Professor Nijssen, founder of PNA and creator of NIAM
Professor Sjir Nijssen discovered in the 1970s how to identify, analyze and structure knowledge in such a way that it can be computed.
Professor Sjir Nijssen discovered in the 1970s how to identify, analyze and structure knowledge in such a way that it can be computed.
Professor Sjir Nijssen, our founder, has been making an effort to teach people to use knowledge more efficiently for more than fifty years. In the 1970s, he discovered how to identify, analyze and structure knowledge in such a way that you can compute with it. As a result, specific knowledge can be made accessible to a larger group of people in understandable language. As a result, waste can be eliminated and companies can flourish in their entrepreneurship.
His insight was the main driver for developing the current cogNIAM® method. A scientific method central to PNA’s approach. A method that enables organizations – from current world standards in the field of knowledge management – to handle knowledge sustainably in practice.
Read more on the Sjir Nijssen Wikipedia page.
Our work is motivated by an idealistic idea. The idea that through an exact approach to knowledge worldwide, wasted knowledge, time and money can be avoided. Call us idealists. Call us do-gooders. But we believe in this approach. And we have been proving that for a long time.
With the accession of Maurice Nijssen – son of – as general manager, PNA has undergone another substantial development. Indeed, he is constantly working to make the knowledge capital of organizations more broadly applicable.
This extends from the operations of organizations to collaboration in the chain. Not just for commercial parties, but precisely also – from partnerships – to develop innovative solutions to social issues. So we look beyond our nose. We do not get stuck with frivolous theories, but from a solid foundation we create a grip on knowledge capital and thus opportunities for growth.
Since January 2018, Frank Harmsen has been strengthening PNA as director/shareholder. Prior to his move, Frank was a partner at EY Advisory, where he was responsible for transformation and digitalization projects. Frank also serves as an associate professor of knowledge and information management at Maastricht University. Maurice is delighted with Frank’s arrival. “We complement each other. Frank, with his background, is a perfect fit for PNA. His broad practical experience as an organizational consultant to leading organizations is very valuable to us. With his experience at board level, we can have even more impact.”
For Frank, the move from a major party like EY to PNA makes sense. “After almost 25 years working for larger companies such as Capgemini and EY, entrepreneurship attracted me. A company of my own seemed like an interesting challenge, but what could be nicer than going forward together with like-minded people? PNA suits me perfectly, both in terms of content and culture. I want to use my experience to help PNA take the next step.”
With this expansion, PNA is now even more capable of carrying out complete renewal and transformation projects for its clients, including the strategic and change management side of things.