Heleen Vreugdenhil
Expert Innovation Processes, DELTARES
Dr. Heleen Vreugdenhil is an expert in innovation processes in water and environmental management. She earned her PhD from Delft University of Technology based on pilot projects in water management and specialises in designing, managing, and implementing innovations in complex multi-stakeholder settings such as river and coastal areas. Her work focuses on co-creation, knowledge management, and scaling innovations from pilot projects to full implementation and institutionalisation, with a strong emphasis on bridging science and policy to maximise impact.
Her experience spans coastal restoration, river management, sustainable ports, offshore wind farms, nature-based solutions (NbS), business models for water landscapes, and operational river management pilots. She has led and supported projects on financing and institutionalising NbS, sustainability assessments, knowledge management, plastic removal, erosion prevention, and automated monitoring.
Heleen holds a dual appointment at Deltares and TU Delft, connecting academic research with practical implementation. She teaches the Master’s course Building with Nature and Beyond and supervises PhD and MSc students. She is also active in the Netherlands Centre of River Studies (NCR), the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), and serves on the editorial team of the International Journal of Water Governance. Her ambition is to strengthen collaboration between academia and practice to increase the impact of innovation in water management.