THE HAGUE - The social challenges of the six islands of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten require specific local knowledge and the proper application of that knowledge. Key stakeholders on the islands have indicated that sustainable reinforcement of the knowledge system on, and more cooperation between, the islands is essential for this.

Wiebe E. Bijker and Jorien Wuite were commissioned by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NOW) to recommend the establishment of the Dutch Caribbean Research Platform (DuCaRP) after many discussions with researchers, government authorities and other stakeholders. The green light has been given for this from the Ministerial Four-Country Consultation OCW and the Board of Directors of NWO.

DuCaRP will be a network of branches on all six islands. Together, the locations offer a platform for collaboration between researchers and knowledge users on and between the islands, with researchers and institutions in the region, with the Netherlands and with the rest of the world. The DuCaRP employees will connect researchers and institutions within the Caribbean knowledge system, among other things, offer support in setting up research, acquiring research funding and in translating research into education and policy.

During 2022, DuCaRP will be implemented so that the network organization will be operational in 2023. The DuCaRP Sounding Board Group plays an important role in this. This Sounding Board Group consists of representatives of organizations on all six islands and the Netherlands. A DuCaRP Taskforce facilitates the implementation process based on the previously discussed options and wishes of the stakeholders.

The DuCaRP Taskforce consists of: Martijn Deenen (project leader), Tibisay Sankatsing Nava, Pauline Goense, Linda Jongbloed, Arnold Lubbers, Josef Stuefer and Wiebe E. Bijker (advisor and chairman of the Sounding Board Group).