Sharon Dijksma, Mayor of Utrecht, Kingdom of the Netherlands: Healthy urban living has been key to the identity of the Utrecht city and region, with meaning and positive associations for people living in the area and for attracting and shaping business practices and public policies.
Centrally located in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Utrecht has always been an attractive place to many. The city and our neighbouring municipalities are growing rapidly. In early 2023, our region was named the most competitive in the EU. However, the economic challenges that we are facing, such as the scarcity in space for innovative businesses, finding skilled employees on the labour market and the problem of housing, are becoming apparent. The idea that these can only be tackled in cooperation with our regional partner organizations is widely shared.
A common vision of Utrecht as the Heart of Health, initiated by the Economic Board of the Utrecht Region, has helped us in aligning all principal actors and has created common and fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship to achieve our region’s potential and overcome its challenges. For example, the Utrecht Science Park, with its knowledge institutions, companies and research centre, is a driving force to the well-being economy we envision.
Here we offer space to more than 50000 students, 35000 employees and 150 businesses. Utrecht, Heart of Health represents three major economic ecosystems that boost innovation: life sciences and health, smart sustainability, and new digital society. The Regional Development Agency of Utrecht Region is one of our main partners. This organization supports the growth of startups, scale-ups, and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises by assisting them to expand their business activities and enter foreign markets. Additionally, it invests in startups in sectors such as health care, sustainable mobility and circular construction.
The economic action plan of the city of Utrecht is also aligned with this overarching vision. This means that we centralize the objective of building a city of healthy residents in a healthy environment – interconnected with a flourishing economy – where everyone can participate and all citizens feel at home, regardless of their income or origin. In building a future-proof economy, we prioritize circular and sustainable innovation.
This also entails making radical choices in the kind of businesses and organizations we actively support as a city. We foster a culture of innovation by supporting start-up and scale-up programmes. Additionally, we provide funding for start-up incubators that cultivate innovative businesses, thus contributing to the ongoing transformation of our society. We also actively engage in international networks dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship.
