Profile:
At VU Amsterdam, I am an Assistant Professor in Organizational Anthropology, focusing on understanding and facilitating change from a cultural perspective. Over the years, I have combined research, teaching, and applied work on change processes, with a particular emphasis on engaged ethnography in transition projects, transformational rituals and events, collaborative spaces, and other initiatives that support innovation, experimentation, and sustainable transitions.
I collaborate with practitioners and organizations as they organize and manage change in practice, while teaching and supervising students at BA, MA, and PhD levels to develop into engaged change scholars. Bringing together research, teaching, and impact, my work centers on making anthropological insights actionable in organizational settings and contributing to meaningful, impactful forms of change.
As Network Coordinator, I manage and develop the stakeholder network of the Department of Organization Science at the VU by connecting with relevant societal, governmental, industry, and academic partners to strengthen transdisciplinary research and teaching and enhance societal impact. If you are interested in collaborating with the Department of Organization Science for research, teaching and/or impact, please reach out to: a.l.vanden.ende@vu.nl
Teaching:
I am a teacher for the programs Culture, Organization and Management (MA; COM), Science, Business, and Innovation (MA; SBI), Beleid, Communicatie en Organisatie (MA; BCO), and Bestuur en Organisatiewetenschap (BA; B&O)
- MA courses: Managing Change Processes (coordinator; COM);
Organizational Change and Development, Research Seminar (2019 – 2023; BCO) - BA courses: Research Practicum (current), Bachelor Project (current), The Governance and Politics of Social Problems (2020 – 2022) for B&O
Research projects:
- ‘EXTRA: From Experiment to Sustainable Change: Transformative Methodologies for Learning and Innovation’ (NWO; 20+ public-private partners; leader of work package ‘Organizational Change’
- ‘Organizing social transformation: From urban living labs to systemic change’ (ORG Starter Team)
- ‘Value co-creation intervention method for transition projects’ (with TU Delft & partners)
- ‘Transformational rituals, festivals and events’ (with University of Huddersfield & partners)
- ‘Facilitating citizen participation in Amsterdam’ (with Municipality of Amsterdam)
