Ron Dekker becomes CESSDA's new director
The General Assembly of CESSDA, Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives, appointed Ron Dekker as the new director at its meeting on 15 November 2016 in The Hague, the Netherlands.
“I am honoured to welcome Ron to CESSDA at this important time in the life of the European Research Infrastructure. I am sure that his governance experience and his understanding of research organisations will be a crucial asset for CESSDA”, stated Kari Balke Øiseth, Chair of the General Assembly.
Bjørn Henrichsen, Chair of the Board of Directors: “This is a very important appointment for CESSDA as Ron brings with him invaluable expertise, and key insight into the open science agenda. He has a solid background in European science and innovation as well as a large international network in the field. I am confident that he will take CESSDA to the next level”.
Ron Dekker studied econometrics and started his career in labour market research at Maastricht University. In 1995 he moved to Tilburg University where his research focus shifted to data management. This was his starting point at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), where in 1997 he became the head of the Data Agency and then in 2007, Director of Institutes.
In 2013 he was seconded to SURF, the Dutch IT-innovation organisation for Higher Education & Research, as acting director and in 2014 he was seconded to the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture as Project Leader Open Science in preparation for the Dutch EU Presidency in the first half of 2016.
He then moved to Brussels to work as a Seconded National Expert on Open Science at the European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation.
Ron takes up the position of Director of CESSDA on 1 March 2017.
"CESSDA is a major infrastructure in Europe recognised as an ESFRI Landmark based in Bergen, Norway”, states Ron Dekker. "The field of research is undergoing major transformations. We are entering the era of open science, which is about a systemic change in the way science is performed and with more focus on data-driven research. CESSDA needs to be at the forefront of this change. I will ensure that CESSDA is the go-to partner on re-use of data in Europe and beyond.”