CoARA Action Plan Saxion University of Applied Sciences

Saxion University of Applied Sciences is one of the largest institutions of higher education in the Netherlands, with close to 27,000 students 2500 staff members. Saxion University has a rich history - its roots can be traced back to 1875. A merger of two educational institutions, the Hogeschool Enschede and Hogeschool IJsselland, paved the way for Saxion University in its present form in 1998. This merger enabled Saxion to build further on its strong position in Dutch higher education and since then Saxion University has come to be recognised as an important centre of expertise at a regional, national and international level.

As a University of Applied Sciences, Saxion has 27 research groups in the field of health and wellbeing, smart industry, built environment, economics and education. These groups carry out applied research based on authentic questions from the professional practice-based research, based on questions from the professional field, consisting of small and medium enterprises, schools, hospitals, municipalities and other entities. Saxion is committed to advancing a research evaluation culture that fits with the nature of practice-based research and is in line with the impact areas of the Dutch Sector Protocol for Practice-Based Research. The CoARA commitments recognise the diverse outputs, practices and activities that maximise the quality and impact of research. Endorsing the CoARA principles is therefore a logical step for a Dutch University of Applied Sciences and for Saxion in particular, being among the first Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands to sign the agreement.

 This Action Plan reflects the priorities that Saxion has identified based on an analysis of each of the ten commitments. Saxion is actively involved in the Dutch CoARA chapter and aims to contribute to the transformation of research assessment towards more diverse research output that has impact on the professional practice and society in general, on education and on the advancement of knowledge.