PhD programme

System design and business models for electronic repair

As a part of the NWO KIC project – Tackling Fixophobia, I am researching the system dynamics of electronics repair systems, to better understand the barriers and enablers of successful electronics repair schemes. With an intimate understanding of the dynamics at play in the system, business models will be designed and tested to facilitate the consumer behaviour and business operations required for electronics repair to thrive.

Enabling the dietary transition amid the rise of the far-right in European countries: a Systems of Provision approach

Despite the scientific consensus regarding the environmental consequences of meat production and consumption, the percentage of the European population shifting to plant-based diets is still marginal (Perez-Cueto et al., 2022). Due to the political influence of the meat industry and its pervasive cultural legitimacy (Sievert, et al. 2021; Clare, et al. 2022), meat consumption and production are strongly interlinked with the social fabric. Previous studies have shown the correlation between value systems and dietary choices, linking meat consumption to conservative and discriminatory ideologies (such as sexism, speciesism, and xenophobia) (Dhont & Hodson, 2014; Caviola, et al. 2019). The rise of far-right political parties in European countries further exacerbates such ideologies, hindering the transition to plant-based diets and climate action as a whole.

Therefore, this study will explore the political status quo, analysing the sociological contexts in which dietary choices and food production processes take place. Ultimately, the aim is to identify the social tipping points that would enable a transition away from animal products in European countries, and design a set of transition guidelines to allow stakeholders and key actors to take action inclusively and sustainably. To do so, the research will be conducted through mixed methods, stemming from an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, including the Systems of Provision approach, Interspecies Justice and Posthuman Feminism.

Psychedelics for Personal and Planetary Health

My research concerns psychedelic drugs as a tool to investigate cognitive mechanisms driving changes in sustainable behavior. Though there is ample evidence to suggest that psychedelic experience is linked to increased feelings of connectedness to nature, it is unclear if this relationship is causal and if this greater connection to nature translates to greater output of pro-environmental behavioral. I will be addressing these relationships using both observational and experimental studies in a joint project between Maastricht Sustainability Institute and the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience.

Co-creation in Higher Education for Sustainable Development - A way to build autonomy and sustainability competencies

This research will focus on the implementation of co-creation in Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) through a transformative, transdisciplinary and learner-led lens. Dollinger et al. (2018) define co-creation as a process that encourages active exchange and interaction through the integration of students’ resources and organisational resources, which stimulates innovation and improves practice. It can take place when staff and students work collaboratively to create elements of curricula and/or pedagogical approaches (Bovill et al., 2016) which can influence the methods and didactics within the curriculum, appropriate for the time, context, and group of students (Iversen et al., 2015). It can have a broader application when students and staff co-create outside the classroom in the wider university setting, highlighting the variety in how co-creation can unfold (Dollinger & Lodge, 2020).

The resistance to change within education has obstructed the integration of HESD which influences the lack of interdisciplinary education, resistance from teachers, and rigid teaching structures (Foley, 2021). Co-creation has significant potential in the growth and development of ESD (Foley, 2021), however, what exactly such co-creation entails, what motivates people to engage with it, and how it is implemented within existing teaching environments at universities is not yet well studied (Zarandi et al., 2022). In addition, when considering co-creation and HESD the development of sustainability competencies is a central element pertaining to the development of learners.

Regarding the context, Maastricht University has known a learner-centred approach since its inception and states that by 2030 it will be a driver of sustainable development and a completely sustainable campus  (Maastricht University, 2021).  As a result, this research uses Maastricht University as a baseline to build on, developing first a clear conceptual framework of co-creation in HESD, identifying the good practices and motivations within the field of higher education and sustainability. Second, it will progress towards the assessment of co-creation’s effect on sustainability competencies and the co-production of a co-creation toolkit, targeted to those wishing to engage further with transformative approaches to ESD.

Grow, replicate, and change institutional structure: how alternative food networks manage to scale in a hybrid governance context

Our globalized food system has led to significant environmental and social challenges, such as contributing to one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions and being responsible of issues like food insecurity and malnutrition. In response, Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) have emerged as a way to address these problems. AFNs represent innovative, community-driven approaches to food production and consumption, often built on values of environmental and social justice.

My PhD research focuses on understanding the governance of AFNs and how they can scale to influence broader food system transitions. I explore these AFNs through a hybrid governance lens, recognizing that they involve collaboration between diverse actors from different sectors, with conflicting interests. This hybridity creates tensions that AFNs must navigate in order to grow and impact food transition.

Beyond just increasing market share or sales, AFNs aim to reshape institutional structures and influence societal values around food systems. My project examines these dynamics by conducting case studies in five cities in the Wallonia region of Belgium. By analysing the historical development of AFNs in these areas, I aim to uncover the various pathways through which they scale and enhance their societal impact within a complex governance landscape. This research will provide insights into how AFNs can drive meaningful, sustainable change in food systems.

Creating the Circular Built Environment – Ecosystem Creation and Social Acceptability for the Circular Economy Transition in the Built Environment

The transition to a circular built environment (CBE) is imperative for addressing the environmental and social challenges posed by the current built environment and its associated linear construction sector. This research aims to contribute to a comprehensive transition to a circular built environment by considering its cross-sectoral nature and fostering collaboration among diverse stakeholders through ecosystem creation.

Many business model approaches focus on individual firms, yet achieving circularity requires a broader Ecosystem Perspective (EP). Combining Business Innovation Studies with Ecosystem Perspectives, the research contributes to the initiation of ecosystems for circular business models (CBMs) in the BE. We intend to develop tools for businesses to detect additional value laying in circular practices along their entire value/product chain (Nussholz, 2018). Further, shedding light on the CBE’s social dimension, this research will fuel Circular Business Model Innovation for the CBE that has a high degree of social acceptability and allows a subsiding of liner to circular structures adequate to the social ecology of circular systems solutions.

The research is subject to the EU Horizon2020 project DRASTIC, which intends to untap the potential of decarbonization processes in the Built Environment and it’s capacity to influence the overall circular transition of the global economy.

Crises in transitions or transitions in crisis?

Crises have been defined broadly as events that cause major disruption to the day-to-day functioning of society (Boons et al., 2020) or “a situation faced by an individual, group, or organization which they are unable to cope with by the use of normal routine procedures and in which stress in created by sudden change” (Booth, 1993, p86). My research will explore the impact of such crises on sustainability transitions by combining theorizing on transitions with theories of practice. 

Empirically, it will investigate the impacts of the energy crisis - triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine - on the renewable energy transitions in the Netherlands and the UK. It will focus on understanding how the crisis impacted energy supply and residential energy consumption practices; helping to understand how a change in these practices can contribute to the renewable energy transition. 

The action research planned to be undertaken with local policymakers will use practice theory to provide interventions that can: 1) reconfigure practices in response to a crisis to become more sustainable and 2) prevent these practices from bouncing back to normal post-crisis.  

Transboundary learning in higher education for sustainable development: Designing learning environments and competence assessments

In the past two decades, education for sustainable development has been increasingly discussed on global, national, and regional agendas, resulting in a blossom of sustainability-related programmes and courses. Higher education graduates are expected to deal with sustainability-related societal problems during their professional and personal lives. The challenge is that these multi-faceted problems cannot be solved by individuals or using a single perspective. To produce competent professionals and improve education quality, universities put effort into defining/adopting relevant competence frameworks that include specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes. However, processes and impacts of learning still appear as Pandora’s box because: 1) Perspectives towards sustainable development are influenced by motivations, demographic, and intellectual backgrounds, but they remain inadequately assessed for the relevance to education; 2) interactions in learning environments can lead to both positive and negative outcomes for individuals, groups, and organisations, 3) complexities in real-world learning cannot be tackled without considering the direct and indirect impact of social, economic, and environmental factors.   

Successful crossing of disciplinary, cultural, and professional boundaries is an encompassing competence and a promising source of learning, which has become popular in designing learning environments. Although the patterns of interactions differ, study exchange, work placement, field trips, intervention workshops, student-stakeholder projects, university-led living labs, and start-up incubators are examples of learning environments that connect different perspectives and enable mutual learning. However, they risk failing to address students’ varying initial capacity and self-efficacy, group dynamics, support/hindrance in and outside the campus, the interplay of stakeholder interests, monitoring of career trajectories, and a lack of rigorous assessments overall.   

My PhD research contributes to fulfilling the said knowledge gaps, focusing on the design of learning environments and assessments for the competence of working across multiple boundaries:   

1. Tapping into insights from education and management sciences, specifically taking stock of knowledge in situations of boundary crossing, boundary spanning, and boundary work.
2. Linking different views on nature and ways of life from the Cultural Theory to perspectives on sustainable development (students, teachers, researchers, and stakeholders), quantifying the degree of diversity and change of perspectives before and after a study period.
3. Designing and experimenting with configurations of learning environments (i.e. alternative classrooms) to enable boundary interactions and learning from different perspectives, offering an open, authentic, inspirational and fun part of higher education for sustainable development. 

Better, Not More – Business strategies to enable sufficient consumption

This PhD project focuses on the role that business can play in a transition towards sufficient, sustainable consumption. Sufficiency refers to consumption that enables prosperity for all while remaining within the boundaries of planetary capacity. Sufficient consumption is needed as the current economic system is based on the continuous consumption of new products, and overconsumption of resources, which creates negative environmental and social impacts.

Businesses are key creators of demand, through their product and service offering and advertising. While many businesses have recognized the need to work towards sustainability, these efforts remain largely confined to efficiency improvements and moves towards a circular economy (consistency). This, however, is insufficient in tackling sustainability challenges, as rebound effects swallow resource and emissions savings and overconsumption remains unchallenged. This research addresses the more radical proposition of businesses acting as leaders for sufficiency, supporting their consumers to reconsider their consumption behaviour and consume differently, less, or not at all.

Overpassing the hot spot: Climate proofing with in a sustainable development strategy for Central America.

Central America faces decisive moments, not only by the challenges presented in terms of poverty, insecurity, vulnerability and institutional weakness, but also it is at a key time for taking the decisions and actions necessary to build a region of sustainable development.

The region has begun to implement climate proofing for public infrastructure, at national and local level, nonetheless, the region isn’t working to incorporate the climate proofing to the spatial planning, and even, the spatial planning is weak or absent in most of the region. At the same time, the Central American countries are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and also, have a large history of impacts thanks to extreme weather conditions.

In a region as vulnerable as Central America, is of high importance the use of strategies to climate proof their efforts towards its sustainable development. Climate proofing is a term considered new for the region, the Asian Development Bank define it as:

“identifying risks to a development project, or any other specified natural or human asset, as a consequence of both current and future climate variability and extremes, and ensuring that those risks are reduced to acceptable levels through long-lasting and environmentally sound, economically viable, and socially acceptable changes implemented at one or more of the following stages in the project cycle: planning, design, construction, operation, and decommissioning.” (ADB, 2005. P. 2)

The interest of this research is to document relevant international experience incorporating climate proofing strategies to the spatial planning as part of the efforts of adaptation to climate change in cities. Based on these experience, to build a proposal to strengthen the initial efforts of the region to climate proof public infrastructure, especially, elevating the scope to include climate proofing to the spatial planning in Central America’s cities.

Organisational Transformation and Systemic Change: Navigating pathways towards Sustainability for the University

How can universities effectively navigate pathways of transformation for sustainability? In order to answer this question, international case-study research on pioneering universities and their networks is developing and testing a tool to help evaluate and track fundamental transformation for organisations towards more actionable outcomes across diverse aspects of sustainability. These include but are not limited to: management performance, governance, intrapreneurship and innovation, sustainability in education, inter and transdisciplinary research, communications strategies, stakeholder management and social and environmental responsibility practices.

As part of an Action research approach, structured interventions will be applied to Maastricht University with the Green Office as the implementation agents, aiming to resolve system dysfunction and improve sustainability performance.

The project deliverables, aside from publications and a thesis, will include policy recommendations, management reviews, a transdisciplinary framework for organisational transformation for sustainability at universities, and – from a four year period of observations - executive reports on institutional governance for sustainability, longitudinal organisational assessments, and knowledge on increased social impact of academia through social entrepreneurship.

This PhD will work towards my core objective: to apply action research, for intentional change and improvement, in partnership with organisations that want purpose driven into their core and are committed to a fortuitous movement for sustainable development - whether in the public, private or social sectors. I will continue close participative research with the Green Office, and my network in social enterprise, in order to perform interventions for UM's sustainability performance in 2017. After 2017, the outcomes and continuation of this work will be primarily focussed and applied where there is the most traction and willingness to undertake necessary transformative change; external to ossified administrative, bureaucratic and political systems.

Detecting and analyzing assumptions and behavioural changes on pro-environmental consumer behaviour in relation to waste management through Big Data Analysis (BDA)

This PhD research originates from the need to better understand the human behaviour in relation to waste management through the analysis of the huge amount of unstructured data available online (like social media and other free platforms).

Nowadays the attention to sustainable development (SD) issues is continuously increasing as demonstrated, at the supra-national level, by development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their inclusion in the national agenda of many nations. At the individual level, the focus on SD matters is addressed through enhanced education, improved attention to our lifestyle and to the impact of our routine actions, responsible purchasing, respectful behaviours, etc. These concerns are also demonstrated by the creation of new terms as green attitude, pro-environmental behaviour, eco-friendly attitude, green consumption, to highlight the importance of the individual behaviour in pursuing the SD, and to indicate that the development of an environmentally sustainable consumption is also dependant on consumers' willingness to engage in pro-environmental behaviours.

Actually the analysis of human behaviour is very complex and interdisciplinary, especially when considering pro-enviromental factors, as demonstrated by the huge variety of approaches and methodologies adopted by the existing scholars. In the latter years, novel expanded approaches have been proposed with the intention of including all applicable factors in the correct way. These activities are very challenging, and many scholars agree that human actions are the results of a complex economic, social, physical and psychological process, influenced by numerous and heterogenoeus factors related to environment, culture, laws, politics, geography, circumstances, emotions, intentions, just to name a few of them.

Nowadays the researches on human behaviour and its influencing factors can definitely benefits of the analysis of big data (BD). For example, it would be useful to understand from the posts on social media the reaction of the inhabitants of a town to the introduction of municipal novel waste measures, or to comprehend the influence and interactions of economic, social and psychological factors on human perceptions in relation to environmental issues.

Unfortunately the majority of data available on internet are unstructured, but they potentially contain very useful information offering a great opportunity for the advancement of researches on human behaviour.

This does not mean that the key for success is BD itself, but our challenge is to create value from it by creating transparencies and unvealing relsationships, to better understand the human behaviour thorugh the utilization of big data analysis (BDA).

For the above-mentioned reasons this research aims at understanding some specific aspects of the human behaviour by taking full advantage of the most recent big data analysis tools through an interdisciplinary approach open to the collaboration of scholars from different disciplines.

Network leadership for advancing transformative capacity of social innovation

Tim is working half-time as a PhD researcher, investigating learning processes in networks of transformative social innovation initiatives like Impact Hubs, Transition Towns, TimeBanks, Hacker Spaces and Ecovillages.

This research draws on involvement with the recently completed EU-funded TRANSIT project (2014-2017), which developed an empirically grounded theory on how such social innovations relate to transformative social change. The focus lies on better understanding how network leaders can effectively shape the learning processes at various network levels for social innovations to develop transformative capacity.

Completed PhD Projects

• Sustainability Assessment tools for Urban Mobility – policy lessons from a China-Europe comparison
• Xu Liu

• Understanding Human-Ocean Relationships: A Multi-Perspective Analysis
• Mo Chen

• The Role of Animals and Nature in Learning for Sustainable Development --a Chinese Perspective
• Bingtao Su

• Are Energy Decisions About Energy?
• Wendy Broers

• The Role of Assumption in Social Change Processes
• Julia Backhaus

• Shared Value Creation and Inter-organisational Collaboration for Sustainable Business Model Innovation
• Myrthe Velter

• Spatially Modelling the Positive and Negative Effects of Nature on Human Health: a Focus on Optimizing Urban Green Infrastructure
• Bram Oosterbroek

• Global Sustainable Governance: Partnerships Between Fragmentation and Cohesion
• Ceren Pekdemir

• Organisational Transformation and Systemic Change: Navigating pathways towards Sustainability for the University
• Alex Baker-Shelley

The OPEDUCA Concept - Basing schooling (from primary to higher) on Education for Sustainable Development in a local-to-global multi-stakeholder reality of Learning

• Jos Eussen

• Climate and ENSO variability effect on dengue incidence in Aruba

Marck Oduber

• Certification contracts from an institutional economic perspective

Esther Sri Astuti

• Learning for sustainability: the learning process

Anneloes Smitsman

Ecological Consequences of Globalization: Implications for Sustainable Development (2017)
Lukas Figge | Read more

Social and Economic Effects of Coffee Certification, with a Specific Focus on the Livelihood Effects for Farmers (2017)

Ibnu Muhammad | Read more

The Role of Governments on Sustainable Agriculture (2017)
Atika Wijaya | Read more

The Social and Economic Effects of Palm Oil Certification, with a Specific Focus on the Livelihood Effects for Farmers (2017)
Nia Hidayat | Read more

Religion and sustainable development (2017)
Laura Kurth

The transition of farmers’ sustainable agricultural production behaviors:  comparative cases study in China and Netherlands
Jing Wang

Climate change and health: consequences and adaptation in Europe (2015)
Su-Mia Akin | Download

Climate change and dengue transmission in Vietnam: an integrated assessment (2015)
Toan Do Thanh | Download

A sunny future for photovoltaic systems in the Netherlands? An analysis of the role of government and users in the diffusion of an emerging technology (2014)
Veronique Vasseur | Download

Stepping stone cities? Exploring urban greening and gardening as a viable contribution to global biodiversity conservation (2014)
Carijn Beumer | Download

The Perspectives Method: Towards socially robust River Management. Maastricht University (2012)
Astrid Offermans | Download

Regional sustainable development: Barries in Practice (Findings from policy, citizens, practitioners and monitoring) (2011)
Annemarie van Zeijl-Rozema| Download

Living with Less: Prospects for Sustainability (2010)
Jeanine Schreurs

Sailing on the winds of change. The Odyssey of Sustainability of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Maastricht University. (2010)
Niko Roorda

Union democracy: The challenge of globalisation to organised labour in Ghana. (2010)
Akua Britwum

Innovation in car mobility. Co-evolution of demand and supply under sustainability pressures. (2010)
Marc Dijk

Climate change and tourism: Impacts and vulnerability in coastal Europe. (2010)
Alvaro Moreno

The role of future studies in innovation processes
Nicole Rijkens-Klomp