I would like to thank the board for giving us the opportunity to revise this plan together and express my deepest gratitude to Jasper van de Kamp, Stef de Gunst, and Nolda Tipping-Griffioen. They have been incredibly open in discussing their original plan, questioning its assumptions, and brainstorming how it could improve with the feedback we had received. They took the time to explain the necessary compromises, but also to explore the opportunities that doing things differently could open up. This demanded a lot of their time and energy, and I truly appreciate their efforts.

I was genuinely surprised (and very pleased) to see that practically all of our concerns and suggestions were not just heard, but critically reflected upon and integrated into the new plan. The result is a much more concise document: seven clear pages outlining where we stand, what we can do, and where we want to go, with a new structure that is transversal and collaborative.

This new plan feels like a real opportunity to experiment with working together in a new way: a true collaboration between academic and support staff, where our respective expertise can empower each other. One of the aims of the AI Network is also to serve as a central point for compliance. Crucially, the people who will be affected by these new processes and regulations are no longer passive recipients but active participants in shaping them.

I also appreciate that this plan doesn’t just focus on what we can do now. It builds in periodic moments to evaluate our progress, adjust course if needed, and seek out new opportunities with an eye toward the ideal service we want to provide in the future.

Before I conclude, I consider it important to share a bit about how this process unfolded. It should be clear that the ideas and concerns we brought to the discussion are not mine, or ours, alone. They are a summary of the input from many of the people who were mentioned in the original document, and a few more who are directly working on the topic. What I did was simple: I reached out to them all and asked for their honest opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of the plan, as well as their suggestions for improvement.

If we make this kind of consultation a consistent practice, our work will become easier, our collaboration stronger, and our mutual esteem deeper. This helps to build a true sense of trust and community among the staff and learn from the people directly affected by our policies.

This said, I am genuinely positive about this new proposal. I wish everyone involved in this project the very best, and I hope it will show us all a new and better way of working together.