Northeast Groningen has many opportunities and challenges. During the Informal organised in cooperation with The Owls, the main topic was developing a sustainable approach to make the urban environment in Northeast Groningen an agile environment through a combination of building, technology and social innovation. And it was a success! Apart from the productive dialogue with the international network partners of The Owls, it resulted in a multi annual agreement between coalition partners to work together. Being a participant in the LifeLines Programme of the European Research Institute for the Biology of Aging (ERIBA), I know the importance of the living environment for the health and well being of people. The latter can be a challenge in Northeast Groningen, specifically because the urban environment also needs to be made anti seismic.

Folkert Kuipers, Director ERIBA

Interaction with The Owls Cooperative is always a pleasant experience. They have a network on the strategic level ánd are able to find a practical way to make the most of this network. For example, we worked together on the conference Building the Future of Health. We did not only want to look at the far away future, but also find a practical mode to luse both our strengths to realise dreams about living circumstances in an earthquake prone environment. At the stately town hall in Appingedam, we jointly managed to bring together an interesting group of national and local players in this field. For many years after that, this group was involved in the Coalition Healthy Living. Thinking about this still makes me feel good.

Daan Bultje, Director Foundation Healthy Ageing Network Northern Netherlands

'Was incredibly beneficial to attend the one-day master class 'Making an impact from A to Z'! I have learned an awful lot about how a company can actually execute an exploration or innovation rather than keep muddling along with a new idea!'

Bas Visser, One Line Marketing

'The training has given me insight and tools for using The Owls Breakthrough Method in complex situations. You get to the heart of a problem and learn to work step by step towards a solution, whether it is a culture change or a new production method.'

Henny Kooi, NVI

'Thanks to the expertise of The Owls, I now better understand how to unravel a complex issue and get to the core of a problem. This knowledge opens doors that will lead to the right solution.'

Mark van ’t Hoog, Omhoog