Applied research at Universities of Applied Sciences has taken off in a relatively short time. There are now hundreds of professors (‘lectoren’) working at universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. The question of what this will achieve is not without merit. There is much to say about this, and due in part to mission-driven innovation policy, this question is becoming ever more relevant. To what concrete changes in society does applied research contribute? How do the results of applied research benefit cities and regions? And: how do you demonstrate the social impact of research at universities of applied sciences?
There is still much to be gained in this area, which is why this website provides tools, indicators, blogs and experiences on the continuous effects of research at universities of applied sciences. These can be used by professors, researchers, lecturers and policy officers in making research accessible to a wider audience and reporting effectively on this.
The team behind the Website
Harry van Vliet has been a professor since 2007, first at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and, since 2013, at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Drawing on his background as a cognitive psychologist and film and television researcher, his research focuses on visitor experience in a cross-media landscape. Through his involvement in the launch of the Innovation Alliance Foundation and the RAAK schemes for universities of applied sciences, he has had a particular interest in the continuous effects of research on society. This culminated, on 1 January 2021, in his appointment as professor of Impact of Practice-based research at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Marlies Dinjens is a freelance communication consultant and editor and has been attached to the research group Impact of practice-based research since December 2024. She has worked for the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences since 2015 for various faculties and research institutes in the field of media and innovation in the role of content specialist, communication advisor and lecturer. She previously worked in journalism and co-wrote with Stan de Jong the book "De vlucht van een paradijsvogel", a non-fiction book about a woman who survived an air disaster in Dutch New Guinea in 1957. At the University of Groningen and Humboldt University in Berlin, she studied History and Journalism. Her biggest challenge at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences is to communicate clearly about the special research that takes place here, so that it becomes accessible and applicable to a wider audience.
Ruben Logjes has been working at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences since 2015, where he started as a lecturer and coach in user research and Service Design. Studying Industrial Design in Delft, he has both a creative and analytical background and experience in design processes, consultancy and research. As of 2018, he is affiliated as a researcher to several professorships, particularly focusing on systemic innovation and creative methods. All the above led to his appointment as a researcher at the research group Impact of Practice-based research at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences as of 1 February 2025.
Sarah Coombs has been with the Library of Saxion University of Applied Sciences since 2005. Her background as an academic librarian, in which supporting research is central, underpins her role in improving research by offering the right support; she also does this from the perspective of Open Science. With a view to enhancing support for researchers in the field of impact evaluation, she has embarked on a PhD programme at Leiden University’s Centre for Science and Technology Studies. Her aim is to discover how the continuous effects of research at universities of applied sciences can be systematically, responsibly and robustly evaluated.
With contributions by:
Desiree van den Bogaard (Avans), Eva Woertman (Surf), Gerben ter Riet (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Wilke van Beest (Utrecht University of Applied Sciences), Vladimir Bartelds (Hanze University of Applied Sciences), Lisette Wegener (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Gerwin Evers (Technopolis) and Leonie van Drooge (LvD Impact & Evaluatie).
Made possible by:
This website was co-sponsored by an Impuls grant from the Taskforce for Applied Research SIA.
