Jacco Knape is an alderman in the municipality of Katwijk.
“Katwijk participates wholeheartedly in the economic cooperation Key Region Leiden. We have a lot to offer each other and we complement each other. In tourist cooperation, Leiden offers wonderful museums and Katwijk has the beautiful beach.
That’s not the only thing. The region has many knowledge institutions and companies with a lot of knowledge. We can make good use of that knowledge to future-proof our current economic sectors in Katwijk. Smaller companies, for example, sometimes have difficulty keeping up with the development of knowledge in the field of digitization. By sharing knowledge you help each other and keep an economically strong region.
Working together regionally also makes it easier for us to apply for grants from the province. We use each other’s knowledge when preparing a proposal. In turn, the province sees efficiency in such cooperation: they deal with one applicant and immediately reach an entire area.
In our municipality we have a lot of practically trained personnel. We can deploy these people, for example, in the energy transition in the Leiden region and beyond. Unmanned Valley is a new economic development in Katwijk. Experiments are being conducted there with drones and sensors, which can be used in all kinds of sectors. Think of the ornamental plant cultivation and construction sector, but also the visitor economy. We can make good use of that innovative knowledge in this region. It also creates new collaborations. For example, the Leiden Instrumentation School makes devices for Unmanned Valley and you see applications of drones in business.
Of course we can do a lot on our own, but if we do it together with other municipalities, businesses and educational institutions, we will get further.”