A day with… Stanford Wilson

For over 16 years, Stanford has been committed to sustainable solutions for water-specific problems. Now, he reveals his secret to success as a ‘translator’ and ‘networker’ within Rijkswaterstaat.

Background and specialisation

Before Stanford ended up at Rijkswaterstaat, he had already come a long way. ‘I’m originally from Guyana, where I started my career in the tropical agriculture sector. At that time, there was a major emphasis on increasing production, without much thought given to environmental friendliness.’

Stanford’s interest in agriculture continued during his studies in Biology at Utrecht University. He specialises in nature management and fuel. In 2009, after completing his studies, he joined Rijkswaterstaat. He is following a traineeship, in which he changes projects and departments every 6 months.

He is also learning Dutch and getting to know the administrative culture. Within Rijkswaterstaat, he quickly focused on sustainability, the carbon footprint, and ultimately river management.

Translator of technical results

Stanford is now primarily focused on Nature-based Solutions (NbS). With NbS, we use natural solutions to solve social problems. He provides a good example of this: ‘Periods with excessive high water levels in rivers often cause water safety issues. NbS enables us to give water more space so that it drains away more quickly.’

Stanford’s motivation lies in translating technical research results into practical advice. That skill comes in handy in the projects he works on: NL2021, Rivers2Morrow, and ResiRiver. Although the projects differ in content, he is able to effectively integrate the knowledge gained from these projects.

Internal and external information

Stanford spends most of his time at ResiRiver, where he applies NbS to rivers in Northwest Europe. ‘The beauty of ResiRiver is that we can test theories in practice. However, we must take into account different groups of people, such as local residents and river users. And a society that is more aware of the value of the river system.’

At NL2120, institutions, companies, and nature organisations work together on solutions that combine nature and the economy. NbS is part of that. ‘What I learn at ResiRiver, I bring to Rijkswaterstaat and NL2120, and vice versa.’

In his Rivers2Morrow project, technical problems caused by climate change are tackled by external companies and consultancies. They develop the problems into research projects. The results of these studies provide insights for NbS. This is how information, both internal and external, merges at Rijkswaterstaat.

Networking is working smart

Stanford enjoys the amount of contact he has with others in his work. Most of his working days are spent ensuring that people with the right substantive knowledge are linked together to achieve specific results.

‘At first, I thought technical reports were the key to success, but now I realise that my strength lies in networking and connecting people,’ he says.

‘That’s partly my personality, but it’s also part of the culture I grew up with. A lot of things are done organically there. If something doesn’t go as planned, I don’t panic. There’s always a way to ensure things work out for the best.’

Interested in working on international projects at Rijkswaterstaat? Discover vacancies here.