I am a senior lecturer-researcher at International Development Studies at Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences, and coordinate the major Disaster Risk Management. As lecturer-researcher I am involved in interactive research addressing persistent challenges like climate change, increase of disasters, environmental degradation and conflict, together with affected populations to reach resilient societies both internationally as well as in the Netherlands. We currently renew our curriculum to develop students’ competences to contribute to societal transitions in real-time settings.

For my PhD, I facilitated an interactive research and programme implementation with Oxfam-Novib, ICCO, KerkinActie and their partners in Afghanistan, Indonesia and the Philippines who piloted community-based disaster risk reduction in areas affected by both disasters and conflict to enhance community resilience.

Research and consultancy experience in facilitating greater government – civil society collaboration and partnerships in the field of disaster risk reduction and conflict prevention, looking beyond the binary of top-down and bottom-up approaches.

25 years of working as consultant/researcher in the field of humanitarian assistance in disaster and conflict affected areas in Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Nepal, India, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Thailand).

Dewulf A, Karpouzoglou T, Warner J, et al, 2019, The power to define resilience in social-hydrological systems: Toward a power-sensitive resilience framework, in: WIREs Water, 2019;e1377.

Haar, G. van der, A. Heijmans and D. Hilhorst, 2013, Interactive research and the construction of knowledge in conflict settings, in: Disasters, Vol 37, Supplement 1, S20-S35

Heijmans, A. 2013, The everyday politics of disaster risk reduction in Central Java, Indonesia, in: Hilhorst, D (ed) Disaster, Conflict and Society in Crises, Everyday Politics of Crisis Response, Routledge, pp 221-240

Heijmans, A. 2013, Reaching Resilience: Handbook for Aid Practitioners and Policy-makers, with CARE Nederland, Groupe URD and Wageningen University.

Heijmans, A. 2012, Risky Encounters: Institutions and interventions in response to recurrent disasters and conflict, PhD Thesis, Wageningen University.

Hilhorst, D and A. Heijmans, 2011, Role of University Research in Disaster Risk Reduction, in: B. Wisner, J.C. Gaillard, I. Kelman (eds), Handbook of Hazards, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, London, New York, Routledge

Heijmans, A, I. Okechukwu,, A. Schuller tot Pearsum, R. Skarubowiz, 2009, A grassroots perspective on risks stemming from disasters and conflict, in: HPN Exchange Magazine 44, pp 34-35

Heijmans, A, 2009, The social life of community-based disaster risk management: origins, politics and framing approaches, Working Paper 20.

Heijmans, A. et al, 2004, Searching for Peace in Asia Pacific: an overview of conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities, Lynne Rienner, Boulder, Colorado, pp 848

Heijmans, A, 2004, From Vulnerability to Empowerment in: G. Bankoff (ed), Mapping Vulnerability, Earthscan, London, pp 115-127

Heijmans, A and L. Victoria, 2001, Citizenry-Based and Development-Oriented Disaster Response: Experiences and practices in Disaster Management of the Citizen’s Disaster Response Network in the Philippines, pp 118.