TRANSFORMING POLICY | INCREASING THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF RESEARCH AND ENHANCING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR REGIONAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT
Goals of the project:
- Strengthen the connection between academic research and regional policy development
- Enhance the knowledge base for the Province of Overijssel
- Address five key regional policy themes through research and design-based methods:
- Cross-border labour market (human capital)
- Success factors of social quality (participation)
- Digital villages (quality of life & digitalization)
- Sustainable cultural heritage (energy transition)
- Design approaches to innovation policy (innovation ecosystems)
Background & Description:
Transformeren met Beleid (Transforming Policy) was a collaborative project between the Province of Overijssel and the University of Twente focused on connecting regional policy with cutting-edge research. DesignLab coordinated the effort by organizing co-creative design sessions and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders.
The project addressed five major regional themes ranging from labour markets and participation to digitalization and energy transition. Although most themes were successfully delivered, Theme 3 (Digital Villages) was only partially completed, with 75% of its goals unfulfilled due to capacity challenges. Themes 4 and 5 were in preparation toward the end of the project.
The learnings and structure from this project fed into a follow-up initiative (2020–2024) aimed at creating a regional knowledge workshop to support ongoing policy innovation. DesignLab’s contribution was central in ensuring knowledge exchange, practical implementation, and interdisciplinary innovation, reinforcing its role in bridging science, society, and policy.
Consortium:
- Province of Overijssel
- University of Twente (BMS Faculty, DesignLab)
Contact:
