Train today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs and let today’s professionals develop themselves alongside the progress in their field - these are the two most urgent demands we need and want to meet in vocational education. However, the world is changing so rapidly that the focus of Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) only on the design of initial education is no longer enough. Education must connect with industry, governments, NGOs and population in a more intensive and permanent manner.In the Northern Netherlands, in particular in the city of Groningen, higher and secondary vocational education are aware of this urgency. Therefore, knowledge institutions have innovatively developed formal partnerships with industry, governments, population and social organisations in their field. What stands out most is the cooperative model in which education institutions, local governments, citizens and entrepreneurs steadily collaborate within a single organisation, a new type of company. This is a business model where education and research cooperate with hundreds of companies, civil society organisations and social organisations in the city and the region. Each level has its own form: a Regional Cooperative for the region and a Community Cooperative for the neighbourhood. In this brochure we would like to introduce you to these forms of collaboration.
DOCUMENT
The growing appetite of cities is one of the greatest future challenges. There is no set menu for meeting this appetite, but a trend is observed in which city authorities focus on region-based food provision. Regionalism is motivated by the importance of increased self-reliance. Besides, regional food systems, are associated with more sustainable production and reduced carbon footprints, the reconnection of consumers with production, and the increased uptake of whole foods in urban diets. However, the question remains to what extend region based food systems may become self-reliant? How may they contribute to improved sustainability and healthy lifestyles? With the Dutch city of Almere as a case in point this paper provides a food flow data-based analysis of the opportunities and limitations of regional based food system approaches. The paper sets off with defining the concepts of sustainable self-reliance and regionalism. Next, it describes the methodology of measuring and mapping the actual food flows. We combined secondary, publicly available, with primary quantitative and qualitative datasets, involving regional businesses, urban policymakers, and residents. Our study uncovers the coinciding disconnect and interconnectedness of local, regional and global food systems. The regional scale offers opportunities for tackling many food related challenges, however, sustainable urban food security demands connections beyond the regional sphere and beyond the food domain. To assess the effects of the policy options available at the local and regional level, a solid evidence base is essential. This paper advances the development of evidence-based methodologies to monitor and inform food system policies.
DOCUMENT
![Advancing the evidence base for sustainable city-region food systems [Meeting the growing appetite of cities - delivering an evidence base for urban food policy]](https://publinova-harvester-content-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbnails/files/previews/pdf/20250619194824761325.20250619172518945028.manuscript-thumbnail-400x300.png)
This report analysis the geography of the tech sector in Amsterdam, with a focus on scaleups. After a literature review, it contains a quantitative analysis, showing and mapping the spatial clustering of various types of tech companies cluster in the Amsterdam region. Then, based on interviews, we analyse the growth dynamics, location preferences and geographical dynamics of tech scale-ups. Also, we identify which push and pull factors affect Amsterdam based tech scale-up companies in their locational decision making, on the neighborhood and building level.
DOCUMENT
