The Municipality of Beekdaelen is the largest rural municipality in South Limburg, created through the merger of three smaller municipalities. This merger offered greater scale, which in turn generated more clout and a renewed strategic position in the region – and with it, a need to strengthen strategic thinking within the organisation. Instead of relying on external support for strategy, Beekdaelen chose to develop strategic thinking more broadly across its own organisation. Together with UMIO, they designed a customised programme. The result? Increased collaboration between departments, stronger strategic awareness within the management team, and concrete, practical ideas that could be applied immediately.
“We were formed from three small municipalities and suddenly became the largest rural municipality of South Limburg, with centres that are both urban in character and rural in nature,” explains Sylvia Houben, Social Domain Manager at the Municipality of Beekdaelen. “That gave us a completely different position in the region; suddenly, we could contribute ideas, set agendas. This meant we needed more strategic capability within our organisation.” The merger not only brought greater scale but also a broader remit and higher ambitions. For the management team, it was clear that a different way of thinking was required: more integrated, more broadly embedded, and with greater awareness of the link between policy and execution.
Internal organisation also played a key role. Beekdaelen did not want to outsource its strategic vision to external consultants but to develop and embed it internally. “We didn’t want a small group of strategists to handle everything; we wanted it to be genuinely widely supported, enabling employees from all departments to think strategically,” says Sylvia. “In addition, we were looking for an academic foundation with practical applicability, giving people the tools to embed strategic thinking in their daily work.”
More than just theoretical training
To achieve this, the municipality opted for a customised programme with UMIO, allowing twenty employees from different departments to strengthen their knowledge and skills simultaneously while directly contributing to the organisation’s development. In a series of discussions and feedback rounds with UMIO, needs and expectations of the municipality were explored, and a jointly designed, custom-made programme emerged.
For Beekdaelen, it was crucial that this programme would be more than just a theoretical training. It was carefully built around the municipality’s challenges and ambitions. Theory and concepts formed the foundation, but these were consistently linked to practical exercises and real issues from daily practice, as well as action learning projects directly relevant to Beekdaelen.
“We explicitly asked that the customised programme be translated into day-to-day practice,” Sylvia explains. “That request was really taken into consideration. There was always enough room to provide feedback during the programme as well. In this way, it was fully tailored to our organisation and challenges, and we were presented with clear tools and practical methods that we can easily apply in our daily work.”
During the process, it became clear that there is no blueprint for strategic thinking. “There is no single rule or methodology that can be applied to complex issues. The multitude of perspectives offered by the various colleagues who participated in the course has enriched our thinking. This helps us to view issues—regardless of the topic—from a strategic perspective.”
From personal development to practical application
The programme followed a logical structure: from personal development and behavioural insights, to theoretical deepening, and finally to practical application. This approach was particularly evident during the final presentation of the action learning projects, when all participants pitched their ideas. Sylvia recalls with pride: “It was fantastic to see how creative we all are and how, in solidarity, we really got to grips with certain issues. For me, the entire programme came together perfectly in the final presentation: theory, collaboration, and a host of practical ideas that we can actually put into practice in our municipality.”
The extensive collaboration during the programme led to another positive outcome. “For the final assignments, we deliberately chose issues that required cross-departmental work. The social domain often looks at a problem very differently than the spatial planning department, but that’s precisely what made working on these issues so valuable,” says Sylvia. These shared experiences increased understanding and strengthened connections between teams, while enabling staff to discover new ways of working together, despite the physical distance between different locations. The programme thus created a lasting improvement in collaboration and fostered a culture of greater contact and knowledge sharing.
Fully tailored to the organisation
Sylvia looks back on a successful collaboration: “We were genuinely pleased with this opportunity for a tailor-made approach, a programme fully aligned with our organisation. It was demand-driven rather than supply-driven, delivered mostly in-house, and directly applicable in practice. That combination of academic insights and practical relevance, together with the careful organisation and guidance, made this an especially valuable partnership for us.”
And we’re continuing!
“The programme and the collaboration were not the end of the road for us,” Sylvia adds. “We want to spread the ideas further within our organization, share what we have learned with our colleagues and how we can apply this in our daily work, and also use what we have learned to address regional strategic issues. In short, this was certainly not the end of the road for us!”
With this customized program, the Municipality of Beekdaelen is laying the foundation for broad-based strategic thinking within the organization. Would you also like to sit down with UMIO to discuss the challenges facing your organization? Please contact us; we would be happy to help you find solutions!
