Changes in weather patterns due to climate change, such as increased precipitation intensity and hotter and dryer summers, are already occurring despite efforts to reduce emissions. Climate adaptation (CA) is a crucial method to deal with these effects of climate change. An example of an endorsed CA measure is in increasing and improving urban green space (UGS). The Dutch government aims to promote participation and stimulate citizen action, but municipalities have not adopted this outlook on citizen action yet. An example of such actions are Green Citizen Initiatives (GCIs), which are valued by municipalities because of the creation of public value in non-state and non-market ways, contributing to CA by creating and improving UGS. Municipalities can facilitate these initiatives by maintaining ownership of the initiative and UGS with the initiators, whilst steering and supporting the process and providing resources. Recent literature has identified barriers that affect the process of realising GCIs. It showed that there is no clear, common or singular approach employed by municipalities to facilitate GCIs. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide insights into the process of realising GCIs and the barriers municipalities and initiators face to improve facilitation of GCIs. This is achieved by answering the following main research question: How can Dutch municipalities facilitate green citizen initiatives to contribute to local climate adaptation?

The process of facilitating GCIs was defined from the perspective of GCI initiators based on literature, including the following five phases; Gathering Support, Gathering Resources, Design, Execution and Maintenance. After each phase a moment of evaluation should take place to decide if returning to an earlier phase is needed. Semi-structured interviews and a card-sort were used to gather practical data on this process. Thematic analysis of this data revealed eight key barriers. Recommendations to mitigate these barriers were identified, with which the Citizen Empowerment for Climate Adaptation (CEfCA) framework was developed. Municipalities can apply this framework to reduce the negative effects of the barriers and increase the number of successful GCIs for CA. This framework was validated by an expert discussion with a participant from front running municipality Arnhem, that currently already actively facilitates GCIs.

This thesis attempts to fill the gap in scientific literature on how GCIs are facilitated and how to improve this in practice. The CEfCA-framework provides recommendations to improve the process of realising GCIs, but a change in attitude towards CA with instead of for citizens may be needed to effectively implement the proposed framework. Further research is recommended on how this systemic change in outlook can be achieved.

Urbanization has led to environmental challenges such as the Urban Heat Island effect and the reduction of green spaces, resulting in lower carbon dioxide absorption, increased air pollution, and higher noise levels. Incorporating vegetation into buildings through vertical or horizontal greening systems can address these issues. However, these systems face challenges like high irrigation costs, artificial substrates, low integration, and short lifespans compared to building infrastructure. Bioreceptive materials offer a promising alternative by allowing greenery to grow directly on the material, bypassing these limitations. This research focuses on enhancing the bioreceptivity of concrete while evaluating its sustainability performance and structural integrity in terms of compressive strength (CS), and freeze-thaw resistance (FT).

The type of concrete being evaluated is porous concrete, designed to include a growing substrate for hosting plants. A multi-criteria analysis is used to determine the optimal concrete mix, considering three design criteria: bioreceptivity, sustainability, and structural integrity (including compressive strength and freeze-thaw resistance). Three mix designs are developed: a reference mix with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and limestone aggregates, and two mixes using a low-carbon Calcined Clay (C$^3$) binder—one with lava stone (Mix 1) and the other with recycled concrete aggregates (Mix 2). An iterative process is employed to adjust the binder and water content, evaluating workability, compressive strength after 5 days, and interconnected porosity. Once suitable proportions are achieved, the concrete samples are tested for their mechanical, bioreceptive, and sustainable properties. The incorporation of the substrate has also been tested, addressing a gap in the existing literature.

The compressive strength after 28 days was comparatively low for all tested mix designs due to high porosity, with achieved values as follows: Mix 1 (2.5 MPa), Mix 2 (3 MPa), and the reference mix (10 MPa). A decrease in compressive strength was observed when incorporating the growing substrate and after drying. Despite low compressive strength, all samples demonstrated resilience in freeze-thaw resistance, withstanding 28 FT cycles with low mass loss. However, Mix 1 and Mix 2 showed loosening of aggregates when pressed by hand after the standard testing process, indicating a need for further testing of CS after different FT cycles.

Various methods of substrate incorporation were evaluated, showing that the substrate did not penetrate the concrete pores but remained on the surface of the cubes. This did not negatively affect the bioreceptivity for plant growth. The volume of substrate incorporated per sample and mix design varied due to manual application and the surface connectivity of the aggregates for each concrete product. This variability in substrate volume affected the water absorption and retention results, suggesting that these outcomes do not consistently characterize the mix design but rather are variable. However, Mix 1 and Mix 2 exhibited high water absorption rates when considering the concrete product itself (Mix 1 = 164.4 g/L, Mix 2 = 134.1 g/L, Ref mix = 82.4 g/L). Lastly, leaching of elements from the concrete layer occurred, leading to an increase in the pH of the incorporated growing substrate. All samples showed germination after one month of testing, with Mix 1 displaying the highest average germination rate and dry biomass. However, Mix 2 and the reference mix exhibited high variance in plant growth results, likely due to varying outdoor conditions such as moisture and temperature. Further testing is recommended to better isolate the impact of these outdoor conditions, which could have contributed to the high variance in plant growth outcomes.

Finally, in terms of sustainability performance, Mix 1 and Mix 2 positively impact the environmental burden of the concrete product by reducing the ECI and CO$_2$ emissions by an average of 50\% per 1m$^3$ of concrete, considering LCA stages A1-A3. At the same time, the use of C$^3$ binder reduces the ECI and CO$_2$ emissions from the binder material extraction stage by 60\% compared to OPC binder, further demonstrating that this binder is a low-carbon alternative.

This research demonstrates that the tested mix designs, evaluated for bioreceptivity, sustainability, and structural integrity (in terms of compressive strength and freeze-thaw resistance), have great potential for use in vertical greening systems with Mix 1 identified as the most optimal concrete mix design. This finding is significant for urban environments, especially as urbanization is expected to increase in the coming years. Bioreceptive vertical greening systems made with sustainable materials can address environmental challenges in cities and align with the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addressing the transition towards Net Zero by 2050, it is imperative to acknowledge the construction industry's pivotal shift in perspective: sustainability must transition from being a 'maybe' to a 'must' (Hu, 2019). This research delves into the Dutch construction sector's journey in making this critical transition. The Netherlands, committed to becoming fully circular and achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050, faces a significant challenge in the widespread adoption of Low Impact Materials (LIMs). Despite various government initiatives and pilot projects aimed at fostering sustainable construction, the industry remains hesitant to fully embrace LIMs due to concerns over durability, commercial viability, and established practices...

This study develops a decision method for the implementation and assessment of standardisation in order to improve the Replacement & Renovation process of hydraulic structures. Possible improvements in the Replacement & Renovation process and the implementation of standardisation were identified by conducting semi-structured interviews. A general decision method results from combining the identified improvement points and the basic design principle. This general decision method is further developed by describing the required steps, decisions, input, and generated output. This decision method is a starting point for asset management organisations that want to start with implementing standardisation into the Replacement & Renovation process. A potential benefit of using the decision method is increased efficiency of the design process, as a learning curve is expected, saving time and money. Furthermore, the results can be used for an in-depth discussion about the feasibility of standardisation in the considered management area.

The Dutch government has set climate targets to reduce carbon emissions by 49% by 2030 and 95% by 2050 with respect to the 1990 levels. The construction sector contributes to 38% of national emissions making it a major contributor to climate change. The significant stock of existing buildings in the Netherlands presents a vital opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly as many of these buildings were constructed before the adoption of sustainability standards. Real estate institutional investors, who manage large portfolios of these older buildings, are key to driving this transition. While their current renovation practices focus primarily on operational carbon reduction, a whole-life carbon (WLC) approach incorporating embodied carbon is essential for meeting the Netherlands' climate targets. Despite recognizing WLC's importance, investors lack practical guidance for implementation. This research investigates how real estate institutional investors can incorporate embodied carbon considerations into their current energetic renovation processes in the Netherlands.
Through literature review and semi-structured interviews with leading real estate institutional investors from the Dutch Green Building Council working group, followed by expert panel validation, the study identifies their strategic roles in driving market demand and shaping sustainability practices, examines their current energetic renovation processes, analyzes key barriers and explores enablers for embodied carbon integration into their current energetic renovation processes.
The study develops a dual-level approach at strategic and project levels to address these barriers while leveraging identified motivators. Key findings reveal that successful WLC integration requires: (1) alignment with current renovation practices through phased implementation, (2) critical stakeholder engagement across the value chain, (3) market-driven strategies as enablers, and (4) knowledge and capacity-building. The research contributes by developing a systematic approach to integrate whole-life carbon into renovation processes, addressing barrier interconnections and stakeholder dynamics, while also offering practical, actionable strategies that align with existing workflows to help investors balance immediate needs with long-term sustainability goals.

Previous studies show that climate change effects and anthropogenic disturbances are having an increasingly strenuous effect on the performance of the coastal system of Sisal, a rural fishing village in the state of Yucatán, Mexico. Resilience has been a crucial component for these studies, as it presents the system's ability to react and adapt to environmental hazards and human interventions. In recent years, several research initiatives have aimed to assess the resilience of Sisal's coastal system through the use of previously identified resilience index calculations. However, these indices lack the ability to quantify disparities of resilience on a local scale. Furthermore, previous studies focus solely on the technical aspects of resilience, and therefore fall short on defining other relevant aspects of the term.

Consequently, this research project aimed to understand Sisal's coastline by understanding the multi-faceted definitions of resilience by analysing the socio-economic and technical factors impacting the coastal system. The study involved examining both its historical context, as well as potential future trends and developments.

This was done through a thorough evaluation of different aspects of the coast, a storm impact study and a social analysis. The findings of these studies are subsequently incorporated into a comprehensive web-tool, providing experts, policymakers, and community members with clear-cut and valuable information on the current resilience of Sisal's coastline.

The findings of the research present that the coastal resilience of Sisal is highly negatively impacted by human interventions along the coast, predominantly causing inadequate resilience performances on profiles with significant anthropogenic perturbations and generally along the coastline westwards of Sisal's port. Current coastal management policies are considered ineffective to deal with these developments, which is among others caused by exclusive decision-making processes and ambiguous governmental policies. Changes in coastal management strategies are therefore needed to effectively deal with future threats of environmental hazards and human interference. Ultimately, resulting in improved coastal and community resilience.

The civil engineering sector in the Netherlands faces significant challenges, particularly in Renovating and Replacing (R&R) infrastructure from the 1950s and 1960s. These challenges are exacerbated by limited budgets and a shortage of skilled personnel, especially for municipalities, which manage over 80% of civil structures and bear most R&R costs. This research aims to develop a Roadmap to help municipalities prioritize R&R tasks, meet stakeholder
demands, and optimize resources, exploring the challenges, stakeholder roles, current practices, and decision-making processes involved.

The literature review reveals that decisions on infrastructure intervention depend on the asset's condition, available resources, and objectives. Exploratory interviews identify five prioritization approaches for R&R projects: Asset-driven, Importance-driven, Capacity-driven, Area-oriented, and Collaboration-driven. The study also introduces the concept of organizational maturity to assess a municipality's capacity to address the R&R challenge.

The study concludes that municipalities face significant hurdles in prioritizing R&R tasks, including stakeholder management, information management, defining objectives, asset condition assessment, internal coordination, and uncertainties about future demands and political agendas.
To address these, a Roadmap is proposed, guiding municipalities to select prioritization approaches based on their organizational maturity. The recommended sequence starts with Asset-driven for safety, followed by Importance-driven for cultural value, Capacity-driven for compliance, Area-oriented for resident benefits, and Collaboration-driven to leverage market capacity. The study suggests municipalities begin with Asset-driven approaches and incorporate others as they grow in maturity. Additionally, it recommends establishing independent funding for R&R, creating a central information platform, formalizing prioritization processes, forming dedicated teams for urgent projects, and adopting alternative procurement criteria.

With the expansion of infrastructure projects in the Netherlands in terms of size and complexity, government bodies are increasingly inclined towards adopting a programmatic approach for managing multiple projects. This approach incorporates innovations to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in achieving program objectives. However, the development and implementation of innovations within these infrastructure programmes encounter various challenges, leading to not optimum utilization of innovations. One significant challenge stem from the limited practical experience in utilizing the programmatic approach, resulting in a limited understanding of both the programme's context and innovation process in multi-projects. Consequently, innovations tend to be developed and implemented using a project-based approach, which poses issues. Project-based approaches are inherently rigid and time-bound, while innovations necessitate time and flexibility. Furthermore, the discontinuous nature of projects impedes the effective utilization of the progressive learning curve essential for innovation development. This project-based approach creates an ongoing dilemma for suppliers, who face high risks and a lack of incentives to innovate, despite their pivotal role.

To bridge the gap between understanding and implementing innovations within infrastructure programme, this research aims to address the issue of ineffective innovation utilization in multi-project settings based on suppliers’ perspective. The research approach involves conducting three case studies where innovations are developed and implemented in multi-projects as part of infrastructure programmes. 11 suppliers, including engineering companies and contractors, were interviewed to identify the elements of innovation in multi-projects, including barriers and enablers.

The study reveals seven specific barriers and five enablers related to innovation in multi-projects within infrastructure programs. Notably, it highlights the previously overlooked challenges related to time in innovation, arising from prolonged processes and programme durations. The primary innovation challenge in multi-projects revolves around technical challenge, tied to iterative processes and uncertainty management, irrespective of the type of innovation. These challenges, inherent to innovation, emphasize the need to strike a balance where time supports rather than impedes innovation. The study also confirms known barriers and enablers from project literature. With the choice of a suitable contract form, such as framework or alliance contracts, emerges as a significant enabler. However, contracts can become barriers when they lack risk-sharing mechanisms and still promoting competition, hindering knowledge exchange with external parties. Client-related barriers include the client’s organization size/structure and clients’ inflexible demands. Additionally, the study identifies drivers, inputs, preconditions, outputs, and outcomes of innovations in multi-projects. Preconditions unique to multi-projects include strong organizational leadership, vision, commitment to innovations, financial capabilities, and the selection of an appropriate contract form. Beyond the typical inputs, suppliers stress the importance of certainty regarding the volume of work or the number of projects within multi-projects.

Based on research findings, a solutions framework was developed to facilitate the implementation of innovations in multi-projects. It consists of practical action plans and innovation boundaries designed to address barriers to innovation in multi-projects. Suppliers and public client organizations are recommended to use the Innov-Infra framework during project/program initiation (Part I) and project/program implementation (Part II), led by a designated person within the organization involved in multi-project innovations. Future research should explore public clients' perspectives in similar research across various programme types and sectors, employing qualitative research methods to delve deeper into procurement for innovations and the bundling of supply and demand in contracts.

This research extensively examines the pivotal shift toward circularity within the European construction and building sector, with a specific emphasis on HVAC systems in utility buildings. It commences by underscoring the pressing urgency precipitated by the Paris Agreement of 2015 and subsequent climate objectives, necessitating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and resource utilization. The construction and building sector's notable contributions to energy consumption, waste production, and material extraction highlight the imperative to address circularity within this industry.
The report delves deeply into the notion of the circular economy (CE), emphasizing its potential to disassociate economic growth from resource depletion and waste generation. While acknowledging the growing scholarly and corporate interest in CE, exemplified by industry giants such as Philips and IKEA, this study highlights the limited practical application of circular principles, particularly within the HVAC systems sector.
Recognizing the multifaceted and varying interpretations of circularity, the report seeks to demystify the concept by conducting a thorough literature review and interviews. Through a thematic analysis, it identifies existing challenges, proposes potential solutions, and evaluates the feasibility of implementing circular strategies for HVAC systems. Key findings encompass project-specific considerations, the influence of location and climate, and the imperative need for legislative reforms to expedite the transition.
Ultimately, the research provides a valuable starting point for MEP consultants, equipping them with a pragmatic decision support framework and a categorized repertoire of circular strategies. It encourages industry professionals to embrace circularity in HVAC design, bridging knowledge gaps and promoting sustainable practices. While acknowledging the study's limitations, including its qualitative nature and potential for bias, this study calls for future research to validate the framework through real-world cases, expand performance evaluation criteria, and advocate for policy reforms across the broader built environment. In summary, this study constitutes a vital stride toward fostering circularity and sustainability within the construction and HVAC sectors.

This master thesis is focused on developing a comprehensive decision-making framework for the bidding process of innovative projects in the EPC industry. The research explores the current literature on the bidding process, risks, uncertainties, managing risks during the bidding process, and decision-making. It identifies EPC contractors' internal and external challenges and provides insights into overcoming them. The research also assesses the risks associated with EPC contractors and provides recommendations for risk mitigation. One of the significant challenges in deciding whether to fund innovative projects is assessing the innovativeness level of the project. This assessment is crucial because more innovativeness means more unknowns and risks. Additionally, human factors play a significant role in decision-making since risks perception can vary from person to person. Therefore, a decision-making framework that encompasses all the factors involved in the bidding process for innovative projects is necessary. This thesis addresses three research questions: (1) How do you manage risks in the bidding process for innovative projects in the body of knowledge? (2) how are decisions taken during the bidding process by EPC contractors? Furthermore, (3) what are the challenges and opportunities for improving decision-making? Finally, the thesis proposes a new decision-making framework that integrates innovativeness assessment in the decision-making process by considering all the factors around such decisions.

In 1987, Brundtland coined the term "sustainable development" to tackle the worldwide issue of environmental deterioration. Subsequent to that, swift progressions in science and technology have resulted in climate change, characterized by a rapid increase in global temperatures. The primary objective of the Paris Climate agreement is to limit the increase in global temperatures to a maximum of 2°C, with a preferable target of 1.5°C. The issue of energy usage in buildings is increasingly concerning as buildings contribute to 40% of the total carbon dioxide emissions. Global governments are implementing stringent steps to mitigate emissions and establish benchmarks for energy usage in buildings. In the Netherlands, mandatory energy labels have been implemented to regulate energy usage. However, these labels solely consider energy consumption related to heating, cooling, lighting, and hot water supply. This leads to disparities in energy performance, which are frequently disregarded or ignored throughout the design phase.
The behavior of occupants is a critical factor in building design, as it has a substantial influence on energy consumption. Occupant-centric design minimizes overall energy usage by decreasing buildings' susceptibility to occupant behavior. The categorization of occupant behavior encompassed three primary classifications: occupancy, interactions, and behavioral efficiency. These characteristics highlight the diverse manners in which occupant-related factors impact the energy efficiency of buildings. The industry's current processes expose multiple issues and limitations that contribute to energy performance gaps, including specific design and asset management techniques. In order to minimize the overall energy consumption in buildings and close the energy performance gap, it is imperative to tackle these issues. Considering the problems and deficiencies found in present industry practices and the theoretical insights from scientific literature, it is crucial for real estate developers to consider aspects associated to the occupants when designing a building. Occupant behavioral aspects identified in literature are associated with the design of building components, including the façade, spatial layout, HVAC systems, lighting, and others.
A design approach that prioritizes the needs and preferences of the occupants was developed by establishing a connection between factors linked to the occupants and the design of the building. The design strategy has three distinct phases: pre-design, conceptual design, and detailed design. During each stage of the design process, a design that prioritizes the needs of the occupants is created by considering the several aspects that influence the occupants' energy consumption behavior. Additionally, a strategy for asset management will be created to guarantee the fulfillment of energy performance goals during the building's operational phase. Real estate developers must take this crucial step to achieve regulations, such as Paris-proof targets, which impose limits on the overall energy consumption in buildings, including those by the tenants. The design strategy incorporates various metrics to monitor the energy performance of buildings, which serve as the foundation for bridging the energy performance gap. The developed design strategy also has several significant practical implications that were identified.

In project-based organizations, enhancing performance and augmentation of project value rely heavily on the effective assimilation of past experiences. Nevertheless, the intricate nature of projects and time constraints present extra challenges for an effective learning across various project teams. Inter-project learning, particularly in the context of specialized teams, increased complexities, and limited interactions, become more challenging. This thesis endeavours to propose innovative approaches that aim to help project-based organizations to improve their inter-project learning processes.
This research addresses a critical gap in the literature, as there is limited existing research on inter-project learning within project-based organizations. The study begins with an extensive literature review encompassing organizational learning, project-based organizations, and inter-project learning. Based on the literature study, a hypothesis model has been developed. This model categorizes the factors into three main categories: barriers, facilitators, and influencing factors. Moreover, the factors are classified into three dimensions, each representing components that constitute the learning infrastructure mechanisms, knowledge accessibility, or organizational culture.
Following this, empirical research took place through a case study within the organization under study. The case study focused on understanding the organization's existing approach to inter-project learning and involved interviews with experienced project managers to gain deeper insights into inter-project learning processes. The findings shed light on the continuous need for improvement in the inter-project learning process. The results suggest that the factors impacting inter-project learning can be classified differently than merely as barriers, facilitators, and influencing factors. Instead, they can be classified as factors into four structural domains. These domains encompass technological, social, organizational, and industrial. Each domain represents various aspects that can be covered by the organization and each domain offers a more nuanced understanding of the factors that shape the dynamics of inter-project learning.
The research presents a roadmap framework that guides project-based organizations on what steps they need to undertake to improve inter-project learning. Utilizing this roadmap framework will assist organizations in enhancing performance and eventually increasing project value as a result of the effective utilization of the learning processes. This roadmap can be used as a starting point to optimize inter-project learning and knowledge exchange processes and eventually improve performance and augment project values.

The current market forces of infrastructural projects in the Dutch construction sector necessitate public clients to divide a large-scale multidisciplinary project into multiple contracts. This causes diverse contractors to have to work simultaneously. Interfaces arise between the contracts, which require a deeper collaboration to align all activities. Coordination becomes a very important factor in such projects. Current attempts to create better coordination focus mainly on clients' contractual and organizational measures. This research aims to map the importance of the human aspect within coordination and help a client organize itself to create a better coordination process. This is done by looking at the contractual and organizational instruments that stimulate coordination. Hereby, the organizational measures are divided into relational, personal, and governance aspects.

Through a literature review, the steering mechanisms for good coordination within the contractual, relational, personal, and governance contexts were established. A case study provided the issues of coordination in practice and laid down the basis of possible instruments to help a public client with the coordination process. The main takeaways were the misinterpretation and misalignment of the specifications of agreements, choosing the wrong coordinator, the lack of attention to relations, and the unclear governance from the client’s side. After this, a preliminary framework of the coordination process was reviewed through expert sessions. Together, this created the basis for the final framework of this thesis.
The key findings of this research were the need to facilitate coordination and collaboration during the pre-execution through requirements in the contracts and a start-up period with the involved clients and the co-contractors. During the execution phase key findings were the need to facilitate coordination and collaboration by the attention to the human aspect and its process, besides aiming for the best project result. This research contributed to the current literature by showing how the current coordination processes of a public client within the Dutch construction sector lack attention to the human side during projects.

In recent years, the concept of sustainability has grown in popularity and has become a critical strategic component for businesses (Garza, 2013). Corporate organizations, as the industry's productive drivers, play a crucial role in attaining sustainable development. Thus, the problems have shifted from "WHY" to "HOW" to integrate sustainability into management decisions at all organizational levels (Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). Corporate entities, such as EPC contractors, tend to realize their strategic goals and produce value for their shareholders through projects. However, for sustainability to be evident in all organizational practices, these methods must be well adapted at the operational level. Organizations are increasingly struggling to translate their strategic goals into project-specific activities (Marcelino-Sádaba et al., 2015; Engert & Baumgartner, 2015). In practice, there is a significant gap between strategy formulation and project implementation (Økland, 2015). The problem addressed by this study is the gap between the formulation of strategic level objectives and its implementation at the operational level. According to researchers, integrated ways to putting sustainability into action are inadequate, and there is no systematic approach to effectively incorporating sustainability into projects (Silvius et al., 2012; Sabini et al., 2019; Epstein & Buhovac, 2014). As a result, sustainability goals often remain confined at the strategic level.

The purpose of this research is to provide solutions to the EPC contractor to overcome the barriers to enhance the integration of sustainability in projects and bridge the implementation gap. The results will provide a structured approach in connecting high-level sustainability objectives to more concrete and tangible solutions for the project. This research is an attempt to respond to the lack of empirical studies on the implementation of organizational sustainability strategies and helps reveals how organizations can move towards translating strategy into action and overcome the barriers to sustainability implementation.

To achieve this objective, the research is divided into three main phases. In phase one, literature review and document review was conducted. Through literature review five elements essential for implementing sustainability strategies were identified i.e., organizational decision-making, lifecycle thinking, balancing the triple bottom line, stakeholder engagement, and proactive approach. Through document review the gap between strategic and operational level was highlighted. In the second phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with people in the top management and project managers to identify the barriers to sustainability implementation resulting in the gap between strategic and operational level. In total 20 barriers were identified. The interviews also included understanding the application of elements identified from literature review in practice. The third and the final phase, synthesised all the findings from phase one and two, and proposed solution to the EPC company to integrate sustainability in projects. This was done by providing mitigating actions to overcome the identified barriers and proposing a framework to translate strategy into action, thus bridging the implementation gap. Using the suggested framework to make the strategy explicit has the following benefits: it encourages communication and strategy execution, allows for strategy discussion within the organization, and tracks progress toward long-term goals to determine whether the strategy is clear or needs improvement.

Programmes in the Dutch infrastructure sector can contribute to overcoming the industry’s lagging performance and the increasing amount of renovation of work it is currently facing. Additionally, they have the potential to integrate the fragmented supply chain while facilitating better coordination of the projects being executed more effectively and efficiently. However, they also introduce chaos to the collaboration that can be detrimental effect on the programme’s outcome. Although there is extensive literature on inter-organizational collaboration in projects, little attention has been paid to the programme context. It is still unknown how governance should be organized to facilitate inter-organisational collaboration in programmes Therefore, this study responds to the call for research. Two Dutch infrastructure programmes were studied to understand the governance approach used and how it facilitated inter-organizational collaboration. The results from the case studies showed that inter-organizational collaboration in the early phases of infrastructure programmes is facilitated by an interplay of relational and contractual mechanisms corresponding to the six dimensions of governance: goal-setting, capability building, rewarding, roles & decision-making, coordination and monitoring. This governance mechanisms are established by the programme level and the contracting authorities’. They intend to provide a framework for organizational processes, decision-making, and coordination in the programme, while integrating the different levels of the programme. Additionally, this research provides a model that aims to provide a structural way to organize future programme governance while allowing public clients to analyze their choices better

The aim of the thesis investigates and addresses what strategies municipalities can use in relation to collaborative action in a collaborative governance setting to facilitate heat transition at regional scale. The heat transition is a multifaceted problem where fragmentation and a deficient direction role of municipalities is a key institutional challenge. To address the problem, regional energy strategies are established to collaborate with state and non-state stakeholders, but the heat transition is still stagnating today. Collaborative governance is a governing arrangement that engages public and non-public organizations in a collective decision-making process to implement public policy to resolve social-technical problems. However, today the application of the collaborative governance theory is scarce on sustainable transformation. For this reason, the author decided to apply a collaborative governance lense on the current situation for heat transition.

The thesis first examines the collaborative governance framework, which is the most suitable to apply in relation to heat transition. In the second step, the selection of a comparative empirical research methodology is selected. Third, two RES regions with rural characteristics are investigated to get insight into the current situation. Lastly, the empirical findings are discussed in relation to current collaborative governance literature and governmental policy. Finally, recommendations for municipalities and other regional stakeholders can be provided.

The empirical findings show that collaborative governance conditions are rarely present to facilitate the heat transition at regional scale. The author identified crucial conditions within the system context and collaborative governance process itself, which is explainable by the iterative nature of the model. The conditions include the current deficient policy and legal framework, high level of contention among citizens, inadequate resource conditions. In the collaborative governance regime itself this results in lack of interdependence, trust and high level of uncertainty, through which no shared interest or common language are practiced. The thesis concludes with recommendations for the regional collaboration regarding heat transition for practitioners and for future research on collaborative governance.

Researchers in the past have shown that communication is integral to successful results in a project's design phase. This is said so as there are multiple professionals from diverse backgrounds who come together to prepare a project's design. Consequently, communication between these professionals becomes a key component as it is the way they share project information apart from sharing their knowledge and thoughts at this stage. However, the relationship between communication and project success is not well defined, particularly the understanding of the barrier and drivers of communication in a design team seems obscure. Thus, this research builds on this theme and tries to understand project communication in detail. By examining the communication practices of a design team through the lens of literature, this study aims to describe how communication affects the project outcome and specify ways to improve it. To fulfill this objective, this research is divided into three parts. In part A, the literature is reviewed to gain insights and reflect on the attributes that describe the communication of a design team and explain the influence of these attributes on project success. In part B, a document review is done to analyze the documents produced by a design team that provide guidelines for the team's communication practices for project success. In part C, semi-structured interviews are conducted to obtain empirical data explaining the communication practices followed by the team while working on a project. Following this, the results obtained from the three parts are compared, which helps identify the gaps in literature and the guidelines contained in the documents on the communication practices to be used by the team.
The results of this study suggest that communication is the central aspect that controls the functioning of the team. Communication practices impacts the team's collaboration, coordination, project performance, and quality of the work produced by the team. The impact of communication practices on these aspects of a project is categorized under two categories: drivers and barriers of communication. Based on these, recommendations for improving communication practices and mitigating barriers to project success are made and validated with experts. The study concludes with discussions on how adapting lean principles can bring many benefits to a team in the form of focus in meetings, minimizing transaction time of sharing information and developing a feedback culture. Also, these discussions describe that when working on a complex project, using a recommendation framed in this research; a team can mitigate various challenges associated with groupthink.

Reuse is highly appraised in the theories about circularity and sustainability. However, overpass girders in the main road network of Rijkswaterstaat are never reused for the same function. There are barriers present which hampers the reusing elements in comparison with the traditional way of handling infrastructure projects. Most of the main reasons why girders are never reused in the main road network of Rijkswaterstaat according to the interviewed authorities can be diminished with the designed process model. The process model creates insight in the process and results are gained in the SBIR project. Insight is necessary in the total process, environmental impact, financial impact, supply and demand, and dismantling the structural components. Next to the process steps there are essential boundary conditions for reusing structural components in large scale. External boundary conditions are clear laws & regulations and the improvement of environmental impact both in calculation tools and in environmental gains for tender contracts. The laws and regulations must explicitly state what rules should be followed. Rijkswaterstaat can provide this necessary clarity. Also, the calculation tools must be adjusted so that all reuse advantages and disadvantages are included in the calculation and a fair comparison can be made. The process steps consist of evaluation of the structure, impact calculation and supply & demand. When the process steps are followed the highest potential of reusing elements can be reached. After the process steps are ran through, the knowledge must be shared with all market parties and clients. This will create new insights in the sector which can result in new ambitions and new eco-innovations. With the newly gained insight, the process model of reusing structural components can be followed again to improve the circularity and sustainability of the sector at each new process cycle.

The climate is changing and industries world-wide need to transform to assure a liveable earth for future generations. Within the construction sector, this requires a different approach and perspective on the life-cycle of civil engineering assets since the construction industry and its build environment is the world’s largest consumer of raw materials and responsible for 25-40% of the CO2 emissions. To make the transit to a more sustainable system, an increasingly discussed approach is a shift from the current linear lifecycles to a circular orientated economy. This latter means the preservation of used materials rather than dispose. In this way, the lifecycle loop of the materials is closed and the energy demand and the scarcity of raw resources is reduced. This more circular way of constructing entails the integration of the assets’ end-of-life phase and its’ circular solutions into the design. The reuse of assets, flexibility and adaptability in its’ function, modular based structures and a material database are all possible ways in dealing with assets after their lifetime in a circular manner. The shift towards a circular economy provides the possibilities for reducing the use of primary materials, protection of material resources and reduce the carbon footprint. This enhances a more sustainable practise of the construction industry though asks for major changes in its current operation. Clients play a substantial part in the transition towards a circular construction industry due to their responsibility in the formulation of the scope, project ambitions and requirements in the initiation phase of a project. Rijkswaterstaat, the biggest public client in the Netherlands, has the ambition to tender all the projects climate neutral and circular together with enhancing the sustainable living environment by 2030 and be fully circular by 2050. Circular pilot projects and programs are developed to promote the use of circular principles in the initiation phase, although circularity is currently often seen as an additional feature instead of an integral design principle. This results in a late consideration of the aspect and therefore a low level of circularity. To enhance circularity in projects there is a need for a clear and integral design process that includes circularity and an increase in knowledge among all team members of a project on circularity and the possibilities for the design. The aim of this research is to unite the circularity principles with the design process of hydraulic infrastructure projects and enable circularity to become common practice and a way of thinking. This is accomplished with a framework for implementing circularity in the design process based on state-of-the-art literature and results in a flowchart that aims to guide a project team to consider circularity and its opportunities during the integral design process of an asset. The flowchart visualizes the important development steps needed for the implementation of circularity, together with a circular way of approaching de design of an asset that includes the circular design principles. Thereafter, the public clients’ current design process and practice on implementing circularity is researched in an empirical quantitative study. These findings are reflected against the approach based on literature and show the points of attention for the public client on implementing circularity in the design process. The flowchart is verified with a case study on the project Weir Grave concerning the reconditioning of a historical weir in the river Meuse in the province of North-Brabant. This case study showed that the flowchart is valuable for the implementation of circularity and includes the significant aspects to consider. Although, the flowchart is not yet an applicable chart for design teams due to the high amount of information, layout and English language. A workable version with instructions is realized to improve this. Various barriers accompany the implementation of circularity in the construction sector with the most substantial being the necessary integral character of the industry and design process along with the timing of including the aspect in this process. An integral design method benefits circularity because numerous aspects and lifecycle phases of an asset influence the level of circularity. The integral character also assist the required early consideration of circularity, which is now often considered too late in the design process. Currently, the circular guidelines for the public client are focused on their role as an acquisition party and not on their part in the design. Therefore the design steps for circular assets are not part of the clients’ procedure, although this procedure does influence the possibilities for circularity. Therefore, the public client needs to take circularity into account prior to the tender procedure, in the initiation- and design phase, as relevant decision that influence the possibilities for circularity are made in these phases. This also influences the collaboration with the market party and requires a clear and uniform ambition towards them. Additionally, support, knowledge and an organization wide approach on circularity are of significance when implementing circularity in the design process. This reduces the current risk avoidance culture on circular design and supports the decisions made. One of the most practical measures to enhance circularity in a project is the implementation of the aspect as a requirement from the start in the clients’ internal project assignment and in the tender towards the market to create a responsibility for considering the aspect.