The text on this page was automatically translated and hence may differ from the original. No rights can be derived from this translation.
By using smart algorithms, policies can be executed more efficiently. Dialogic has developed a mathematical algorithm that enables schools participating in the School aan Zet programme to be grouped smartly and connected to content experts and schools with similar themes.
School aan Zet is a national educational programme in which more than 3,000 primary, secondary, and special education schools participate. These schools aim to become a learning organisation: a school capable of enhancing its education quality by continuously improving itself and involving all employees in this process. School aan Zet supports schools in their development towards a learning organisation by reflecting with them during discussions, inspiring them with good examples, and connecting employees within and among schools.
Dialogic supported School aan Zet in connecting schools with experts. Schools situated close to each other are grouped together. When determining the groups, a specific group size is aimed for, which may deviate if the travel distance exceeds a certain limit. Moreover, it is crucial for the expertise of the expert to match the needs of the school. As some topics are broader than others, it is important to only deploy the (scarce) experts with very specific knowledge on a certain theme where this specific knowledge is requested.
Ultimately, the work of Dialogic resulted in a calculation model and a tool, through which the right groups and expert allocations can be determined based on data about schools and experts. The tool developed by Dialogic calculates the optimal balance between thematic alignment and travel distance between schools and experts. This involves leveraging knowledge from the Big Data domain, where clustering algorithms are used to group and categorise large amounts of data.
In addition to determining the optimal 'matches', Dialogic also provides overview maps and 'fact sheets' for experts and schools to clearly see what to expect. Tasks such as organising data provided by schools and experts, preparing it for processing as geographical data, and loading the expert allocations determined by the tool into their own administration are also part of the scope.
The clustering and matching algorithm is applicable in a broader context. For example, it can be used to efficiently deploy your staff or equipment, taking into account factors like travel distance, costs, supply, and demand.
Want to learn more? Contact Tommy van der Vorst (vandervorst@dialogic.nl; 030-2150593) or Arthur Vankan (vankan@dialogic.nl, 030-2150589).