About us

For more than a century, we have been working passionately to find answers to the burning question that drives our research: how can we keep our deltas, and coastal and river areas, safe, sustainable, and liveable - both now and in the future?

Our motivation is to find innovative solutions to societal issues for which Deltares' knowledge of water and the subsurface is indispensable.

Annemieke Nijhof, managing director

Not-for-profit

Deltares is an independent, not-for-profit knowledge institute for applied research. By statute, we are a part of the vital public infrastructure of the State of the Netherlands. We believe in the power of in-depth knowledge, innovative solutions, and software to ensure the world’s delta regions remain habitable. Our work demands versatility, from hands-on fieldwork to the use of our unique research facilities such as the Deltares Delta Flume and the GeoCentrifuge.

Our core values are: top quality, innovative, connections, independent and responsible.

Safe and attractive living

We want to be able to continue to live safely and attractively in deltas all over the world. We feel the urgency here and now because we see that the climate is changing, the ground is subsiding, sea levels are rising, the pressure on space is increasing, the weather is becoming more erratic and biodiversity is declining.

Enabling delta life

At the heart of our mission, ‘Enabling Delta Life’, is the water and soil system. We focus on five key areas, or ‘moonshots’:

• Liveable deltas
• Flood protection
• Healthy water systems
• Sustainable energy
• Resilient infrastructure

This is how we use knowledge to create impact: now and in the future.

These ambitious goals are of great societal importance. The world’s delta regions are attractive places to live and work due to their proximity to water. However, they are also vulnerable to natural forces and human activities.

Our understanding of the water and soil system plays a crucial role in addressing major societal challenges in the Netherlands and abroad, including road infrastructure, river navigation, housing development, the energy transition, nature conservation and preservation, the future of agriculture, and climate adaptation.

Globally, disruptions to the soil and water systems disrupt security, peace, and habitability. Healthy water and soil systems are therefore key to survival. Our diverse team of over 900 highly qualified professionals, representing over 60 nationalities, is dedicated to this mission.

Deltares is a ‘top institute’ that is ‘unique in the world with its breadth and depth’. ‘Deltares has an excellent reputation in the international research world'.

Source: Evaluation study of organisations for applied research, 2021

Innovation hub 

Deltares serves as a hub for innovation. Our colleagues are curious and driven. We work in co-creation with universities, research institutes, businesses, NGOs, and governments worldwide. Working with data and models is at the core of our work, and we share our knowledge globally through software solutions. We combine our domain expertise with the use of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. Our knowledge is documented to ensure the continuity of our knowledge base.

Informed decision-making

Water and the subsurface form a system, and our choices impact each other. They also affect the decisions we make in areas such as housing, work, the economy, nature, transportation, and energy, and vice versa. This systems-perspective requires us to tie the consequences of various solutions to the long-term effects of decisions.

Our knowledge is the basis for informed decision-making. We consider it our responsibility to identify trends, establish connections between events, and articulate the consequences of decisions, even when they are socially sensitive.

Mission-driven

We are mission-driven. We focus on the major challenges in the world, the major societal issues and international and national ambitions. Societal impact determines our priorities and actions.

All our proposals are viewed through the perspective of global climate agreements and the national and international missions of the Dutch government, the EU and the United Nations. This is where our added value is maximised.

Worldwide active

We are active in the Netherlands and Europe, North and South America, Oceania, Asia and Africa. Internationally, we have forged a number of important, long-term strategic partnerships. Our goal is to continue to strengthen these and at the same time build new ones, so that we can learn, innovate and have an impact together.

We are proud to be Deltares. And that we can contribute to ‘Enabling Delta Life’ so that future generations also have a place that is safe, sustainable and habitable.

NWO principles

As a TO-2 institute, Deltares adheres to the principles of the Dutch code of conduct for research integrity (NWO): honesty, due care, transparency, independence and responsibility.