Board President Sjoukje Heimovaara presented the Strategic Plan during the Dis Natalis on 7 March. Photo Guy Ackermans The bar has been set high for WUR’s new strategic plan. Radical developments are coming thick and fast in the Netherlands and the wider world — and will affect WUR. Which raises the question of whether a multi-year plan is appropriate right now. President of the Executive Board Sjoukje Heimovaara thinks it is, but adds caveats.
The first thing that strikes you when reading the plan presented last week during the Dies Natalis is the language. You could call it militant. ‘The urgency to act is clear’, it says, and ‘we must be courageous’. Or take this statement: ‘There is a global battle for talent’. Another striking aspect is what is missing. The investment themes are no longer mentioned and there is nothing this time on managing student numbers. Nor are there specific targets. They are still to come, says Heimovaara, explaining this plan is more of a compass than a roadmap: ‘The world is continually changing. By the time this interview is published, there might have been another major change. That’s why we haven’t made a plan cast in concrete but instead produced a guide document with themes we identify with and can use to steer the science groups flexibly.’ New features are the six themes and WUR’s ‘narrative’ (see inset). And the fact that the science groups all worked on their strategic agendas at the same time. ‘Those agendas flesh out the course set in this strategic plan.’
The language that is used is striking; was it deliberate?
‘I’m aware it reads like fighting language. We discussed our values with a large group of people (see inset) and “taking responsibility” and “courage” were recurring terms. Collaboration was also mentioned a lot. So it’s not just about taking our knowledge to where it’s needed but also about collaborating with NGOs or other science institutes, for example, to see how to make further progress.’
That doesn’t sound very distinctive.
‘The document wasn’t written to make us stand out. Although we do want to give the wider world a better picture of what Wageningen is. WUR is food, nature and people – to reduce it to its core. But at present, the wider world often only sees us as that one aspect they happen to know about. So we are either intensive livestock farmers or ecological tree huggers or economic calculators. But we’re all of those things. That commonality above all is crucial in making the difference. We need to show that together we help ensure plant and animal production for all of humanity: sustainable, within the planetary boundaries and while retaining biodiversity. And using a range of academic fields, for example in economics or ecology.’
The values, such as trust, are difficult to measure and therefore somewhat vague.
‘Trust has to do with the organization’s culture and it is indeed difficult to measure. To give an example: in view of the cuts, we are seeing whether we can reduce the bureaucracy because it’s time-consuming and expensive. Trust means we don’t check up on everyone all the time; we assume people are doing what they should be doing. Incidentally, that also means you should be able to hold one another to account for your respective responsibilities — it’s not about being lax. That’s one of my top priorities.’
Previous plans discussed the growth in student numbers, but not this one.
‘We need to allow for the possibility of numbers stabilizing or falling. That is inevitable. We know the demographic profile of the Netherlands is changing, and the number of students choosing the sciences is falling as well. There is more competition too as more universities here and abroad are covering our domains. Research shows students are very interested in our subjects but they don’t know about us or don’t find Wageningen appealing. We need to work on that. It has the Student Recruitment department’s full attention.’
Does the plan also allow for the termination of degree programmes?
‘We want a more flexible degree portfolio. Every year, students say we are the best, but there’s nothing more dangerous than being the best every year. You become complacent when you should be bold and innovating. Take the use of AI, or refreshing our portfolio. So that also means being prepared to terminate certain courses.’
Does the plan pay enough attention to WUR in the world?
‘The competition is fierce: think of the enormous sums being invested in science in China. International aid programmes are also being hit (the Trump administration has put a stop to USAID, ed.) and climate change “no longer exists” now Trump is in power. We can’t influence all that, although we can draw attention to it. That’s why we are talking a lot to the World Bank and other development banks to reinforce our contacts there. We need to cherish and protect our international profile.’
The plan states that curiosity-driven science deserves support. Will there be more focus on fundamental science?
‘Fundamental science is under pressure. For example, the government has substantially reduced the Dutch Research Council’s budget. Our fundamental scientists need protecting. They are slower to deliver – logically, given the nature of their work – but in the end they produce brilliant stuff, for example for food security. The plan doesn’t say we will be able to invest in this ourselves, but I spend part of my time lobbying for WUR to prevent cuts that would affect research.’
The aim is to encourage bottom-up initiatives, but what are they?
‘Every now and then, an idea emerges from within the organization, such as Liesje Mommer’s biodiversity initiative. A group of researchers said this was incredibly important and took action with the idea. But eventually they needed a right-hand person. Their science groups said they would all contribute money to support the initiators and give them extra help. Since then, the topic has grown and been recognized as a theme, including by the funding organization the Dutch Research Council. We don’t have a monopoly on knowledge either, so we should support projects like this if and when they emerge. Though I should stress this isn’t a call for proposals, it’s about things that happen spontaneously.’
The investment themes seem to have gone.
‘That’s right. They achieved some good things — such as for the protein transition and the digital twins — but at present there’s nothing we want to invest in specifically in this way. If we do invest on an ad hoc basis, we will be doing so more from the perspective of the six themes. So if you want to invest, look at the six themes. We also want to invest in things like the “six dilemmas” we wrote about; things like that have a lot of impact.’
AI only gets a very brief mention in the plan. Why?
‘AI has our constant attention and is included in all degree programmes. The main message of the Strategic Plan is to “shape responsible change” and that includes making responsible use of AI.’
Responsible change?
‘Yes, we are educating the responsible change-makers of the future, as we state in the new education vision. When you educate students, you’re educating people who often end up in jobs where they are in charge. And a lot of change is needed. If we don’t do this, we will exceed the planetary boundaries, which would be devastating for the climate. We need to educate our students and inculcate an awareness that things need to be done differently. It’s up to them to decide how.’
‘Our story’
A new feature of the strategic plan is the six themes that summarize what WUR is about: sustainable food systems, biodiversity and resilient ecosystems, global health, climate-proof futures, a biobased and circular society, and sustainable water and land use. Another new aspect is the WUR narrative, which Heimovaara calls ‘our story’. In brief, that story is that the demands made on nature, water and land by humans must be kept within the planet’s capacity to cope. The values – another new aspect and seen by Heimovaara as crucial for the compass – are sustainability, responsibility, trust, courage, curiosity and collaboration.
