Denise Van Blitterswijk
www.nesta.org.uk/team/denise-van-blitterswijk/
www.nesta.org.uk/team/denise-van-blitterswijk/
Senior Policy Advisor, New Technology & Startup Research
Denise carried out research projects that inform startup and entrepreneurship policy across Europe.
As part of the Startup Europe Partnership, she examined motivations of firms to scale-up and looked at the common pathways that are used. This will result in policy conclusions about how stakeholders can better support European firms to scale. She also explored why and how third sector organisations worldwide are collaborating with startups as a mode of open innovation, aiming to promote behavioural change and creating frameworks for mutually beneficial partnerships.
Prior to Nesta, Denise worked for several years at Unknown Group, a global innovation agency focused on unlocking business potential. Her role here focuses on analysing entrepreneurial ecosystems and assessing the presence of necessary conditions for firms to start and scale, and advising governments around the world on how to implement policies to strengthen the ecosystem. She has also been involved in several other initiatives aimed at supporting startups, including Get in the Ring and Dutch Centers for Entrepreneurship.
Denise is from the Netherlands and moved to London five years ago. She holds a postgraduate degree in public policy and administration at the London School of Economics and Political Science and an undergraduate degree in communication and media from the Erasmus University, Rotterdam. Outside of work, she enjoys running, vegetarian cooking, reading novels and travelling.
