Roots of Arcadis Transition for 2023

16 janvier 2023

Roots of Arcadis (ROA) is a professional networking and development initiative for Arcadians in the early phases of their careers (0-10 years of industry experience). The program’s intent is to foster inter-office and Global Business Areas networking and culture-sharing while also offering leadership development and chances for growth to its members.

Since 2017, ROA has been operating and steadily expanding across the globe, bringing Arcadians together and equipping them with the resources they need to succeed.  “We’re proud of how much ROA has grown over the years. The program has proven to be incredibly valuable to Arcadians, with participation having increased by 34% in the last year alone. I am excited to see it continue to thrive,” says North American Global Lead Representative, Amber Vick.

Throughout ROA’s successful journey, Lovinklaan has been functioning as an incubator to finance and expedite the program, ensuring it is established enough to be overseen and funded by Arcadis. ROA is currently well-settled and in operation in Australia, India, Latin America, the Middle east, the Philippines, the UK & Ireland, and the United States. Lovinklaan is excited to see the program continue to grow and thrive under Arcadis as of January 2023. 

As such, Lovinklaan would like to thank those leading the program, in particular Amber Vick, Baxter Miatke and Alex Laws whose tenure on the Global Leadership teams ends shortly. Also, a huge thanks to their predecessors who have helped lay the foundations for the program’s success. Both Lovinklaan and Arcadis appreciate the dedication and hard work throughout the years. Their passion, commitment and diligence have been major drivers behind the program’s success. They have done an incredible job overseeing the growth and expansion of the program over the years and taken great care to ensure all members and participants of ROA were included along the journey.

The Lovinklaan Board believes that ROA has a strong foundation to expand further under Arcadis’ direction. « This transition is a positive one, demonstrating that ROA is now well-established enough to thrive without Lovinklaan’s incubator support, » says North American Global Lead Representative, Baxter Miatke.

What will the transition look like, and will there be any changes to the budget and professional development fund?

The program will continue to operate as usual for ROA members, but Lovinklaan will no longer provide funding; instead, Arcadis will be the sole contribute for program funding. Lovinklaan and Arcadis emphasize that nothing will change for ROA members – the program will continue to run as it always has.

Over the past five years, the program has funded over 80 successful Professional Development opportunities worldwide and the number continues to increase. There will not be any changes in the budget for 2023; it will remain as planned and is 100% approved by Arcadis. Furthermore, every member remains qualified and may continue to use the professional fund. There may be some questions about the Professional Development Fund and its accessibility. We want to clarify that Roots of Arcadis will be business as usual; every member remains eligible to access the Professional Development fund and use their funding for the same opportunities as before.

What will change within the program?

Arcadis will ensure that the program continues to run as it has over the last five years. Therefore, when it comes to the regional leaders, there won’t be any changes at the membership level; however, some adjustments may be made for the regional program leads – which will be communicated in due time. The only major shift will be the points of contact with Eileen Heavey leading the program from an Arcadis perspective. While the commercial logistics (such as financing requests and payments) will differ, they will still operate under the same general guidelines.

Kevin Toth, North American Global Lead Representative, believes that the transition will help the program excel even further and reach out to more Arcadians:  « ROA continues to gain traction as a global, dedicated resource for junior staff to connect with peers and senior staff, receive support for professional development, and become encouraged to improve themselves. Lovinklaan constructed a well-built foundation for the program, which will continue to burgeon under Arcadis. »

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