Three Northern Dutch Provinces Bet €1.94 Million on Healthier Workplaces
Published on 10/25/2026 at 12:01 | Editorial boerse-global.de
A €1,937,322 grant from the European Regional Development Fund (EFRO), topped up with national co-financing, is behind a workplace-health push that launched on 22 October 2026 in the northern Dutch city of Assen. The project, called "Ondernemend in Leefstijl" (roughly, "Entrepreneurial in Lifestyle"), is run by the organisation TCNN and was presented at the Provincial House of Drenthe.
Drenthe is not going it alone. Groningen and Fryslân are partners in the same initiative, giving the scheme a three-province footprint across the north of the Netherlands.
Twelve companies, nine pilots, 2,050 workers
At its core, the programme is a testing ground for lifestyle promotion at work — trying out approaches in real companies and then scaling what works. Its targets are specific: at least twelve so-called lifestyle companies will receive support, and at least nine employers will run workplace pilot projects. Across all of these efforts, the aim is to reach no fewer than 2,050 employees.
Three sectors have been chosen for the pilots. Healthcare and welfare make up the first, transport and logistics the second, and the metal and electrical industry the third. The point is to establish practical, workable methods in these fields that can improve staff health over the long term.
A 10% benchmark — and a 2:1 return target
Checking results is built into the design rather than bolted on afterwards. The project team will analyse how the measures affect employees' capacity to work, the trajectory of absenteeism and levels of job satisfaction, with a goal of at least a 10% improvement in these areas.
Money gets measured too. Organisers want to demonstrate a return of at least €2 for every €1 invested over the course of the project. That figure is a stated objective, not a finding — whether it holds up will only emerge from the studies still to come.
Universities and a university of applied sciences on board
TCNN is working with a consortium of partners on the research and professional side. Among them are the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), the University of Groningen (RUG) and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences.
The funding also throws a spotlight on how unevenly Dutch regional support is spread. No comparable initiative exists in the southern provinces of Brabant, Limburg and Zeeland. There, the regional EFRO programme OPZuid, administered through Stimulus, is entering its final application round in 2026 — one focused on defence projects and dual-use goods.
