Wie Wij Zijn

Samen innoveren is essentieel om onze integrale visie te kunnen waarmaken. De bedrijfspartners in onze projecten herkennen ieder op zichzelf het belang om te anticiperen op de uitdagingen en kansen van nieuwe manieren van werken. Bovendien zien ze zichzelf geconfronteerd met specifieke uitdagingen die vragen om onderzoek, advies en slimme oplossingen: een noodzakelijke reductie van facilitaire kosten, het inrichten van samenwerking met (internationale) partners, digitaal werken, een ambitie om een aantrekkelijke werkgever te zijn voor nieuw talent.

De partners geloven echter ook dat juist het bundelen van krachten in b.v. publiek-private samenwerkingsprojecten van waarde is. Aan de ene kant kan kennisdiffusie tussen kennisinstellingen de bedrijfspartners gestimuleerd worden. Aan de andere kant kunnen de bedrijven onderling van elkaar leren. Immers, er leven vergelijkbare vraagstukken die fysieke, virtuele en mentale veranderingen in de werkomgeving omvat.
Multidisciplinair onderzoek is dan nodig om de vraagstukken te adresseren. Hoe kan duurzame performance improvement worden bereikt? Hoe kunnen technologie en nieuwe diensten en producten een rol spelen? Welke instrumenten kunnen helpen om performance verbetering als gevolg van HNW te meten? Hoe kunnen professionals gestimuleerd en gefaciliteerd worden om slimmer te werken en hoe managen we het gedragsveranderingproces. Samen met onze kennispartners zoeken we naar de antwoorden.

Onze projecten hebben als doel grip te krijgen op flexibel werken en inzichten te krijgen in bovenstaande vragen. Ze helpt daarmee organisaties om zich optimaal voor te bereiden en toe gerust te zijn om slim de vruchten te plukken van nieuwe manieren van werken.

De Belastingdienst vormt zich om van een organisatie die primair via repressieve activiteiten haar doelen tracht te verwezenlijken naar een organisatie die uitgaat van vertrouwen, transparantie, dienstverlening en actualiteit. Samenwerking met private partners, die veel ervaring hebben op dat gebied, is voor ons buitengewoon nuttig. Er kan, door de wetenschappelijke input, ook gezocht worden naar gevalideerd effectieve methoden van werken. Daarnaast is de wisselwerking tussen de mentale en technisch ontwikkelingen en de fysieke ruimte voor ons interessant. De Belastingdienst wil ook voor toekomstige generaties van medewerkers een aantrekkelijke werkgever zijn. Daarbij hoort een innovatieve kracht die door het project gestimuleerd wordt.

Voor de Belastingdienst zijn de projecten met ons een succes als:
• er uit pilots praktisch toepasbare, effectieve(re) manieren van werken komen.
• er ervaring wordt opgedaan met het systematisch opzetten en evalueren van experimenten
• er door het deelnemen aan dit netwerk good practices van partners worden uitgewisseld
• er meer zicht ontstaat in samenhang tussen technische en mentale ontwikkeling en het gebruik van de fysieke ruimte.

Cisco is joining the consortium to get access to knowledge and know-how to measure user experience in the area of new ways of working and especially around their concept of Smart Working Centers. The Smart Working Center is a business concept to create specialised workplace facilities and services to reduce automobility and to contribute to Dutch sustainability ambitions.

As a leading provider of telecommunication solutions Ericsson is very eager to R&D innovative solutions in the area of mobile work. Ericsson participates in the program to get access to early adopter users and get new ideas in the area of mobility and virtual world solutions judged and validated. Moreover the professionals of Ericsson are also themselves confronted with a highly demanding business and work environment which asks fornew ways of working. With the knowledge and expertise of the consortium Ericsson is better able to introduce successful flexible work arrangements and support in their Dutch organisation.

IBM has a long tradition on innovative ways of working. Both in their own ways of working as in their product and services portfolio. IBM also has a long tradition in active exploration and research of new developments. IBM sees FWS as an effective mechanism to learn form other partners and to remain a leading party with hands-on experience with new kinds of working concepts.

The most important measure of success for IBM is twofold: a) The FWS establishes a network of innovation partners around the future of work where in an effective way eminent innovation challenges and practical experiences with innovation in the FWS field are shared. 2) IBM can create a positive imago within the network as thoughtleader, innovation partner, and solution provider.

The Rabobank participates in the FWS program because the focus and approach of the FWS program aligns with the ambitions and objectives of the Rabobank internal innovation program on new ways of working called “Unplugged”. FWS gives the bank an opportunity to strengthen the Unplugged program on three levels: 1) a scientific approach on practical case implementations of new ways of work. (living labs in close collaboration with end-users). 2) an outlook on the possibilities of new developments beyond Web2.0 and a means to assess the business use of these new developments in close cooperation with business users. This includes research into future (3D) collaboration environments and how such environments can help solve current collaboration issues. 3), exchange visions and learning experiences with other organizations and together address issues such as the design of intuitive 3D environments for team work.

The Rabobank considers the project a success when a) the research leads to concrete improvements to working routines b) the more explorative research on virtual existence (3D Internet and Second Life) leads to new business and communication channel opportunities and c) the programme improves Rabobank’s image as a leader in the field of innovative work.

The aim of Royal Haskoning to participate in the program is to create operational excellence with new ways of working and at the same time strengthening its innovative imago. Royal Haskoning has the ambition to be an attractive employer to high-potential knowledge workers. Royal Haskoning strongly believes that the FWS consortium can provide valuable learning experiences to the partners (give and take).

Royal Haskoning sees the project as successful when collaboration with the consortium partners is fruitful and leads to valuable new insights and concrete solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness of Royal Haskoning’s business

CeTIM addresses mainly organizational aspects of research and innovation with a focus on Living labs.CeTIM is an independent, non-profit research institute. CeTIM’s competencies stem from its international members, most of whom are qualified both in (computer) science or engineering and in business administration or management. Members of CeTIM have been involved in many major European and national projects researching and innovating networked organisations for almost a decade now. CeTIM’s scientific activities are grouped in two Centers of Competence.

CeTIM’s role within the project stems from its competences in innovation management. Innovation management can be defined as managing the process of exploiting new knowledge (e.g. technological inventions). The body of literature on innovation management is young though growing. We take a strategic perspective on innovation management, and focus on a firms capabilities to create a sustainable competitive advantage from its innovations.

Novay coordinates the project and has overall project management responsibilities. Research competencies brought in the project include in-depth technical and human factor knowledge about collaborative workspaces, mobility support, knowledge management, context awareness and business networks. Telematica Instituut brings in its knowledge and experience already gained in large-scale European projects related to collaborative working (ECOSPACE, COSPACES, CORELABS, NEW GLOBAL), as well in related projects like METIS and Collaboratory.nl.

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (in short RSM), part of the Erasmus University rótterdam (EUR), is a research-driven business school located in the Netherlands. The overall mission is to be a leading international business school, acquiring, disseminating, transferring and applying knowledge, guided by the future needs of international business. The School is member of two leading international networks: CEMS (Community of European Management Schools) and PIM (Programme International de Management). In 1999 the school was awarded the EQUIS accreditation, the quality label of the European Foundation of Management Development (EFMD). Today, the RSM offers a diversified portfolio of accredited teaching and research programs, ranging from pre-experience MSc to postgraduate Master and executive development, and from fundamental research to applied research and business support, which are renowned throughout the world. The RSM is rated as one of Europe’s leading business schools and is up fronting the application of Information Technology to business and modern management techniques.

The research program of the department Decision and Information Sciences on business processes focuses on concepts from management science, information systems and business telecommunication and their role in enabling and managing intra- and inter-organizational collaboration, coordination and new work concepts. Ultimately, these collaborations and cooperation’s rely on two fundamental bridging concepts: physical connections between the partners through transportation and logistics, and information and co-ordination connections through information and communication technologies. This research program capitalizes upon existing competencies in the management of these areas and emphasizes the synergy between them.

The (inter)national research projects of RSM require cooperation between companies, research institutes, governmental organizations and Universities and have a multidisciplinary approach to problems in which information and communication technologies aspects are combined with logistic and related business process design questions. More information.

The section Work- and Organizational Psychology of the faculty Technology, Policy and Management addresses human and group level issues of collaborative working and working in networks and communities.

Overall mission of the section is to contribute to the development of new forms of work and human interaction in distributed and ICT supported environments; this contribution is realised through transfer of knowledge and design-focused research. In short, our central focus is: ICT supported co-operation engineering. The social and scientific importance of this field lies in the significant changes currently taking place in work organisations (such as the shift towards information-related work, greater flexibility, the virtual workplace) and the growing role-played in this by ICT.

Our area of interest and our research focus may seem quite heterogeneous: studies of mental effort and of distributed teamwork, projects in the transport sector and in the office context, using theories of cognitive psychology, of communication and of organisational change.

The research group Knowledge, Information and Networks (KIN) of the Feweb faculty addresses technological and sociological issues with a focus on collective intelligence and working across boundaries. Activities in Future Workspaces are part of the research program Knowledge & Organization, specifically the theme “Online collaboration in virtual worlds”. This stream of research addresses the motives and underlying processes of user behavior in virtual worlds. Insights can contribute to the design and development of the technologies that allow for successful participation and for the development of mechanisms that enable successful business transactions (conversion, marketing, etc.). Especially when it comes to the implementation of business functions (e.g. online banking) in electronic environments that are primarily subject to extrinsic motives (“useful”), it might be crucial to explore and assess the role of intrinsic motives (“enjoyment”, “entertainment”, “learning”) in a virtual world context and might also be an important determinant for the development of successful marketing strategies. Furthermore, research focuses on the possible role of virtual worlds in organizational learning and knowledge exploration. The theme “Networks of practice” within this research program will also be represented within Future Workspaces, specifically the question how to organize networks in which geographically dispersed knowledge is shared within organizations.