FGGA 's Follow-up Strategy Plan 2026–2030: How are things going? (Part 4)
As you know, the faculty is working on a new follow-up strategy with six themes. Each theme now has its own writing team. Every week we speak with one of these teams about their work, and share the highlights. On this page you can find the current article and an overview of all articles on the follow-up strategy. This weeks theme: Profiling areas led by Kutsal Yesilkagit
Which colleagues are in your group?
I don’t really have a fixed writing group, but I collaborate with various colleagues involved in the theme of Profiling Areas. Think of Sanneke Kuipers, Koen Caminada and colleagues from Communication & Science Communication. In addition, I regularly coordinate with colleagues working on related strategic themes such as Strategic Growth and AI. So, it is more of a network of people who contribute to the same strategic task from different perspectives.
Can you tell us something about the theme you are working on?
My theme concerns the faculty strategy for university profiling areas. The university has identified fifteen interfaculty themes in which it aims to profile itself in the coming years. These themes are broad, ranging from security and cybersecurity to social inequality and sustainability. For FGGA, the question is: how do we organise this? How do we bring researchers and research groups together and ensure productive collaboration?
Three steps are needed:
- Identifying core areas – not every university profiling area fits our faculty. We must therefore make clear choices about where we are substantively strong.
- Bringing groups together – facilitating collaboration and creating connections between researchers who may not yet know each other.
- Organising within the faculty – considering coordination, support and planning, so that we are ready not only substantively but also organisationally to make these themes visible.
The aim is to select a limited number of themes in which FGGA is substantively strong and strategically visible.
How does your theme fit within the broader strategic development of the faculty?
The theme of Profiling Areas is one of the six strategic pillars in the continuation of the Faculty Strategic Plan 2020–2025. It forms the bridge between our existing research profiles and the university agenda. By focusing on this, FGGA not only develops its own strong domains further, but also remains visible and relevant within the broader university strategy.
This theme is crucial because it helps us make choices: we cannot lead everywhere, but we can in those areas where we are substantively strong and have societal impact. Think of security and cybersecurity, trust in times of polarisation, social inequality and social transitions. By focusing on these, we strengthen our position in The Hague, make use of our networks in policy and governance, and create synergy with other faculties.
It also directly connects to other strategic themes such as Strategic Growth (for example internationalisation and external funding) and AI as a cross-cutting theme. Together, these pillars form a coherent strategy in which research, education and societal profiling reinforce each other.
Do you expect much will change compared to the current situation?
Yes, things will certainly change. Until now, many researchers within the faculty (and the university) have worked on overlapping themes without being aware of each other’s work. By explicitly organising the profiling areas, we expect these researchers to find each other more easily and for new collaborations to emerge. This will not only increase internal cohesion but also our external visibility.
Moreover, the faculty will position itself more clearly on a limited number of leading themes. This means we can invest more purposefully in coordination, support and communication. For external partners and funders, it will become much clearer what FGGA stands for and what expertise we offer. This opens doors to larger research projects, interfaculty initiatives and societal partnerships.
In short: it is not only an organisational change, but also a strategic step to sharpen and strengthen FGGA’s profile within the university and in society.
How do you envisage the realisation of these changes?
We expect FGGA to actively organise itself around four to five leading themes, such as:
- Security and cybersecurity
- Trust in times of polarisation
- Social inequality
- Social transitions
In addition, there are co-lead roles in themes such as AI for people and society, Migration, and Sustainability and biodiversity. For each leading theme, we will develop a One Page Strategy outlining the goal, urgency, key activities, partners and indicators. This requires a coordinator per theme, support from the faculty office and careful planning of activities. We must also ensure connections with other faculties and the university agenda, so that we are well positioned both internally and externally.
In what ways can colleagues be involved?
Colleagues conducting research on themes that align with one of the profiling areas can actively participate. This could be by taking initiatives, setting up collaborations or facilitating project applications. Participation in interfaculty networks and contributing to strategic documents also offers opportunities.
We also want to actively invite colleagues to share ideas and think along about how we can make our expertise visible. It is not only about research, but also about education, valorisation and societal impact. The more colleagues feel involved, the stronger our collective position will be.
Would you like to share anything else on this topic?
Yes. This is an opportunity to highlight FGGA’s unique profile in The Hague – interdisciplinary, policy-oriented and connected to public administration. We combine substantive expertise with an entrepreneurial approach. This makes us not only a logical substantive partner, but also a faculty that can strategically profile themes within the university.
Thanks to our proximity to policy practice and international organisations, we can respond quickly to societal developments and translate them into research and education. That is a strength we want to fully exploit in this strategy.
Previously published articles
Strategic Growth, led by Koen Caminada
Click hereAI led by Niels Laurens
Click hereConsolidation Strategy 2020–2025 led by Maarja Beerkens.
Click hereMore information about the follow-up strategy can be found here.
In the coming period, interviews with all the writing teams will be added and published on this site. Each will also be briefly highlighted in the newsletter.