With the Clappform platform, Heijmans has comprehensive and data-driven insight into neighbourhoods and districts. By combining various (public) data sources with insights from resident interviews, a rich, up-to-date, and nuanced picture of an area is created. This helps to better clarify social challenges surrounding well-being, quality of life, and social cohesion. 

The challenge 

Well-being and quality of life are increasingly central to urban development. However, the challenge lies in making these ambitions tangibly measurable. How do you gain insight into what is actually happening in a neighbourhood? How do you support decisions with facts instead of assumptions? And how do you monitor the impact of interventions over time? 

Municipalities, housing associations, and project developers often work within separate policy areas: health, Housing Development, safety, and quality of life are managed independently, despite being closely intertwined in practice. This leads to fragmented decision-making and missed opportunities for integrated collaboration. 

"Very often, solutions are attempted on a point-to-point basis. That is becoming less and less effective. What we are doing here is connecting a wide range of policy areas."  
- Tom Griffioen, co-founder of Clappform 

What is the Impact Scan? 

The Impact Scan is a data-driven dashboard that provides organisations with an integrated view of a neighbourhood or district. Public data sources, such as CBS, GGD, RIVM, and police data, are combined into a single overview. This picture is supplemented with qualitative research and resident interviews, ensuring that hard data and practical experiences reinforce one another. Users can bundle and compare data sources, monitor trends, and engage residents. 

With the Impact Scan, Clappform and Heijmans support municipalities, developers, and other stakeholders in making well-founded decisions. Bringing data and practical insights together establishes a solid foundation for future-proof urban development, enabling better dialogue and informed decision-making.  

Collaboration in practice 

During a DMI meeting, Tom Griffioen (Clappform) and Maaike Schravesande (Heijmans) established contact. It quickly became clear that they were working on the same challenge from different perspectives: creating healthier and better living environments. Heijmans as an urban developer and construction company, Clappform as a data platform for data-driven decision-making. 

This encounter led to a tangible collaboration. Together, they developed a dashboard that gives municipalities and developers better insight into the opportunities and challenges in a neighbourhood or district. An initial scan of an area in Hellevoetsluis immediately demonstrated the added value: obesity and physical inactivity emerged as key issues. This effectively brought the social sector to the table in the urban development process. 

"By being able to conduct an impact scan and thus take a broader view, we can understand a municipality much faster. It also allows us to identify shared ambitions and speak a common language more quickly." 
- Maaike Schravesande, Heijmans 

Case study: Hellevoetsluis 

During an urban development project in Hellevoetsluis, the Impact Scan revealed that obesity and lack of exercise were significant issues in the area. Consequently, the municipality actively involved the social sector and the local welfare organisation in the design process. The result: alternative layout choices, greater community support, and broader collaboration across disciplines that normally operate in isolation. 

More than data 

The strength of the Impact Scan does not lie in the technology itself. Data is the starting point, not the destination. The scan provides an initial guiding picture, after which the true value is unlocked in dialogue: with residents, policymakers, and other stakeholders. 

"Humans must always make the final assessment. We have not tried to change the way the urban developer does their job. It is truly about the step before that." 
- Tom Griffioen, co-founder of Clappform 

As the Impact Scan relies on local comparisons, the methodology is applicable in any municipality. Whether it concerns an inner-city district, an expansion site, or a completely new development area, the scan highlights local variations and compares them against municipal and national averages. 

What are the benefits?  

A single dashboard combines social, physical, and health data into a comprehensive and integrated overview of the neighbourhood. As a result, developers and municipalities identify shared ambitions faster and speak the same language. Combining open data with resident interviews creates a complete and balanced picture of the reality on the ground. Additionally, it clarifies the effectiveness of interventions, allowing for timely adjustments based on facts rather than assumptions. 

Curious about what the Impact Scan can mean for your municipality or project? We would be delighted to explain how data and resident insights together contribute to data-driven urban development. 

Would you like to read more about this collaboration? Read the article on the DMI Ecosystem website via: DMI Ecosystem Article