At Nivel there are about a hundred and ten scientists involved in conducting research in all kinds of aspects of Dutch healthcare. In addition, there are about sixty professionals working in research-related functions and functions concernong general affairs.
Organisational chart
Nivel is a foundation. It consists of several units:
- the Supervisory Board, supervising the way Nivel is lead
- the Executive Board, consisting of a CEO and a COO/CFO
- three Research Units, each containing a number of Research Programs
- several Research Related Units
- General Affairs, containing several Operational Units

Supervisory Board
The external Supervisory Board supervises the way in which Nivel's Executive Board runs the institute. The Supervisory Board consist of five (external) members:
H.J. (Henk) Smid (Chairman)
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Advisor ZonMw, national funding organisation for healthcare research, The Netherlands |
Prof. A.T.F. (Aartjan) Beekman, PhD
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Professor of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, location Vumc, The Netherlands |
C. (Chris) Doomernik
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Member of the Supervising Board AAG Beheer BV, The Netherlands |
R. (Ronald) de Meij
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Councilor at Gemeente Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands |
Prof. S.E.J.A. (Sophia) de Rooij, PhD |
Professor 'Internal medicine, specialized in Geriatric Medicine’, University of Groningen, The Netherlands |
Executive Board
Nivel’s Executive Board consists of a CEO and a COO/CFO.
Heads of Research Units
Nivel features three Research Units, each led by a Head of Research Unit.
Staff
Nivel's Staff consists of all members of the Executive Board (mentioned above), the by Heads of Research Units (mentioned above) and all Program Coordinators as well as Program Managers of the various scientific research programs Nivel features:
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Prof. R.S. (Ronald) Batenburg, PhD
Coordinator research program Professions in Healthcare and Manpower Planning |
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Prof. L. (Liset) van Dijk, PhD
Coordinator research program Care Demand of the Chronically Ill and Disabled |
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N. (Nanne) Bos, PhD
Coordinator research program Patient-centered Care |
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Prof. L. (Liset) van Dijk, PhD
Coordinator research line Pharmaceutical Care |
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Prof. M. (Michel) Dückers, PhD
Coordinator research program Disasters and Environmental Hazards |
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Prof. A.M. (Sandra) van Dulmen, PhD
Coordinator research program Communication in Healthcare |
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Prof. A.L. (Anneke) Francke, PhD
Coordinator research program Nursing Care and Elderly Care |
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Prof. J.D. (Judith) de Jong, PhD
Coordinator research program Healthcare System and Governance |
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B. J. (Bart) Knottnerus, MD, PhD
Coordinator research program General Practice Care |
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F.F. (Foekje) Stelma, PhD
Coordinator research program Infectious Diseases |
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L.I.H. (Lucy) Overbeek, PhD
Program manager Nivel Primary Care Database
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L. (Lilian) van Tuyl, PhD, MBA
Coordinator research program Organisation and Quality of Healthcare |
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Prof. R.A. (Robert) Verheij, PhD
Coordinator research program Learning Health System |
Research units
Nivel’s three research units feature a total of 13 research programs/ research lines. For each program or line a heterogeneous team of scientists conduct healthcare research, each in their specific field of competence:
- In each research team there is a core of senior researchers which can be widely deployed, and a group of (mostly younger) researchers and PhD students engaged in concrete research activities.
- Each research program or research line the research team is being led by the program coordinator or principal investigator.
- Various scientific researchers of Nivel, experts in their field of research, also hold a chair as professor at a Dutch and/or foreign university. As a result, we are in close contact with the domain of science and we can play a significant role between the domains of science, policy and practice.
Research related units
At Nivel many professionals are engaged in facilitating and disseminating all Nivels research in an efficient, scientific an appealing way. This is being done in serveral units:
- Nivel’s Cluster Panel and Survey Research and Cluster Routine Data facilitate the gathering and producing of data information from our panels and registration systems. They make sure the data are safe, up-to-date and reliable.
- Nivel’s Research Communication Center collaborates with Nivel researchers in communicating about there research in a clear and (more) appealing way, and in disseminating research results in the broadest sense (publications, website and more). Furthermore, by developing and maintaining Nivel's corporate identity, they are focussed on presenting Nivel as a self-aware research institute with a national and international ambition.
- Nivel's Secretariats deliver all kinds of secretarial support to the research units and boards.
General Affairs and its operational units
To ensure the professional organisation of Nivel runs smoothly, within General Affairs a number of Nivel professionals is active in several Operational Units, such as:
- various Administrative Units
- Human Resource Management
- Facility Affairs
- IT
Zenderen, I. van (Nivel Research Communication Center). Organisational structure. From: www.nivel.nl [Last update 27-January-2025; consulted on 10-March-2025]. URL: https://www.nivel.nl/en/about-nivel/organisational-structure