Jan Siersma is a member of the executive board of the VU University Amsterdam, a research university with over 22 000 students. He has been involved in the OECD review process in the Amsterdam region and has substantially contributed to preparation of the Economic Development Board of Amsterdam as a result of the review. At present, he is concerned with the formulation of the knowledge and innovation agenda for the Amsterdam region and maintaining external relations between the VU University Amsterdam and the municipality, regional authorities and the Universiteit van Amsterdam, the other research university in the city. He previously served as an assistant professor at the Department of Public Administration at the Faculty of Social Sciences at VU University Amsterdam. He received his PhD in 1993 on a thesis on policy planning.