EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Separate cooperation: possibilities for more efficient studies in the major Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

Separate cooperation: possibilities for more efficient studies in the major Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

Introduction

Studies in the area of integration are often not geared to the municipal integration policy. This report analyses to what extent this is the case in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht (referred to here as the G4). The cooperation and exchange of knowledge between the G4 will also be addressed.

Description

Are studies in the area of integration geared to the integration policy in the G4 and are the studies conducted by these cities comparable? The three main issues this particular study focuses on are education, housing and participation. This review of policy and research in the G4 provides an assessment of the cooperation between these cities. This applies particularly to the cooperation with regard to municipal research and the policy area of integration. In this way, the opportunities for knowledge exchange within the G4 and the role that Kenniscentrum Grote Steden (‘Knowledge Centre for Metropolises’) can play will emerge.

Conclusions

The correlation between policy and research differs for each city. The correlation in Amsterdam and Utrecht is reasonably good, whereas the correlation in Rotterdam is mediocre. According to the findings, there was no correlation at all in The Hague.
In contrast to the other three cities, The Hague does not have a municipal research institute, a university or a central office for research.
Studies sometimes employed existing data and experiences in order to compare the situation in one city to that in the other cities.
The studies do not always explicitly mention that data or experiences from other cities are not relevant to the situation of the city in question.
In the near future, a number of cities are looking to compare data with other cities.
There is often a need for cooperation and knowledge exchange. In practice, however, various circumstances result in there being little use made of each other’s knowledge.
Municipal research is more focused on helping to accomplish the local administration’s own assignments than on cooperating within the G4.
Municipal research is often based on incidental events.
Demographic differences between the cities create the idea that each city’s problems are unique.

Contact info

Kenniscentrum Grote Steden, tel. +31 70 3440966

Publication date

01/01/2005

Researcher

Uenk, I.

Cities

The cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague.

Links

More information on this issue (in Dutch)

Aparte samenwerking, kansen voor efficienter onderzoeken in de G4 (PDF, Dut, 805 KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Research & innovation

Keywords

Implementation & production