Dave van Loon
Dave van Loon

Maker: Giorgos Gripeos

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Advisor government in transition

Dave van Loon

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As an advisor government in transition Dave is working on a fair, resilient and sustainable city. He conducts (action) research, he develops interventions and designs learning programmes. Important themes in this regard are the transition towards sustainable cities, strengthening the local democracy and challenging social inequality.

Dave believes that to challenge the urban problems of today we need new ways of collaboration between government, citizens and organisations, and a more democratic and equitable role of the government. His goal is to accomplish that all people are treated equally and can participate in society. Therefore, in developing new methods and effective policy we need to focus on the experiences and living environment of the target group instead of the governmental system (rules, procedures). 

Dave studied public administration and policy at Tilburg University, where he graduated on a study into the effect of art and cultural participation on the social cohesion and talent development of residents in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. After his studies, he worked for three years as a case manager for multi-problem families at the municipality of Nieuwegein. There he aimed for effective cooperation between the care, welfare and enforcement bodies involved in the family, in order to break through the complex problems.

After working on individual cases for three years, he wanted more impact at system and policy level. So he started working as a youth and prevention policy advisor, where he worked on the transformation of youth policy and the strengthening of“To challenge the urban problems of today we need new ways of collaboration between government, citizens and organisations.” the “pedagogical civil society”.++Pedagogical civil society“It takes a village to raise a child” is a famous African proverb. Raising a child is not only the task of parents, but the joint responsibility of parents, schools, (sports) associations and local residents in a community. Together they form the ‘pedagogical civil society’. For example, by organising easily accessible support for young people with addiction problems, facilitating parent networks and stimulating youth participation.

After that Dave worked as a project lead on the development of the ‘Omgevingsvisie’ of the municipality of Nieuwegein: an integrated vision of the physical living environment of the city with themes such as urban planning, mobility, nature, sustainability, health and safety. He did this from the conviction that the quality of both the physical and the social infrastructure of the city ensure the happiness of its inhabitants. And that more cross-domain collaboration is desperately needed for this.

Dave lives in Utrecht with his wife Rosanne, his son Pim and dog Biggles. In his spare time he listens to (live) music, enjoys a weekly game of football and enjoys working in his home and garden.

Deze tekst heeft een Creative Commons Naamsvermelding-licentie (CC BY) en is gekopieerd van de Kennisland-website. Ga voor de volledige versie met afbeeldingen, streamers en noten naar https://www.kl.nl/en/people/dave-van-loon/

This text has a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) and has been copied from the Kennisland website. For a full version with images, streamers and notes go to https://www.kl.nl/en/people/dave-van-loon/