Chapter 1
Building an International Ecosystem
Welcome to the Netherlands, Europe’s Connected Life Sciences & Health Metropolis
The Netherlands is a vital and dynamic partner in generating sustainable solutions for today’s global challenges. We may be a small country; however, establishing one of the world’s leading economies has shaped our collaborative approach to working in innovative partnerships that deliver holistic, effective, and profitable solutions. By joining forces with our international partners, we strive to tackle the many varying threats facing our planet, from water and energy to health and security. With an open-minded, inventive, and inclusive approach to novel challenges, the Netherlands has flourished into a robust, stable, and resilient society that is open for collaboration all over the world.
Our ‘quadruple-helix’ approach ensures that knowledge institutions, industry, government, and citizens all work together to find sustainable, future-savvy solutions. The partners in the ecosystem work in open collaborations, and the essential translation from fundamental research to ultimate
daily practice often takes place by interposal of companies. The citizen in her or his context is the main attractor of all efforts, from academia to business. With the quadruple helix approach, the Netherlands has built a well-coordinated and successful public private innovation ecosystem in recent years.
Collaborations should not be confined to our borders. What we discover and develop here in the Netherlands can be deployed and, when and where necessary, adjusted to the local context in other parts of the world. With our smooth hierarchies and innovation-friendly policies, the Netherlands can be seen as an accessible and interconnected metropolis for sharing knowledge and innovations, fueling options for transformative change wherever needed.
A high concentration of our ‘from lab to life’-initiatives in the LSH- sector, combined with the Dutch cultural DNA of proactive collaboration, puts us in a unique position to contribute to good health and well-being for and with people everywhere for generations to come. The ultimate goal is to improve outcomes for millions of people, wherever they live and whatever their challenges.
Read all about our vibrant Life Sciences & Health ecosystem in our recently published bidbook. It demonstrates why the Netherlands is an attractive place for innovative business and an accessible and interconnected metropolis for sharing knowledge and innovations
Europe’s connected Life Sciences & Health
metropolis
metropolis
The Tube-map serves as a leading graphic, connecting University Medical Centers, Life Sciences Hubs, Technical Universities and more.
How-to-Connect sessions
We believe it is important to create and maintain relationships that allow us to further develop ourselves and share our expertise internationally. For this reason, Top Sector LSH started organising ‘How-to-Connect sessions’. In these sessions, our constituencies are invited and given the opportunity to make new contacts and strengthen existing relationships in the LSH ecosystem. Our Dutch LSH network is strong, and even stronger when collaborating together. Find out how the collaborating parties in the Netherlands can help you. Click here!
Global Health Strategy
Recently, together with the Ministry of Health, Welfare & Sport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 26 dedicated partners, we came together to sign the Global Health Pact and established the Global Health Hub Netherlands. The Netherlands invests heavily in global health, including by strengthening
primary health systems worldwide. The aim is to make the world more resilient to future health threats such as pandemics[1]. We can strengthen these initiatives with technological innovation from public-private partnerships, including from Health & Care mission V (By 2035, the population is better protected
from societally disruptive health threats). As part of this strategy, Health~Holland participates in the Dutch Global Health Hub, which promotes collaboration among government entities, the private sector, knowledge institutions, and civil society to implement innovative solutions for global health and well-being.
[1] Doen waar Nederland goed in is
Key priorities
The strategy identifies three key priorities: strengthening global health infrastructure and national health systems, enhancing international pandemic preparedness and reducing cross-border health threats, and addressing the intersection of climate change and public health. These priorities are interconnected and designed to tackle the most pressing global health challenges.
Guided by key principles, this strategy presents a framework for comprehensive, government-wide, and intersectoral collaboration. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport will jointly lead the strategy's operationalization, aiming to address global health challenges in a coordinated and impactful manner.
'In the coming years, our government will continue to encourage and support public-private partnerships. The ‘quadruple helix’ approach in the Life Sciences & Health sector is founded on intensive collaboration among knowledge institutes, government, the private sector and the patient. These strong partnerships lead innovative solutions from early discovery to development, valorization, and implementation.'
- Ernst Kuipers
Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
'Of the more than 500 clinical studies Novartis conducts worldwide, 104 are currently in the Netherlands. The many internationally recognized medical experts, excellent infrastructure and the recognition of how important R&D is for the 21st century Dutch economy as a whole, make the Netherlands a very attractive location for clinical research.'
- Adriaan Kooy
Country President Novartis Netherlands
'I am proud that our dynamic international ecosystem brings together innovative companies and researchers from around the world to make vital impact in the field. Now more than ever, I believe we are truly well positioned to develop advancements for the future of global health.'
- Micky Adriaansens
Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy
'Jointly, the Dutch University Medical Centers, with their partners, have created a unique ecosystem in the Netherlands to advance education, science and innovation, placing us internationally at the forefront to create the future of health.'
- Wiro Niessen
Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen
'The Netherlands is committed to finding solutions that deliver better, affordable and sustainable healthcare and our country offers an excellent business climate for scaling up healthcare solutions with impact. That is why we are keen to welcome and assist foreign companies that contribute to this.'
- Sandra de Wild-Chardonnens
Head of Life Sciences & Health | Invest in Holland
