Inge van Gansewinkel, Birte Querl and Bart van de Laak
What concepts could the botanical gardens in Haren employ in order to break even from 2012? And what would be the organisational and financial consequences?
The botanical gardens in Haren cover 21 hectares, making them the largest in the Netherlands. The land and the buildings belong to the University of Groningen. The university will be reviewing its subsidy to the botanical gardens in 2012, which means the botanical gardens will in future have to be able to support themselves. LAgroup produced three concepts for the botancial gardens: 1) One with nature, 2) Park around the corner and 3) Plant Laboratory. The board and management chose the Plant Laboratory option as the most promising and suitable concept. We then prepared a business plan for that concept, covering aspects such as its positioning, marketing and organisation and the financial aspects. We also presented a number of inspiring exampes from the Netherlands and abroad and identified possible sources of subsidies. The management is now putting the concept into practice.