Quality assurance and work method

Research agenda and quality assurance underpin KWR research

Water is essential for all life on earth. It is necessary for nature, for our food production, energy supply and economic development. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Because our water resources are becoming scarce and polluted, the availability of sufficient and clean water is a key global challenge. To address this and other water challenges, transitions have to be made to enable the sustainable management of our water resources. Only through research, innovation, valorisations, and knowledge and skills in the field of water will humanity be able to face these global challenges and act in a water-wise manner. KWR wants to contribute to this effort.

Our water research agenda is embodied in five research programmes which contribute to water-wise actions and operations:

To make a water-wise world possible, we aim to build bridges between science and practice. Only in this way can we implement technical and societal solutions at local, national and international levels. We define water in the broad context of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. The Circular Economy is already guiding many of our research initiatives. KWR aspires, through top-quality and outstanding research, to be a leader in the quest for scientific solutions to global water issues, both nationally and internationally.

Our contribution to Sustainable Development

Water is directly and indirectly linked to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. KWR’s research activities contribute to 9 of these SDGs:

Clean water and sanitation (SDG6)
Affordable and clean energy (SDG7)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG9)
Sustainable cities and communities (SDG11)
Responsible consumption and production (SDG12)
Climate action (SDG13)
Life below water (SDG14)
Life on land (SDG15)
Partnerships for the goals (SDG17)

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.

Quality assurance

KWR stands for top-quality, outstanding research. We safeguard the quality of our research through our internal Scientific Council and our external Scientific Advisory Council. We work according to standardised codes of good governance and conduct. Our quality and environmental management is guaranteed through the appropriate certifications and accreditations.

Certainty about quality

KWR stands for top-quality, outstanding research. Our quality assurance is effected through the internal Scientific Council and the External Scientific Advisory Council. We work according to standardised codes of good governance and conduct, and our quality and environmental management is guaranteed through the appropriate certifications and accreditations.

Top-quality, outstanding research

At KWR it’s all about top-quality, outstanding research. We are a knowledge institution that aspires to be a leader, both in the Netherlands and internationally, in the quest for scientific solutions for global water challenges. To provide quality assurance, our research is evaluated by both internal and external experts.

Science Council

Our Scientific Council assures KWR’s research results and vision. The Scientific Council is made up of KWR’s Principal Scientists, each of whom is associated with a university. Each member is responsible for assuring the scientific results and vision in his or her area of specialisation. Together, the members define the KWR research vision, ensure its realisation in the organisation, and promote multi- and interdisciplinarity.

Take a look at the Science Council.

Scientific Advisory Council

External specialists advise us on the content of our research programme, the connections with other fields of science and application, and the implementation and valorisation of knowledge. The members of the Scientific Advisory Council are all renowned specialists from pertinent areas of research, who have extensive knowledge of outstanding science, implementation and valorisation, and wide networks in (applied) scientific research. To complement the work of the Scientific Advisory Council, every five years we have a peer review carried out of our scientific activities by a commission of external, independent and renowned scientists.

Take a look at the Scientific Advisory Council.

Good governance and conduct, and client survey

To ensure the good, efficient and responsible leadership of our knowledge enterprise, KWR follows the relevant principles and best practice provisions of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code. Moreover, we have our own code of conduct, which governs the way our staff members relate with each other and with clients. Codes for scientific integrity, such as those of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the Association of Universities in the Netherlands, and All European Academies (ALLEA), are all integrated into the daily practice of our researchers.

In addition, an assessment of our performance within the framework of the joint water company research programme (BTO) is carried out by a commission in the name of BTO’s Board of Commissioners.

We also conduct a broad client satisfaction survey every year.

Quality and environmental management

Our management systems are certified to ensure the careful management of the natural and environmental aspects of our research. At every step of our research, we factor in the interrelationship between the water cycle, nature and the environment. This is demonstrated by the following certifications and accreditations held by KWR:

Quality management system according to ISO 9001.
Environmental management according to ISO 14001.
Dutch Accreditation Council accreditation for KWR’s laboratories (L479), which is in accordance with NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17025.
Dutch Accreditation Council accreditation for KWR’s collaborative studies (R005), which is in accordance with NEN-EN-ISO/IEC 17043.
License from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport for the conduct of analytical research into substances included in List I and II of the Opium Law.