ResilientSociety: finding ways to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 virus together

The Covid-19 pandemic has had enormous effects on our health care system, the economy, and on society as a whole. Research is pivotal to understand the challenges that come with the coronavirus, and collaboration between parties of different backgrounds is of great importance to address the most urgent questions. The Dutch universities, the national science foundation NWO, the university association VSNU, the Dutch Organisation for applied research TNO, and more than 150 other parties have created the ResilientSociety platform in order to facilitate this. The platform has an international character, and the UG and UMCG have also joined the community.

ResilientSociety brings people from around the world together so that they can effectively combine their creativity, expertise, resources, entrepreneurial spirit to develop new ideas, understandings, products and services that contribute to a resilient society. Through this platform, ResilientSociety facilitates the collaboration process in different ways. For example, through online co-creation sessions, offering expertise and facilities to contribute to research projects, and through connecting professionals who focus on similar topics.

How can I contribute to the ResilientSociety?

“Researchers, support staff, business developers and students; all can contribute to this platform”, Wietske Degen (coordinator Industry Relations) explains. “They can offer expertise or facilities, attend international webinars, and share results from research projects. All faculties within the university are more than welcome to contribute expertise, skills and offer feedback, because the pitched projects vary in their backgrounds.” All applications for ResilientSociety are evaluated by a team of professionals, after which feedback is provided, and if selected, the next steps in the process are conferred with the applicant. “We hereby ask people to register themselves on the international platform, so people can put forward projects and signals.”

An example

On Friday, 8th of May, two ideation sessions were organized online for PAARD, the pop theatre in The Hague, and football club ADO Den Haag. Two teams of over 20 professionals and students were online from 9-15 in a creative session, answering the question ´how can these two centres offer Covid19-proof services in the coming months?´ They presented the most promising ideas to the ResilientSociety community at the end of the day for first feedback. One week later project-resource matching sessions took place.

One of the outcomes of the ideation sessions is that the ADO Den Haag stadium will become a testing ground for technology that can bring sports experiences home to the supporters. First in The Hague and with success possibly to other stadiums as well. This would then result in a new call for action to students, researchers and entrepreneurs.

How are the research projects gathered?

“In order to ensure the inclusive nature of the platform, a national team of (Master) students are gathering relevant projects for the ResilientSociety every day. The UG already makes a valuable contribution ‘in kind’ to the platform, through Donjali Aeilkema, my colleague at Industry Relations, who coördinates this group of students,” says Degen. “The students help with writing texts for the website and some participate in the projects themselves. All on a voluntary basis.”

Want to know more?

For more information, or the registration process, visit the ResilientSociety website.

For a summary of the ongoing projects, events, blogs and updates from the community, visit https://cocreate.resilientsociety.world/.

Do you have any questions about the ResilientSociety platform? Please contact industryrelations@rug.nl.