How can you help all those involved with a social problem develop a shared perspective? How can you discover where you can make a difference? A serious game is a quest for new opportunities in areas such as elderly care. Should you offer higher pay or pyjama days? Should you prioritise safety or quality of life? The players take difficult decisions together. In the process, they think about opportunities for the future. Read more (in Dutch)

How can you deliver real change in a system that has become complex and rigid over time? It is only possible by studying the system from different perspectives. The aim is to innovate, but it is just as important to include representatives of ‘the system’ in practice, so they can also identify with your point of view. After all, it’s easier to navigate through a system together than alone. We saw this in practice during a development programme for informal care (in Dutch).

Why are we so averse to the idea of growing old? This is particularly odd if you consider that we’re talking about our own future selves. Growing old is often associated with degeneration, dependence and incompetence. This also affects how older people see themselves. If society believes older people have nothing valuable to contribute (ageism), older people will be more likely to believe this too and will no longer try to contribute. Let’s change how we think about growing old. It’s in our own interests. Read more about ageism (in Dutch)

If there is one thing we have learned from more than two decades of innovation, it is that getting angry about something is a great source of new ideas. Many innovations arise from frustration about the way things are now. At the same time, anger and frustration can stop you looking at the future innovatively. Dissatisfaction can erode the will or strength to think about solutions. You can use anger to convince others, to overcome obstacles and to persevere, as long as you direct it carefully and transform it into positive energy, drive and enthusiasm. Read more (in Dutch)

Time and again, healthcare pioneers encounter the same obstacles to progress: successful ideas can rarely be upscaled, existing interests appear to have a higher priority than innovation and there is a fear of deviating from protocols. All this means innovators often face a lonely struggle. As the government minister Jet Bussemaker said: “Fear is holding back the discovery of new approaches”. This is why we call on all creative innovators and disruptors: make yourself heard and share what you have learned! Read more (in Dutch)

We believe in the power of collaboration and diversity. This is why we work as inclusively as possible. But that takes trial and error. We have formulated rules and intentions for our own organisation and we actively try to involve people from marginalised groups in our work. We investigate power structures. We look for opportunities to allow those directly involved with a problem to contribute and help design the solution – and the process that leads there. We talk to our partners and clients about inclusive working. We are actively looking for people who don’t automatically come to our attention. But all this involves taking small steps.

Last year, the Dutch government announced the target of disconnecting 30,000 to 50,000 existing homes from natural gas a year. But why is it going so slowly? Why are residents hesitant and what can the authorities and public organisations do better to help them? We launched a magazine with practical tips and insights to help everyone involved with the energy transition, based on the stories and experiences of residents. Read more (in Dutch)

One of the greatest social challenges of our time is ensuring that healthcare is accessible to those who need it. We believe that healthcare professionals themselves know best how to achieve this. This is why we help them learn, experiment and improve. To ensure that their actions and plans actually reduce the number of colleagues leaving the profession, we worked with them to develop a method for monitoring this problem, sharing knowledge and adapting where necessary. Read more (in Dutch)

Students of healthcare innovation mainly acquire theoretical knowledge during their studies. They only develop practical skills, such as project management, designing and working with various perspectives, after they have graduated. This is a missed opportunity. Applying theoretical concepts in practice is a skill that demands imagination and taking action. Read more (in Dutch)

Last year, we launched the eleventh edition of our higher management learning programme for leaders in secondary education. It is aimed at school leaders who wish to develop the competences required for a role with final responsibility and their own leadership signature. As a leader, you sometimes need to shake up the certainties and foundations that the school system is based on. Read more (in Dutch)

We investigated the systematic changes that are necessary to improve the informal care landscape. This sector suffers from incoherent policy and regulation and a stubborn lack of appreciation for those on the front line. Informal carers often only raise the alarm when it is too late. Until then, they are often on their own. It is not enough to support informal carers with resources and budget: someone needs to take responsibility for their welfare. Read more and find out how we are shaking up the system (in Dutch).

Almost half the participants in our Innovator’s Test (‘Which type of innovator are you?’) saw themselves as a thinker or inventor, and just 14% as a doer. But innovation also depends on people with plenty of practical experience, who don’t just think about how things could be done better, but who also work with those most closely affected to put those ideas into practice. See the results of the test or read about the various innovator types, with tips for each group (in Dutch).

Professionals rarely have – or take – the time to pause and reflect. Why are we doing what we do? What can be done differently and who can help us do it? Can we work more effectively as a team? Sometimes it makes sense to take a step back to be able to take two steps forward. This became apparent during the Schouders Eronder (Shoulders to the Wheel!) programme, which aimed to improve the skills and professionalism of debt counsellors. Read more (in Dutch

We believe you can learn to be a pioneer, and that potential innovators who can benefit from support and connections can be found at every level of society. Many enthusiastic innovators are full of ideas about how things can be done differently. But this can also be a pitfall. An innovation programme like Leven Lang Leven (Living a Whole Life) can really help you focus on the core of good ideas, bring them to maturity and ensure they work in practice. Read more (in Dutch)

We investigated how we can integrate our growing power literacy into our research and design processes. It starts with confronting our own assumptions, prejudices, privileges and misconceptions. We have learned to put these on the agenda, ensure they are open for discussion and embrace them. But there is no quick fix. You need to set priorities and make time for explicit, focused actions. Read more about tackling systematic oppression in innovation processes.

What began as an exciting quest for new schools in Amsterdam eventually led to a change in new school legislation at national level. Five years ago, the City of Amsterdam commissioned Kennisland to launch a competition to generate ideas for new schools with the title ‘Onze Nieuwe School’ (Our New School). This generated many serious school plans, but also new insights about the process of setting up a new school. A major obstacle has now been removed from the Freedom of Education Act. This makes it easier for new school-makers to enter the field. Read more (in Dutch)

Perhaps we need the strong, guiding hand of the government to compensate for our short-sightedness, hypocrisy and selfishness. After all, people continually make choices that have negative long-term consequences and disadvantage others. But the government seems to be no better. It is myopic, rarely looks beyond the next few years and learns little from its own failures. Read more (in Dutch)

In our Leven Lang Leven (Living a Whole Life) project, we are working with those most closely involved with elderly care to innovate from the inside out. We help the participants learn from – and with – one another and offer them professional guidance to bring their ideas to maturity. In processes like these, it is very important to understand the wishes and desires of the people you are trying to help: show empathy, explore and embrace your not-knowing. By reducing the enormity of reality and your ideas about it to a single incident or person, you can reach the core of your idea more quickly. Read more (in Dutch)

In the Netherlands, the law does not state the views on religion, medical ethics etc. that schools must teach. This is the perverse flipside of the Dutch commitment to freedom of education. The only solace is to be found in clarity: about the identity of schools, about the political and philosophical origin and implementation of the Freedom of Education Act and about the relationship between articles 1 and 23 of the Dutch constitution (which guarantee equality and freedom of education respectively) where they conflict. Read more (in Dutch)

The Netherlands has a highly specialised and differentiated elderly care system. Other countries, including Turkey, greatly admire this system. But what can we learn from them? We are investigating this in a learning dialogue between Turkey and the Netherlands, which aims to gather new ideas from another (cultural) perspective about how we can deal better with our ageing population and the resulting elderly care needs. Read more, including about deep listening (in Dutch).

We used photography to investigate the impact of the IPTA (Integrated, Person-oriented Path to Employment) approach on young people with problems in various environments and on society. The young people themselves decide which aspects of their living environment to show. This makes it easier to talk about these issues and enriches the stories. Read more (in Dutch)

Discrimination is a stubborn problem. We can only tackle it once we know where and how it happens, but just one in five people who feel they have been discriminated against report it. We investigated how to increase their willingness to report discrimination. Read more in this guide (in Dutch), which is full of concrete tips, insights and tools for anti-discrimination agencies, municipalities, public organisations and other stakeholders.

The government should give public administrators, directors and employers more space and trust them more. In turn, administrators, directors and employers should give their employees more space and trust them more. This was one of the conclusions of our dynamic evaluation of the Actieprogramma Werken in de Zorg (Working in Healthcare Action Programme). The government should focus less on outcomes when awarding subsidies, and more on implementation: partnerships, knowledge sharing and realisation. See the publication (in Dutch)

Since 1999, KL has specialised in researching and designing social progress. We deploy various instruments, methodologies and change strategies to appeal more effectively to the collective intelligence of society. These include action research, challenges, incubators, pioneer programmes, leadership programmes and learning communities. Each problem is unique, and thus also our approach. Read what we can do for you here.

We strive for a knowledge society and believe the world will be a better place if people share knowledge and expertise and collaborate more. By working and sharing openly, the whole of society can benefit from our approaches and solutions. Our publications are packed with knowledge, insights, tips and experiences covering subjects from resident participation to social innovation, pioneering in education and collecting stories. Make the most of them! View our publications