Rick van Rooijen, Consultant

Profile

As a consultant, I help organisations establish, maintain and expand collaborative partnerships. My focus is on public and public-private collaborations, providing both strategic advice and hands-on support.

I am able to structure collaborative initiatives, engage and mobilise stakeholders, and deploy digital solutions to enhance collaboration. I combine subject matter expertise with attention to process to ensure timely and supported outcomes.

I am drawn to initiatives that strengthen (digital) sustainability, autonomy and security, and a proponent of open standards and free and open source software.

Career Overview

My professional career spans over twenty years and includes:

2014 – PresentConsultant, Van Rooijen Organisatieadvies (independent)
2011 – 2014Project Consultant, Verdonck, Klooster & Associates
2009 – 2011Consultant, Verdonck, Klooster & Associates
2008 – 2008Senior Consultant, Deloitte (Belgium)
2007 – 2008Senior Business Consultant, Atos Consulting
2004 – 2007Business Consultant, Atos Consulting

Clients

I work with government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organisations that aim to optimise their collaboration. These organisations typically strive to:

  1. Develop partnerships

    Organisations want to establish partnerships that connect various stakeholders and create value for all involved parties.

  2. Be unburdened in collaborative initiatives

    They seek support and coordination for their initiatives to ensure smooth implementation and achievement of shared goals.

  3. Increase stakeholder engagement

    Organisations want to develop and implement strategies to actively involve stakeholders, promoting participation and collaboration.

  4. Utilise digital technology for collaboration

    They want to select and implement the right technologies to collaborate efficiently and share knowledge.

  5. Measure and evaluate results

    Organisations want to measure and evaluate the results of their collaborative initiatives to ensure continuous improvement.

Click on any of the list items for more information.

Services

As a consultant, I offer the following services:

  1. Organisational design and development

    I assist in designing, implementing, and optimising organisational structures for collaborative initiatives.

  2. Project coordination and support

    I coordinate and support initiatives to achieve cross-organisational goals.

  3. Stakeholder engagement and communication

    I develop and implement strategies to inform stakeholders and increase their involvement.

  4. Digital collaboration

    I assist in the selection, implementation, management, and use of online platforms and other digital services to support collaboration and knowledge sharing.

  5. Research and evaluation

    I design and conduct research and evaluations to map stakeholder needs, assess the effectiveness of collaborative initiatives, and identify opportunities for improvement.

Manifesto

Through my work, I have come to value:

  1. Collaboration over competition

    Some issues are too large or too complex for any single party to solve alone. In those cases, people and organisations must share responsibility, pool their expertise, and coordinate efforts.

  2. People over technology

    Digital technology must serve us. It must meet our needs and protect our rights without undermining our democratic processes.

  3. Diversity over uniformity

    Diversity is a strength. Diverse teams and systems solve complex problems more effectively, are more innovative, and adapt more easily.

  4. Autonomy over dependency

    Unwanted influence and one‑sided dependencies must be avoided. This requires choice, systems that can communicate with one another and the ability to take your data with you when switching platforms.

  5. Free and open over proprietary and closed

    The ability to use, study, share and modify free and open‑source software enables critical scrutiny, shared stewardship and autonomy. Closed systems offer far less room for this.

  6. Long-term sustainability over short-term profits

    If we want systems to keep functioning, we must stay within the limits of our planet and consider the consequences of our choices for future generations.

  7. Participation over observation

    To merely observe is to maintain the status quo or allow others to shape the future. This may not be in your best interests or in line with your values. Moreover, sometimes you have to experience something to truly understand it.

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, I value the items on the left more.

This manifesto is inspired by the structure of the Agile Manifesto (credit where credit is due). It reflects my own experience and priorities, and is not an endorsement of Agile.

Side Project

In addition to my consultancy work, I developed epicresolutions.org, a web application that allows users to create a personalised list of resolutions, aimed at a healthy and sustainable future for all.

Contact

I am always open to connecting with like-minded professionals and organisations interested in collaboration for positive change. Feel free to reach out via email, LinkedIn or Mastodon.