Heritage in Practice (HiP)

Cultural heritage across Europe and the Netherlands faces intertwined transitions: accelerating climate change, digital transformation and shifting community engagement. At national level, these transitions are acutely visible in heritage-rich Dutch landscapes, where dikes, polders, waterways, estates, villages and cities form a historically layered living environment shaped by diverse communities. Policy frameworks such as the National Research Agenda for Heritage Research 2026-2030 and the National Strategy for Digital Heritage 2025-2028 call for resilient, sustainable and inclusive approaches that connect cultural heritage, landscape quality, broad accessibility and active community involvement. Yet practice-oriented research at universities of applied sciences remains underrepresented in realising these agendas, despite its crucial role in place-based, collaborative innovation.
The Lectorenplatform Heritage in Practice responds to this gap. It represents a strategic network of universities of applied sciences and partner organisations that connects applied research on heritage, climate adaptation, landscape transitions, digitalisation and community practices. By connecting professorships (lectoraten) active in fields relevant to heritage and its intertwined transitions – operating through living and field labs across urban and rural regions – the platform strengthens the visibility, coherence and community impact of applied heritage research and education.
Focusing on three themes – sustainability (with a focus on heritage and climate-resilience), digitalisation (accessible, well-governed digital heritage), and community (communities and civic initiatives that co-shape heritage meanings and practices) – the platform develops a shared mission, vision and working agenda, supports pilots and community activities, and nurtures a new generation of practice-oriented researchers. Several of the platform's lectoren and partners play an active role in the European Partnership for Resilient Cultural Heritage, enabling the platform to connect Dutch applied heritage research directly to European heritage agendas and programmes. In doing so, it consolidates and strengthens the contribution of universities of applied sciences to a climate-resilient, digitally connected and community-anchored heritage landscape.