NCR Introduction

The Netherlands Centre for River Studies (NCR) is a cooperation of the major developers and users of expertise in the Netherlands in the area of rivers, with a view to:

• achieving a rivers expertise potential of sufficient breadth and depth in the Netherlands, in order effectively to meet societal requirements, both nationally and internationally;
• establishing and reinforcing the position of Dutch scientific research into rivers, for instance with a view to fund-raising for such research, nationally and internationally;
• strengthening the partners’ position; and
• enhancing education and scientific research at Dutch universities.

In 1999 NCR has been asked to manage a large research umbrella project in the framework of the EU Structure fund IRMA (Interregional Rhine/Meuse Action Programme). In this umbrella project, IRMA-SPONGE, more than 30 research institutes from six European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland) cooperate to improve the flood forecasting and prevention possibilities in the Rhine and Meuse catchment areas. The project was finished in 2002.

NCR is also a major partner in the EC funded Integrated Project FLOODsite. This project is running from 2004 until 2009. It covers the physical, environmental, ecological and socio-economic aspects of floods from rivers, estuaries and the sea. It considers flood risk as a combination of hazard sources, pathways and the consequences of flooding on the “receptors” – people, property and the environment.
The FLOODsite consortium includes some 40 of Europe’s leading institutes and universities, eight of them being NCR-partners.
More information on these projects is available on the IRMA-SPONGE and theFLOODsite Internet sites.

The NCR programme is available upon request. Please contact the programming secretary Ad van Os. Our secretariat is housed at WL | Delft Hydraulics.