Building Twente together: TwinTwente
Twente is striving for broad prosperity. This requires cooperation and innovation. With TwinTwente, we are taking a big step towards a digital future. The project helps regional parties to manage a single shared reality, with clear rules for fair data sharing and practical tools for joint decision-making and implementation.
Why TwinTwente
TwinTwente is supported by the Sustainable Scale-Up Foundation and Twente Board. It is part of the Strong Twente Business Community – Future Requirements program and contributes to a future-proof regional economy.
Today, many organizations in Twente work with their own data and systems. This leads to fragmentation, duplication of work, and slow decision-making. From housing projects that are delayed to energy transition plans that get stalled due to missing information.
TwinTwente is changing that by bringing all the links in the chain together in a single shared digital reality. As Marieke Post, program manager at Sustainable Scale-Up Foundation, explains: “TwinTwente must be technically strong, but also understandable and relevant to everyone who works together in Twente. It’s all about trust and clear rules.”
How does TwinTwente work?
TwinTwente is based on three pillars that enable collaboration:
Independent Governance
An independent organization that monitors the rules and focuses on impact for Twente.
A Data Space for the built environment of Twente
A data space regulates the rules, technology, and collaboration to securely share data between municipalities, housing associations, safety regions, network operators, and companies. This allows municipalities, corporations, companies, and emergency services to work with the same, up-to-date, and reliable data. No separate Excel files or conflicting facts, but one shared truth. Also known as a Shared Point of Truth (SPoT).
Common Workspace
The digital working environment in which partners analyze, simulate, decide, and execute together based on Digital Twin technology. This provides a common view of reality (3D, 2D, timelines, scenarios). This is where policy and implementation come together, enabling chains to switch faster and smarter.
In the words of Marieke Post: “The ultimate goal is a functioning public organization that supervises those rules and a tool that everyone can use to make and implement decisions.”
This is more than just technology. It is a strategic step towards a region that is in control of digital collaboration. “The EU says: let regions collaborate on major transitions themselves. TwinTwente gives Twente that control,” says Post.
TwinTwente is working towards two tangible outcomes:
1. A public organization that monitors transparency, rules, and regional interests (governance
2. A practical toolset (SPoT + Common Workspace) that every partner in the chain can use to make and implement better-informed decisions
Why is this unique to Twente?
Although there are already promising, separate initiatives on a smaller scale, Twente has now opted for a single federative, regional model with open standards, data sovereignty, and security from the ground up that everyone can connect to. TwinTwente is thus positioning the region as a leader in digital collaboration and an example for the Netherlands and Europe.
What makes this project special?
- Independent governance with public control
- Control over your own data and security from the ground up
- No dependence on a single supplier: open, modular links
- Collaboration between all links: government, businesses, knowledge institutions, research, and the environment
Phased approach, solid ambition
Phase 1 (August 2025 – February 2026)
Agreements on data sharing and selection of 1-3 urgent use cases
Phase 2 (February – July 2026)
Feasible organizational, financial, and technical plan. Foundation ready to go. Configuration of SPoT and Common Workspace.
Project applicant
TwinTwente is part of the TwinValley program and submitted by Sustainable Scale-Up Foundation.
Learn more: https://www.sustainablescale-up.com/twinvalley-programme/twintwente-nl