Projects

• 2022-2026, IMR competition, Safeguarding trust. The transnational governance of climate change mitigation projects in Ghana
• 2021-2024, Veen, Anne van. Postdoc project. NWA project Transitie naar een duurzaam voedselsysteem.
• 2021-2026, Koning, Susan de. PhD project. NWA project Deltaplan Biodiversiteitsherstel.
• 2020-2024, CentUR, EXPLORE: EXPerimentaL gOvernance for the Regional Energy transition, funded by NWO.
• 2020-2023, Bliss, Cebuan. PhD project. Integrative Animal and Biodiversity Governance.

• 2022 – 2026, CaLby2030

• 2022 – 2026, JUST-PREPARE

• 2020 – 2026, Sustainable Plastics

• 2022 – 2025, You have a Part to Play

• 2021 – 2025, RISE

• 2020- 2025, On the Move

• 2020 – 2024, INSpECT: INfrastructure interdependencies in Sustainable and inclusivE CiTies

Synergising sustainability: policymaking processes for agricultural development between multi-level stakeholders in the Sahel

PhD – Candidate: Liza Steultjens, together with Dr. Maya Turolla (Post-Doc), Prof. Mathijs van Leeuwen, Dr. Gerry Kamp-Alons, Dr. Maria Kaufmann, Dr. Haley Swedlund funded by the IMR Excellence programme

This interactive research project aims to better understand how policy-making for agricultural development in the Sahel region results in synergies, as well as frictions, contradictions, and trade-offs between different development goals, such as agricultural development, boosting food production, and ambitions for enhancing governance, equity and justice, and sustainable peace. Through a participatory and comparative qualitative research approach, the project focuses on the complex interactions and contestations between diverse actors at different levels in the policy making process (e.g. EU, bilateral donors, national ministries, civil society, farmers associations, the private sector). The project hopes to contribute to a critical analysis of the politics and power of discourses on notions like ‘agricultural sustainability’ and ‘peace’, as well as to co-creation of knowledge among different stakeholders. The project aligns with the TransAct and the GLOCAL hotspot.

Key words: agricultural development, discourse analysis, Sahel region,

C4U: Advanced Carbon Capture for steel industries integrated in CCUS Clusters
Dr. Vincent de Gooyert, funded by the European Union H2020 programme

C4U is a holistic interdisciplinary project addressing all the essential elements required for the optimal integration of CO2 capture in the iron and steel industry as part of the CCUS chain. This spans demonstration of highly efficient CO2 capture technologies at TRL7 designed for optimal integration into an iron and steel plant and detailed consideration of the safety, environmental, societal, policy and business aspects for successful incorporation into the North Sea Port CCUS cluster. For more information see here.

Key words: climate change; carbon capture; steel industry

INSpECT: INfrastructure interdependencies in Sustainable and inclusivE CiTies

Dr. Vincent de Gooyert, funded by the TKI Deltatechnologie; Next Generation Infrastructures

Cities are faced with the challenge of transitioning towards more sustainable modes of living. To achieve such structural change, neighbourhoods are investing in various infrastructures including those related to biomass, district heating, green gas, solar power, and hydrogen. However, awareness is emerging that the interdependencies between these infrastructures is substantial for transition pathways. This project will explore these interdependencies to allow a more integrated approach towards strategic investments in transforming urban neighbourhoods.  More information can be found here.

Key words: sustainability, inclusivity, cities, infrastructure

Sustainable plastics

Dr. Vincent de Gooyert, funded by the IMR and Chemelot

To mitigate climate change, the chemical industry considers large investments in bio-based plastics and plastics recycling via gasification and pyrolysis. More knowledge is required about the potential of these two deep emission reduction options. So far, studies mainly looked at their technological potential, but did not sufficiently address social aspects, while the behavior of stakeholders across value chains is crucial. In this project, we directly collaborate with Chemelot, an industrial cluster in Limburg and co-funder of the proposal, to fill this research gap. We combine environmental life cycle assessment, participative system dynamics modelling, and ex-ante policy evaluation to assess the relevant socio-technical systems around circular plastics and bioplastics. More information can be found here.

Key words: sustainability, chemical industry, bio-based plastics, environmental LCA, participative system dynamics modeling

Alternative Economies for Sustainability Transformations

Dr. Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez, Dr. Maria Kaufmann, Prof. Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, PhD-candidate: Querine Kommandeur, funded by the IMR

This research project focuses on the emergence and institutionalization of Alternative Economic Systems that fundamentally rethink current economic models by putting the pursuit of ecological, human and non-human wellbeing at the core of policy making. Examples of such alternatives are Degrowth, Buen Vivir and the Social and Solidarity Economy. The project aims to analyze these practices by applying a discursive-institutional approach that focuses on the routines, powers, discourses and regulations that create and sustain structures, and on how such structures can be challenged and re-designed by new ideas.

Key words: alternative economics, sustainability, transformation

JUST-PREPARE: Putting REsident Practices And REsidential areas at the center of a JUST and effective energy transition in underprivileged neighbourhoods

Dr. Mark Wiering, Dr. Sietske Veenman, Dr. Maria Kaufmann, Dr. Simone Haarbosch, PhD candidate: Simone van Wieringen, funded by the NWO

The research project investigates the social, technical and societal dimensions of a just and effective energy transition, from carbon-based to renewable energy practices. The project develops the necessary methodological and substantive knowledge with living labs in four different municipalities (the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Nijmegen and the village of Gemert. It co-creates approaches and solutions for the transition with a forward looking dimension together with municipalities, housing corporations, residents and other relevant actors. More information to be found here.

Key words: residents, practices, areas, energy transition, justice, efficiency

RISE: Resilient Indonesian Slums Envisioned

Dr. Tara Saharan; Dr. Mark Wiering, funded by the NWO

The fast-growing Indonesian economy has triggered tremendous urbanization, which is often unsustainable and comes with high ecological tolls and effects for household water resources, especially in and around the poorer neighbourhoods. Besides rapid urbanisation, climate change has further impacted the wellbeing of people in the slums, through floods and drought, as they are often located close to rivers or coastal areas at the outskirts of the city. This project aims to develop an inclusive governance roadmap to transform Indonesian cities towards social-ecological resilience in the face of water-related disasters. More information to be found here.

Key words: resilience, urbanization, climate change, inclusivity, governance

Calcium Looping To Capture Co2 From Industrial Processes By 2030 (CaLby2030)

Dr. Vincent Gooyert

The accelerated uptake of CCUS, needed to reach the net zero emission target by 2050, will critically depend on the success of least-cost environmentally benign & efficient CO2 capture technologies to be demonstrated at full commercial scale by 2030. Rising to the above challenge, CaLby2030 focuses on TRL6 demonstration of its pioneering Calcium Looping (CaL) CO2 capture systems using the well-established Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) technology to a state ready for largescale commercial deployment in key high-emitting industries by 2030. More information to be found here.

Key words: carbon capture, calcium looping, industrial processes

On the Move: Transition towards Sustainable Mobility

Dr. Peraphan Jittrapirom, funded by the NWO

The negative effects of spatial mobility (e.g. congestion, unsafety), create a strong pressure to transition towards a more sustainable mobility system. Decision making on trend-breaking change strategies is however surrounded with many, often deep, uncertainties. Traditional trend-extrapolating models used to explore the future (the traditional ‘predict and act’ paradigm) do not match with this challenge. Therefore, this research adopts a ‘monitor and adapt’ paradigm based on a completely different systems approach. It aims for an interdisciplinary and creative way of future thinking and initiating interventions. More information to be found here.

Key words: sustainability, mobility, monitoring, adapting, interventions

You Have a Part to Play: Higher Education for Sustainability

Dr. Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez, funded by the Comenius Programme NRO

Time is running out: the United Nations have set a deadline to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Not only are universities key players in reaching the SDGs, but our students will face these challenges in their careers, without currently being sufficiently equipped to deal with the great and complex challenges the SDGs present to all fields of work. The layered and many-faced nature of the subject calls for a didactic approach that stays clear of lecturing the ‘right’ message, but prompts students to take up the challenges from their personal beliefs. UNESCO stresses that Higher Education for Sustainable Development should focus more on learning than on teaching. And that is precisely what we will do. More information to be found here.

Key words: higher education, sustainability, learning

Co-creating a sustainable world: bridging the climate policy-practice gap in sub-Saharan Africa through global democratic Governance (CoGo)

Dr. Juliette Alenda-Demoutiez, funded by the IMR

The project seeks to investigate top-down as bottom-up processes to thereby identify avenues for co-creation through possible revisions of existing governance architecture for climate policies in Africa. We focus with this two-year project on climate negotiations at the intersection of interregional and interinstitutional governance levels, and on understanding the politics behind negotiations around climate policies, through the role of diverse institutions and actors in shaping these policies. Policymakers and practitioners from the EU and the AU in particular will be investigated, and connections will be made with middle and lower orders of governance in Africa.

Key words: climate, policy-practice gap, sub-Saharan Africa, democratic governance

Safeguarding Trust in Climate Change Mitigation Projects in Ghana 
PhD- Candidate: Esther Wahabu, start March 2022 
The project aims at investigating whether safeguards of transnational climate change mitigation projects help to establish trust and facilitate the recognition of different values, ensure equal co-determination rights, and eventually contribute to a fair distribution of benefits and burdens. It is based on a comparative approach of mitigation projects in Ghana, through multi-sided fieldwork. The goal is to deliver novel empirical and conceptual insights on the impact of different multi-level governance architectures on  justice outcomes.

EXPLORE project
PhD- candidate, Martijn Gerritsen, Dr. Simone Haarbosch, Dr. Vincent de Gooyer, funded by NWO market
EXPLORE examines how the Dutch 
regional energy transition is organized.
Through participative observing and scenario modelling, we explore how and why actors in government, civil society and the private sector make decisions about energy. What roles do these actors play in relation to each other, and how does this impact the effectiveness and speed, justice and legitimacy of the energy transition in the Netherlands?  For more information, see: English/Dutch

Key words: regional, energy transition, participative observation, scenario building

The role of partnerships in transformative landscape governance for biodiversity
PhD-candidate: Susan de Koning, Dr. Maria Kaufmann, Prof. Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, Funded by NWO NWA

start January 2021
To save biodiversity, it is assumed that we need transformative change. Landscape-oriented partnerships may contribute to transformative change as they are inherently multi-sectoral, can bridge different scales and policy levels and are geared specifically towards the social and natural-spatial conditions of place. In this project, I study to what extent and how landscape-oriented partnerships in the Dutch Dune and Flower Bulb Region contribute to transformative change for biodiversity.

Find out more here.

Key words: partnerships, transformation, landscape governance, biodiversity

The relationship and effectiveness of animal and biodiversity governance systems
PhD-candidate: Cebuan Bliss, Prof. Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, Funded by the IMR.

Cebuan's research maps the relationships between the animal governance system, which focuses on individual health, welfare and rights, and the biodiversity governance system, which focuses on species conservation. The relationships and performance of the governance systems is explained using an Integrative Governance framework in terms of actors, institutions, discourses and wider societal structures. In particular, she [I] focuses on issues in conservation where there are particular trade-offs between protecting individual animals and protecting species: 'invasive alien' species; non-subsistence hunting; and, rewilding. The research assesses all governance levels
from the global to the local, with country cases including
the Netherlands, UK, Kenya and South Africa.

Key words: relationship, effectiveness, biodiversity, governance systems