Kerkhof does so by actively connecting educational institutions, the local council and civil society organisations. As project manager of City Deal Kennis Maken Nijmegen, she explores on a daily basis how students can contribute to addressing societal challenges. ‘In fact, our network organisation already embodies this strategy.’

Anouk doesn’t need to think long about the link between her work and the strategy. ‘Connected for Impact is at the heart of everything we do: connecting people and connecting knowledge to make an impact for the residents of Nijmegen,’ she explains. City Deal Kennis Maken Nijmegen is a partnership between Nijmegen City Council, HAN University of Applied Sciences, ROC Nijmegen, Yuverta MBO and Radboud University, which acts as the lead partner. ‘We are developing and implementing an approach that enables educational institutions and civil society organisations to collaborate on issues facing the city. We see Nijmegen as a rich learning environment for students.’

This approach is proving successful. Over the course of three academic years, more than 150 projects have been carried out, involving 2,500 students from 46 programmes across vocational, higher professional and university education. Students and lecturers work alongside community organisations on issues relating to health, social inclusion and the environment. ‘Social inclusion is about being able to participate in society – think of literacy, loneliness and poverty, but also street intimidation and inclusion. In the area of health, our projects cover topics such as nutrition, physical activity and mental wellbeing. Within the ‘Maak ruimte’ programme, we focus on urban planning, addressing challenges relating to housing, mobility, recreation and the economy.’

Building connections

As a Project Manager, Anouk is, above all, a connector. ‘I ensure that study programmes from different educational institutions find common ground. We often achieve greater impact when students from multiple disciplines collaborate on an issue. In doing so, we facilitate the connection and knowledge-sharing between students.’

This requires continuous coordination, Anouk explains. ‘I work in a team of thirteen colleagues from the council and the affiliated educational institutions. We focus on educational innovation and external networks. Together, we ensure that projects are well distributed across the city, so that residents and professionals aren’t overwhelmed and students don’t end up duplicating work.’ In addition, Anouk and her colleagues support lecturers and community organisations. ‘We help to find the right partners and formulate suitable challenges. A client often wants a lot achieved in a short space of time, whilst students are still learning. That is why we carefully guide that process together with the lecturers.’

According to Anouk, working on social issues is highly rewarding for students. ‘University students in particular have little prior experience of working with external clients on real and urgent issues. Afterwards, you always hear that they have discovered how they can use their studies to contribute to society. That is enormously valuable. What’s more, it helps students strengthen their connection with the city and brings them into contact with potential regional employers.’

Visible impact 

According to Anouk, all the projects have had a positive impact, to varying degrees, on the residents of Nijmegen. As an example of a project with a visible impact, she cites the collaboration with the Canisius-Wilhelmina Hospital. ‘The sustainability manager wanted to make the outdoor area greener, with a focus on biodiversity and climate adaptation. He also wanted to investigate the relationship between a green outdoor space and the wellbeing of hospital staff. This was achieved over a two-year period. It began with a soil survey – a baseline measurement – carried out by Yuverta students studying Garden and Landscape Design.

Master’s students in Psychology then investigated the relationship between green spaces and job satisfaction. Students of Geography, Urban Planning and Environmental Science looked at climate adaptation, whilst students on the Master’s programme in Science Management and Innovation identified quick wins for increasing biodiversity. And HAN students studying Facilities Management carried out a needs assessment among staff. Based on all these results, Yuverta students drew up a design plan. This is a fine example of how different disciplines can work together in a relay-style approach to solve a societal challenge.’

According to Anouk, other projects also demonstrate this strength. ‘For example, at the municipality’s request, work was carried out to increase youth turnout in local council elections. HAN students came up with dozens of ideas. The municipality selected three to implement in collaboration with them. This led to a youth debate at LUX and a campaign by HAN and ROC students at three educational institutions on the importance of voting.’ She also mentions the Happy Hairdresser initiative during Wellbeing Week. ‘ROC Hair Care students were paired with Radboud students studying Spiritual Care, Theology and Psychology. Whilst ROC students gave young people haircuts, Radboud students engaged them in conversation. As a result, nearly 80 students left the pop-up hair salon with a new hairstyle and a positive feeling. This enables students from different educational institutions to really get to know and appreciate one another.’

A catalyst for the region

In the strategic direction, Anouk particularly recognises the regional role.  ‘We are contributing to the ambition to be a catalyst for the region. We have built up a solid infrastructure with educational institutions, the local council, the Municipal Health Service (GGD), Radboudumc and community organisations. This ensures short lines of communication and allows us to respond quickly.’ According to her, this strikes at the heart of ‘Connected for Impact’. ‘You don’t create real impact on your own, but together with regional partners. Our network organisation embodies this entire strategy.’ Thanks to that network, the impact is now being amplified. ‘Whereas university students used to often produce an advisory report that was rarely acted upon, follow-up projects can now be linked to other courses and disciplines, at vocational, higher vocational or university level.’

Building the future together

Looking ahead, Anouk sees opportunities to increase the impact. From 1 January 2027, City Deal Kennis Maken Nijmegen will be working closely with the regional networks ‘Wij zijn groen, gezond en in beweging’ (GGIB) and ‘Maatschappelijke Diensttijd’ (MDT).
‘This will further enrich our network and enable us to collaborate with new partner organisations. Our focus is on reducing health inequalities in the city.’ At the same time, there is a challenge. ‘There are so many wonderful things happening, but not everyone is yet familiar with this way of working together. It would therefore be fantastic if we could raise our profile.’

Finally, what message does Anouk Radboud want to share with her colleagues? ‘Connected for Impact can be applied to almost any theme, even less obvious ones. Take a broad approach, because every role within the university has an impact aspect. Talk to colleagues from other faculties or institutions. That way, you’ll gain new insights and, together, you’ll increase the impact. Because it all starts with connection.’

Although the Radboud strategy ‘Connected for Impact’ has only just been launched, Sjors Witjes is already putting it into practice on a daily basis. The associate professor of Strategy works with businesses, government bodies, students and researchers to find solutions to societal issues. At the same time, he is critical: if the university really wants to make a difference, he believes many changes are still needed. ‘That will require a cultural shift.’

As an associate professor, Sjors works at the intersection of science and society. He helps companies with issues relating to sustainability, circularity, diversity and climate change. He does this through research, teaching and collaboration with students. One example he is particularly proud of is the collaboration with waste management company ARN in Weurt. ‘Together, we’ve realised that we’re the only ones in the world who can recycle nappies,’ he explains. ‘The costs of producing nappies are high. This recycling example therefore demonstrates how science can respond to society’s needs and thus contribute directly to social change.’

According to Sjors, it is precisely this project that illustrates what ‘Connected for Impact’ is all about: seeking connections between disciplines and with the outside world. ‘We link knowledge from business administration with psychology, chemistry, geology and urban planning. Only by bringing that knowledge together, we can truly help organisations in making progress.’

External recognition, internal struggles

Sjors notices the social impact of his work particularly outside the university. ‘You do get recognition from outside, but much less from within,’ he says critically. He was asked to serve as a board member at ARN and on the advisory board of the OPEN Foundation, which regulates the collection and recycling of electronics in the Netherlands. ‘I see that as recognition that I’m doing my job well.’

Within Radboud University, however, he feels that transdisciplinary work is still not sufficiently valued. ‘At our university, you don’t become a professor by collaborating extensively, but by specialising and publishing. Maintaining networks brings little recognition, whilst impact actually stands or falls on collaboration.’

According to Sjors, there is still a fundamental problem here. ‘A transdisciplinary researcher is, in fact, an entrepreneurial academic. Many transdisciplinary researchers currently do this networking in their private time. That is why a cultural shift is so desperately needed.’ He also sees a clear difference in this regard compared with technical universities. ‘At technical universities, entrepreneurial academics are the norm, but at other universities – including ours – they are still the exception.’ He draws this perspective from his own background. ‘I started out as an engineer and have a background at a technical university.’

At the same time, he draws a great deal of motivation from working with students. ‘Students make me the happiest. I do my work for them, both in my research and in my teaching.’ It is precisely there that he sees how impact becomes tangible. ‘It gives me a good feeling when students take the points I make and put them to use in their future professional lives.’

Strategy as a foundation for discussions

In his own work, Sjors sees strategy at play everywhere. Among other things, he is involved in the development of the Lifeport Resource Institute in the Arnhem-Nijmegen region, which focuses on raw material security and regional cooperation. ‘As a university, we have enormous potential, but I still see many isolated initiatives. We need to link them more effectively to create real synergy and impact.’

He uses a striking metaphor to illustrate this. According to Sjors, there are many separate components within the university that only have an effect once they are connected. ‘We have all sorts of separate pillars, but these need to be integrated into our operations. You need a skewer to hold them together.’

The ‘Connected for impact’ strategy also helps him in discussions within the university. ‘Previously, I had to explain why external recognition was important. Now I can say: this is simply part of our strategy.’ He cites as an example the task schedules of his own faculty, in which teaching and research hours are strictly fixed. ‘Maintaining networks and creating impact aren’t included in them. That’s exactly what you need to invest in to make transdisciplinary research possible.’

He therefore hopes that the strategy will lead to tangible changes. ‘The less entrepreneurial I have to be internally, the more entrepreneurial I can be outside the university.’

Collaboration starts internally

For Sjors, impact ultimately revolves around connection. ‘To me, impact means “making contact with”. If we want to move society forward, we need to collaborate.’ According to him, that collaboration begins within the university itself. ‘Find one another and see how we can help each other to create more impact. There are already many colleagues with excellent contacts outside the university, but they are dependent on internal opportunities.’

His appeal to colleagues therefore ties in seamlessly with the core of ‘Connected for Impact’. ‘Impact is working together to improve society. Let’s step over the barriers known as faculties, or professional services versus academic staff. If we can find each other more easily internally, we can make a much greater difference outside the university. Only then will we make a real impact.’