Amsterdam UMC will take on its social role more strongly in the coming years. Now that the merger is largely complete, there will be more room for themes such as sustainability and external cooperation. Enabling more flexible working is also high on the agenda, wherever possible. This is what Board Chairman Hans van Goudoever says about the 'Curious on the Way' strategy process: “After a year of consultation and substantive debate, our strategic ambitions are almost complete.”

Visibly enthusiastic, Van Goudoever looks back on all the 'strategy moments' that were there in 2024: the TrendTalks, expert sessions, the strategy markets at both locations, the tour of the departments by the board of directors and the Strategy 2-day in early July. “Brilliantly interesting to hear so many experiences and opinions and be able to use them for our strategic plans. At the TrendTalks, experts from the outside world held up a mirror to us: 'What is going on in society and what consequences does that have for us?”

Society's expectations

This was in line with the signals the board received more often from society that Amsterdam UMC is seen as excellent on the one hand, but at the same time strongly internally focused. “That made sense in the merger years and the covid era, when we had a lot on our own minds. Now that the merger has calmed down for most departments and employees, it is time to open the shutters. This is also what society expects of us as one of the largest academic hospitals in the Netherlands. 'It is now up to you to participate, to make yourselves heard more,' reads the order.”

Working more flexibly

A great example according to Van Goudoever was David Ikkersheim's TrendTalk on the latest developments in the healthcare labor market. “Such as the insight that it is good to offer your employees - where possible - more flexible working hours. So that they can coordinate work and private life better. That's a direction we definitely want to take in order to remain an attractive organization. During the Strategy 2-day, this topic came up again. Someone said “I would like to start work at 9:30 instead of 8 so I can take my kids to school. And then stop at 2 so I can pick them up too'. We want to make this kind of variation possible more often to recruit and retain staff. Just like combining a part-time job at Amsterdam UMC and working elsewhere.”

Authoritative voice

The various moments of participation during “Curious on the Road” have demonstrably influenced the content of the future plans, Van Goudoever says. “We went in with an open agenda, didn't want to think up everything from our ivory tower. That resulted in fascinating discussions. For example, on the theme of prevention, there were two opposing voices.One side said 'Stop with the prevention, we are a last resort hospital. Prevention is for the GGD, not for us'. Another group stated 'Ok, we don't have to go into the neighborhoods ourselves to promote vaccinations, but as a knowledge institute we have a role and responsibility to prove what kind of policy works or doesn't work.To then also translate that to society as an authoritative voice.”

Investing in sustainability

According to Van Goudoever, this social role is also evident in the additional emphasis Amsterdam UMC intends to place on sustainability in the coming years.“Here too, during the TrendTalks, we received the message 'You are doing fantastic research, but sustainability is hardly a theme within it.'The whole world is on fire in this area and you excel in very different things.Of course, our many Green Teams are doing incredibly cool work on the shop floor.But we came to the realization that we as an organization need to invest even more broadly in this.To achieve the ambition of 55 percent CO2 reduction in 2030. But also because it makes you more desirable as an employer for the younger generation, who consider this an important issue.”

Testing with experts

At the New Year's meeting, Van Goudoever expects to present the new multi-year strategy to all 17,000 colleagues. “We are now fine-tuning the text of the plans by submitting them once more to the experts from within and outside. The same experts who were involved at the beginning of the route. They are once again shining their light on all topics, including of course current themes such as data-driven work and digitalization. We also go into the house as a board, to about 50 departments and teams, to discuss whether our plans also fit with the thoughts of our colleagues. In the meantime, we do sometimes already take the first actual steps in the new direction, for example with more flexible working hours.”

Joint feeling

Van Goudoever looks forward to the moment when the new ambitions will become reality. “We are also ready for that as an organization. A great moment during the 2-day event was the comment by Eric Reits, professor of Medical Biology, at the end of the meeting. 'We didn't talk about VUmc or AMC at all. It no longer matters which house you originally came from'.”

Photo: Paul Tolenaar