The work was carried out by Zet (wijzijnzet.nl), where I was employed from 2022-2023. On this page, I describe the project itself and my role during the project.
"Even though HaDee is small, it has a beating heart." This became evident through the highly engaged participatory process that we had the privilege to guide, support, and execute to gather building blocks for the new development plan of Heeswijk-Dinther.
The combination of nature, cultural heritage, culture, and landscape holds immense potential. The town must tap into this potential by aligning effectively with its specific spatial characteristics. Establishing connections between spatial, social, and economic aspects is pivotal.The Integrated Village Development Plan (IDOP) 'Strong Together Heeswijk-Dinther' has been crafted by residents, entrepreneurs, institutions, associations, the municipality, and the province. The plan invites all stakeholders to navigate the development process collectively. It is a dynamic product, not a static narrative. Nearly 12 years later, the Municipality of Bernheze is working on the environmental vision. The Active Citizenship Foundation (STAB) is actively engaged as a partner to respond from Heeswijk-Dinther's perspective and contribute to the (draft) environmental vision. The foundation aims to do this collaboratively with the village, ensuring that the themes deemed necessary by the community find a place in the environmental vision.
Zet had the honour to guide, support, and execute the participation trajectory for STAB. The participatory journey included the following:
Design Session — Shaping ways to involve as many (including young) residents as possible.
HaDee Quiz Question — Inquiring about what is significant for the village's future.
Online Questionnaire — Soliciting information on where and when to engage best and approach young HaDee residents. Street Intervention — Gathering insights into the thoughts and concerns of the village.
HaDee Praat Mee — Collecting solutions and ideas.
Design Session — Shaping ways to involve as many (including young) residents as possible.
HaDee Quiz Question — Inquiring about what is significant for the village's future.
Online Questionnaire — Soliciting information on where and when to engage best and approach young HaDee residents. Street Intervention — Gathering insights into the thoughts and concerns of the village.
HaDee Praat Mee — Collecting solutions and ideas.
Ultimately, with immense engagement, we successfully delivered a splendid outcome, where residents, entrepreneurs, and partners actively contributed ideas for the substantive building blocks. These elements will serve as ingredients for STAB to further craft the village vision, ensuring that HaDee residents are genuinely involved in the narrative.
Role
My role involved designing an intervention, creating both online and offline promotional materials, and producing a (visual) report. Additionally, I contributed to the analysis of the outcomes.
The intervention on the street was specifically crafted to obtain insights into the various types of residents residing within the village. The intervention served as an instrumental tool in facilitating conversations, thereby enhancing the value of interactions with the residents. Besides, the intervention allowed for the identification of key areas within the village where issues were prevalent and improvements could be made, while also highlighting aspects that should be preserved. The intervention was meticulously structured around the five themes that had emerged from previous interventions.
