New HSO member: Marleen Bekker

I recently started working for the HSO group as assistant professor on tenure track. I will be coordinating and teaching the BSc course Environmental Assets together with Lenneke Vaandrager, whom I am lucky to also have as a roommate. I am also keen on introducing the policy and collaboration game simulations I developed earlier into the educational programme.Besides teaching and supervising theses, I am also coordinating a national evaluation study, based at Maastricht University with professor Dirk Ruwaard, of the 'All about health...' programme, a collaborative platform incentivising and supporting a health movement of initiatives by schools, employers, retail and businesses, or social, care and voluntary organisations. A second very interesting project is the INDIGO study, also based in Maastricht with professor Stef Kremers, about the integrated approach tackling health inequalities in the neighbourhoods along the Green Carpet open space on top of the A2 highway tunnels. Making sure the three PhD students carrying out these studies receive sufficient support and guidance, I will be working at Maastricht University one day a week.In the past I evaluated from a political, public administration and organisational perspective the use of Health Impact Assessments, the Academic Collaborative Centres for Public Health; the governance of youth care transformations; and I developed some games and tools such as the Responsive evaluation of Integrated Action (RIA) method. Finally I am also active as chair of the Public health practice and policy section of the EUPHA, organising events and workshops for our 2600 members mainly addressing innovations in collaborative health governance, health system performance, policy implementation and evaluation, political determinants and assets for health, and integrative policies and actions.On the personal record, I live in Delft with my dear partner and two children (aged 8 and 10). I sing as mezzo soprano in classical project choirs in Leiden and The Hague. On Sundays I volunteer as a (professionally trained) swim instructor, and I keep up the physical condition by swimming, outdoor skating and race-biking. 

I am looking forward to working with you all!

Marleen"