About SPINlab

The SPINlab co-operates with a multitude of partners from government and business. Some partnerships already go a long way back. These relations are depicted here.

• Geodan
• Dutch Association of Real Estate Brokers (NVM)
• Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)
• Rijkswaterstaat (RWS)

This Dutch GIS-consultancy company, a VU-startup, is one of the SPINlab’s oldest and closest partners. Several people work both at SPINab and Geodan. The co-operation strengthens the technical capabilities of SPINLab and helps to translate scientific research results into practice.

The department of Spatial Economics has an agreement with the Dutch Association of Real Estate Brokers (NVM) that arranges the use of real estate transaction data for scientific research. In exchange, VU-researchers present their findings to NVM and transfer knowledge about how local real estate brokers can use the research outcomes to improve their business. SPINlab employee Jasper Dekkers coordinates the use of the NVM-data for research and theses. Further, the SPINlab also geocodes the NVM-data using the Basisadminstratie Adressen en Gebouwen (BAG) as a source.

Both SPINlab and the department of Spatial Economics co-operate already for many years with the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (in Dutch: Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving, PBL). Researchers join PBL-projects and sometimes can use PBL spatial datasets, or PBL-employees participate in SPINlab-research.

Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) is part of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment and is responsible for the design, construction, management and maintenance of the main infrastructure facilities in the Netherlands. This includes the main road network, the main waterway network and watersystems.

RWS and the SPINlab have started a knowledge exchange and research cooperation in May 2015, based on Spatial Information Technologies. The collaboration concerns jointly setting up long- and short-term research projects, wherein RWS and SPINlab work closely together. It also concerns organising innovative knowledge exchange sessions on a specific subject for professionals and those who take an interest in the subject it concerns.

On 22 May 2015 the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (where the SPINlab is part of)  has signed a Framework Agreement with Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) for four years. This knowledge exchange and research cooperation is an implementation of the policy to strenghten the relation between government and knowledge institutions.  The Agreement was signed f.l.t.r. by Willem Verschoor (Dean Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, VU Amsterdam), Rein van der Kluit (HID Centrale Informatie Voorziening – RWS) and Henk Scholten (director Spinlab – VU Amsterdam).

You can visit SPINlab at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. We have our offices in the main building (De Boelelaan 1105) at the Department of Spatial Economics: 9th floor, A-wing, rooms 9A-79/9A-89/9A-91/9A-97.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

SBE-RE, attn. SPINlab

De Boelelaan 1105

1081 HV Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Phone: +31 (0)20 5986099

Fax: +31 (0)20 5986004

spinlab.sbe@vu.nl