IPM and RSA webinar: lessons from the Netherlands for place managers

The Institute of Place Management and the Regional Studies Association hosted the latest in their joint webinar series, this time focusing on what place managers can learn from the Netherlands.

The session brought together Dutch practitioners working across city centre transformation, place branding, knowledge exchange and centre management skills and included representatives from Africa, Brazil, Columbia, India and Europe.

For IPM, the webinar reflected a central part of its mission: connecting research, policy and practice internationally to help improve places for everyone. A key lesson from the session was that many of the challenges facing city centres are shared across the globes. Retail decline, changing consumer behaviour, fragmented governance, property ownership, data use, public-private collaboration and the need for stronger implementation capacity were all recurring themes. Dutch examples showed how city centres are moving beyond retail to become places for culture, health, education, leisure, social activity, events and community life.

Learning from the Netherlands

Jos Sentel, Programme Coordinator for the Dutch City Deal Dynamic City Centres programme, explored how the Netherlands has developed a national collaboration platform bringing together cities, ministries, knowledge institutions and practitioners to support inner-city transformation. He argued that the biggest challenge facing places is not a lack of ideas, but the ability to organise differently and implement effectively. His presentation highlighted the importance of cross-city collaboration, learning communities, experimentation and breaking down organisational silos.

Nina Wols-Boons, Strategic Adviser for City Branding at the Municipality of Rotterdam, shared how Rotterdam used place branding and local identity to shape the city’s approach to hosting King’s Day. Her presentation demonstrated how city values can influence programming, partnerships, community engagement and economic impact. The event generated an estimated €6–7 million for the local economy, while also strengthening civic pride, inclusion and neighbourhood connections. Her presentation reinforced the role that culture, identity and storytelling can play in place management.

Marlene Strien, from the Dutch knowledge platform DNWS (The New Shopping Street), focused on how Dutch municipalities are sharing knowledge and supporting each other through practical collaboration. She highlighted the importance of peer-to-peer learning and helping places tackle common challenges together. Marlene also discussed the “modern agora” concept, where city centres increasingly combine retail with healthcare, education, culture, leisure and social infrastructure to create more resilient and future-proof centres.

Jeroen Roose-van Leijden, Centre Manager for Utrecht and co-founder of the Centre Management Academy, explored the growing professionalisation of place management in the Netherlands. He outlined the skills and competencies needed for modern centre managers, including leadership, communication, political awareness, data analysis and partnership working. Jeroen also reflected on the importance of continuous professional development and discussed how frameworks such as IPM’s Vital and Viable model could potentially support place management internationally.

For place managers attending the webinar, several themes stood out:

  • successful places depend on collaboration across sectors and disciplines;
  • city centres must evolve beyond retail into multifunctional social and civic spaces;
  • implementation and organisational capacity are often bigger barriers than strategy;
  • professional skills development and peer learning are increasingly important;
  • place identity, culture and local values can help shape stronger and more inclusive places;
  • international learning can help places avoid working in isolation.

The session demonstrated the growing maturity of place management as an international field and highlighted the value of creating spaces where practitioners, policymakers and researchers can learn directly from each other.

The webinar recording will be made available through the Regional Studies Association website and in the IPM Members Area.

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