Zoekresultaten

Hubs moeten haperende energietransitie aanwakkeren

In Breda, Den Bosch en Helmond worden transitiehubs opgericht. Een spannende naam voor een samenwerkingsverband tussen kennisinstellingen en het bedrijfsleven om een leven lang ontwikkelen (LLO) te stimuleren. In Helmond gaat Fontys leermodules ontwikkelen voor mensen die werkzaam zijn in de batterijtechnologie. ‘Hiermee willen we de energietransitie een slinger geven.’

Landbouw en groen voor een gezonde stedelijke samenleving. TransForum Agro & Groen

There is an increasing awareness that the landscape around cities can contribute significantly to the well-being of urban citizens. Various studies and experiences in the Netherlands and other countries show that the combination of agriculture with care and education has great potential. The number of care farms has increased from 75 in 1999 to 500 in 2005. In urban areas, a diversity of groups can benefit from care farms or other types of social services in the rural area. It concerns among others, people with mental problems, with (chronic) psychiatric demands, with addiction problems, elderly, children with behavior and/or psychological problems and long term unemployed. The city of Amsterdam recognizes the unique and valuable qualities of the rural area and its potential for the well-being of its citizens. In and around Amsterdam various organizations have initiated innovative projects that connect urban demands with agricultural entrepreneurs. A transition to a new kind of agriculture and landscape contributing to health and well-being of urban citizens is possible.

Het hoort erbij! Wegwijzer seksuele en relationele vorming voor jeugdprofessionals - poster

Dit is de sociale kaart seksuele en relationele vorming voor jeugdprofessionals. Een overzicht met informatie over methodieken en tools om aandacht te besteden aan seksualiteit en relaties, expertpartners op het gebied van training, advies en workshops en organisaties waar je naar kan doorverwijzen. De wegwijzer is een product voortkomend uit het onderzoeksproject Het hoort erbij! een samenwerking van Hogeschool Inholland, kennisinstellingen en jongerenwerk- en straathoekwerkorganisaties met het doel meer aandacht te hebben voor seksuele vorming in het jongerenwerk en straathoekwerk.

De toekomst van de food-supply chains in de Metropoolregio Amsterdam

Internationale city climatescan Rotterdam

Advisering van het midden- en kleinbedrijf. Wie wil voelen zal niet luisteren.

This relationship between external knowledge providers, e.g. consultants and academic institutions, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is a difficult one. SME entrepreneurs think external advice is expensive, not required and/or not useful. In this paper these arguments are explored against the specific characteristics of SMEs. The argument of price probably tells more about the consultants inability to quantify the returns on their advice than about the cost of their services. Support policies enable free consults for SMEs on numerous topics, but the use of these facilities is relatively low. The suggestion that SME entrepreneurs do not need external knowledge is contradicted by their own assessment of their qualities. Typically the entrepreneurs lack expertise in supporting business functions like HR, IT, Finance and Legal. In SMEs these blank spots are not compensated by specialist staff members because the of the scale of the organization. The argument that the advice of an external consultant is generally not useful raises the question whether the insights gained in several business sciences only apply to large companies. This seems unlikely. Given the characteristics of SMEs the difference is probably more the context in which the insights are applied than the content of the insights itself. From the analysis of the characteristics of SMEs the dominant influence of the person of the owner/director, together with the absence of specialist staff, appeared as two of the most significant differences between SMEs and large companies. Given the personal profiles of these owners/directors as studied by Blom (Blom, 2001), the external knowledge providers should realize the three ways in consulting. The first way is the way of thinking. For this way it was stated already that the content of business sciences is not likely to differ for SMEs. The second way, the way of working, represents for the way information is gathered and the entrepreneur and his staff is involved in the process of developing the advice. In this way the consultant should allow for interaction and should make it fun for the participants. In this aspect, the process approach of consulting shows promising. The third way, the way of communicating, represents the way the knowledge is transferred from the advisor to the entrepreneur. In this way it is crucial to acknowledge the different personal profiles of SME entrepreneurs and consultants and to adjust the communication accordingly. Taking the three ways into account, the conclusion could be that the transfer of knowledge should be more the sharing of experiences. The Chair of Management Consulting will adjust her activities to explore this insight further.