‘Looking out for each other’: a program about social safety (2022-2023)

The pillars

The programme focuses on four pillars that are necessary for a culture change aimed at strengthening social safety at WUR. An open culture is essential for social safety in organisations.

These are the four pillars:

1. The manager must be able to create a safe environment, take preventive measures, adequately respond to signals and deal adequately with signals and reports.
2. The notifier must be able to (openly or anonymously) file a report, such that the procedure following such a report is easy access. The notifier must also have tools at their disposal for preventive actions.
3. Bystanders should know how to respond and take responsibility. Together, we can create a safe working environment by openly talking about what we see, and taking our responsibility. This includes colleagues, fellow students, lecturers and study advisers.
4. The support structure should be strengthened with the above-mentioned measures, and where necessary, more and different types of capacity, such as confidential counsellors, should be deployed, structural meetings should be organised between relevant actors in the support structure and actors should be given opportunities to learn from each other.

Concrete actions

The following actions are planned for the short term:

• Social Safety Contact Point: The contact point has now been launched.
• WUR support structure: The support structure must be made more transparent and easier to find. It was recommended to increase the number of confidential counsellors for students and employees within the support structure to better take diversity into account.
• Social Safety Code of Conduct: A new Social Safety Code of Conduct is being created, which sets out is and is not permissible and the consequences of transgressive behaviour. It also covers how to deal with relationships at work. Delivery: autumn 2022
• Overview of workshops & courses: An overview has been made of existing courses and workshops for social safety for the various internal target groups (e.g. students, researchers, managers) so it is easier to seek out training for yourself or your team/department on all kinds of matters related to social safety.
• The poster campaign 'Looking out for each other’ supports the program on social safety 2022-2023. The aim of the campaign is to make employees and students more aware of undesirable behaviour, the effect that certain behavior can have and what options you, as an employee or student, have to do something about undesirable behaviour. The questions on the poster encourage the viewer to reflect and the call to action refers to the recently launched Social Ssafety Contact Point at WUR and to help and tips for tackling it.

‘Looking out for each other’ poster campaign has started

"Do you know what you can do if you experience undesirable behaviour?" The 'Looking out for each other' poster series is part of the social safety programme of the same name at WUR. The aim of the campaign is to make employees and students more aware of undesirable behaviour, the effect certain behaviour can have, and what options you have as an employee or student to do something about undesirable behaviour. The questions on the poster prompt the viewer to reflect, and the call to action refers to the recently launched Social Safety Contact Point at WUR and to help and give tips on how to approach it.

About the campaign

The poster campaign consists of six different poster images focusing on three questions:

• Do you know what you can do to prevent undesirable behaviour?
• Do you know what to do when you see undesirable behaviour?
• Do you know what you can do if you experience undesirable behaviour?

Of course, a poster campaign alone is not enough to improve social safety; it is just one of the building blocks of the ‘Looking out for each other’ programme. Both students and staff will be organising a variety of activities around this theme in the coming period, including Mindlab performances performances for staff in late November to mid-December. For students, the performance 'Safe Space' by the Time-out theatre will follow next spring. More information about the programme Social Safety you can find on this page. Do you have any ideas or suggestions for the follow-up campaign or for improving social safety at WUR? Please e-mail socialsafety@wur.nl or joyce.vandervelde@wur.nl

Members of the Social Safety project group

Joyce van der Velde (manager of the Oog voor elkaar programme; a programme about social safety), Brigitte van Heerde, Astrid Mars, Jacqueline Schoone, Door van der Sloot, Stijn Heukels, Barbara Veltrop