Energy cooperatives are non-profit civil society organisations that promote the energy transition by mobilizing public backing and increasing private investment. However, energy cooperatives often face various challenges that hinder their success. Within literature, it appears that the barrier professionalisation has to be addressed to allow them to engage in more (complex) projects towards the energy transition.

However, professionalisation remains a vaguely defined concept in the energy cooperative literature. Based on literature and interviews with representatives of organisations that work with cooperatives on a daily basis, the description of ‘organisational capacity’ of cooperatives matches professionalisation. Organisational capacity consists of leadership capacity, adaptive capacity, management capacity and technical capacity. Especially leadership capacity appears to require special attention for young cooperatives.

Furthermore, another question that arises with professionalisation is that, given the extent it can be a barrier for energy cooperatives to professionalise, if there is not an alternative route with lower complexity. It is argued that professionalisation is mainly needed to allow cooperatives to expand project portfolio and complexity while assuring long-term sustainability of the organisation. Options for collaboration as a substitute for professionalisation typically do not cover issues in leadership capacity and focus more on managerial and technical capacity. Other alternatives are stagnation, exit or merging – yet these carry significant barriers that can harm the community and its involvement.

Further analysis has been conducted to understand the success factors and barriers that need to be addressed for professionalisation to occur. A set of ‘professionalisation pathways’ help cooperative boards understand what developmental pathways cooperatives typically take. The pathways include an innovator pathway, broad local pathway, and a local energy efficiency and savings pathway. Each has their own requirements for professionalisation. A plurality of success factors for professionalisation are identified, matching these pathways. It appears that strategic thinking is an essential first step towards a professional organisation yet lacking in cooperative boards, and therefore needs to be prioritised.

However, one thought that inevitably follows here is how one might address insufficient strategic thinking of board members. There are a variety of options, yet the format of a serious game could stimulate long-term strategic thinking. As a result, the cooperative game called ‘EcoCoop: road to 2035’ was created. After a draft was made, the game was optimized through testing with students. The resulting game ‘EcoCoop: road to 2035’ was expected to support strategic thinking, as it enticed players to think further ahead as a team: players are required in-game to invest in organisational capacity in order to execute projects and vice versa and prepare for upcoming technologies, all in order to meet goals specified for in approximately 10 years.

Whether the game can actually increase strategic thinking in board members was evaluated through 4 tests with energy cooperative board members using the Triadic Game Philosophy, which includes the dimensions of reality, meaning and play. The results indicate that the game might help cooperatives think strategically towards long-term goals, however, the study points to the need to increase playability to motivate deeper strategic thinking.

Indonesia is working toward renewable energy targets of a 23% share by 2025 and at least 31% by 2030. The role of local initiatives in advancing this transition becomes increasingly significant. Bali presents a unique case study within this national effort. The island's growing energy demand, combined with its commitment and attachment to sustainability value, makes it a focal point for exploring the potential of Community Energy (CE) initiatives—decentralized, community-driven projects aimed at producing and managing renewable energy. This thesis investigates the development of CE initiatives in Bali using the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) framework, set within the broader context of Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) theory. Despite Bali's proactive stance on renewable energy, evidenced by its local government’s energy plans, the region faces significant challenges, including regulatory barriers, limited financial resources, and technical constraints. These challenges hinder the growth of CE projects that could otherwise play a vital role in the island's energy transition. Through a comprehensive approach that combines desk research, media analysis, and interviews with key stakeholders—including government officials, NGOs, local practitioners, and academics—this study examines the socio-technical landscape of Bali's energy sector. It explores the interplay between local cultural practices, government policies, and external pressures, such as international commitments and economic crises, in shaping the development of CE initiatives.
The research findings reveal the critical importance of local networks and cultural practices, particularly the involvement of customary villages, in supporting CE projects. However, the economic viability of these initiatives is often compromised by the availability of subsidized electricity from the Java-Bali grid, which discourages local investment in renewable energy infrastructure. The thesis identifies key barriers and opportunities, highlighting the need for streamlined regulatory processes, enhanced funding mechanisms, and capacity-building programs to foster the growth of CE in Bali.

This research critically examines Dutch water boards' journey towards the circular use of dredged sediment, set against the backdrop of water boards’ ambitious targets for circularity. Water boards, carrying the majority of responsibility for regional dredging, must navigate the surplus of approximately 40 million cubic meters of dredged material annually, with the declining availability of disposal permits. This has made the pursuit of circular solutions essential. Despite the central role of water boards in managing dredged material, particularly in freshwater contexts, there has been a lack of empirical study on how these actors are navigating and shaping the transition towards the repurposing of this material. As they confront this challenge, Dutch water authorities have set bold targets, aligning with national circularity goals: achieving 50% circularity by 2030 and reaching 100% by 2050.

Energy storage, and energy systems in general, can give rise to local and global injustices, and thus it is important to develop, deploy and regulate energy systems in a just manner. Energy justice scholarship has two aims, namely to (a) understand and explain claims of injustice (descriptive aim) and (b) evaluate energy systems in terms of justice and propose policy and design recommendations (normative aim). However, existing energy justice frameworks have limited capacities to achieve both aims because they insufficiently acknowledge normative uncertainties. Different stakeholders have different ideas about when something is (un)just, and as such, there is normative uncertainty about what ‘energy justice’ implies for energy systems. This dissertation aims to strengthen the conceptual foundations of energy justice in light of normative uncertainties, which helps achieve both aims. To do so, the dissertation leverages social sciences and political philosophy, more specifically Critical Theory. The conceptual contributions in this dissertation help detect, analyse, and evaluate energy conflicts and claims of injustice and include a revisited energy justice framework, a reconceptualization of recognition justice, and the hidden morality heuristic. This dissertation stresses the importance of acknowledging normative uncertainty in energy decision-making, the need for justification of normative claims, and the importance of a critical dialogue on energy justice in academia and society, to help guide decision-making towards more just energy storage systems.@en

Transition governance is driven by diverse and often competing expectations. In this dissertation, I develop an informed argument for increased attention to the legitimacy of such expectations. This is needed, rstly, because transition expectations emerge and compete with each other in oftentimes politicised yet rarely democratised processes, in which ultimately some (actors’) expectations become shared and performed while others are not. Secondly, because transition expectations generally promise a signicant but unequal impact on societal groups, or publics in transitions. Consequently, expectations oftentimes touch upon matters of in- and exclusion, justice and injustice, power and disempowerment in transitions. For these reasons, both transition expectations and the governance processes in which they emerge and do their work can lead to (perceptions of) illegitimacy. @en

The critical importance of investing in renewable energy to mitigate climate change cannot be overstated. Renewable energy projects are capital-intensive and risky. With this unbalanced risk and return profile, private-sector financial actors are often not in a position to fund these projects. Furthermore, the current magnitude of renewable energy financing is still low, particularly in comparison to the climate change mitigation goals set by policymakers. Because renewable energy investments fall short of what is needed, we can speak of an investment gap in renewable energy generation and technologies

This study centres on the (private and public) renewable energy investment gap in the Netherlands. The Netherlands was chosen since the literature lacks a comprehensive overview of the nation’s renewable energy financing. Furthermore, the Netherlands has not yet met its renewable energy targets which signifies the need for increased investments in the renewable energy sector. Government funding for renewable energy projects encounters certain constraints, primarily due to the Stability and Growth Pact, which dictates that EU members must maintain fiscal discipline, meaning that the government has to operate within a specific budgetary limit. Therefore, the private sector has a pivotal role to play in bridging the renewable energy investment gap. This shows the necessity for collaboration between the public and private sectors to mitigate climate change. Governments can use policy instruments to motivate or mobilise additional green investments by private financial actors.

Against this background, this master thesis investigates the following research question: How can the mobilisation of Dutch private investors in the renewable energy sector close the renewable energy financing gap?

To address this question, four deliverables are presented. Firstly, Chapter 2 offers a comprehensive literature review within the designated field. Secondly, Chapter 4 empirically estimates the investment gap in the renewable energy supply in the Netherlands. Thirdly, statistical analysis is used to investigate the relationship between private financing and public policies and financing. Comprehensive data collection was conducted for both public and private financing; specifically, a time-series database (2004-2022) has been constructed for green financing by major Dutch banks and pension funds, drawing on annual reports and sustainability reports published by these actors.

This third deliverable includes two sub-deliverables. Firstly, Chapter 5 presents a descriptive analysis of the Dutch renewable energy financial landscape, based on the database that has been created during this research. This analysis includes research on Dutch commercial banks with a sustainability index, an analysis of the green bond market, an analysis of renewable energy consumption in the Netherlands and public policies. Secondly, Chapter 6 presents a regression analysis performed to understand the relationship between private sustainable financing on the one hand, and public policy support and direct public investments on the other hand. This was conducted with the following statistical methods: an OSL regression, univariate regression, and factor analysis. The fourth deliverable presents a validation of the findings conducted in the literature review and the regression analysis. This validation was conducted through semi-structured interviews with experts in the renewable energy sector, including private financial actors, government policy experts and an expert in renewable energy generation. This deliverable is presented in Chapter 7.

The findings of this thesis report are as follows. The analysis of the investment gap in renewable energy supply in the Netherlands shows that a substantial step-up of 132% in investments towards renewable energy supply is required for the Netherlands to reach its committed decarbonisation targets consistent with the IPCC scenario of 1,5°C global warming. Moreover, when evaluating the investment requirements against the total economic investments, investments directed toward RE need to account for 10.4% to 12.5% of all total investments in the Dutch economy by 2025 to bridge the RE investment gap. This analysis shows a sharp increase in investment requirements from now until 2030; in contrast, the period from 2030 to 2050 may not require a drastic increase. This is based on the significant initial upfront capital required to cover the cost associated with the technology development as well as economic scaling up. However, before that can occur, an initial larger investment is required. After 2030, a slowdown of the investment requirements is based on the belief that the infrastructure will be established by then and the technologies will be mature and more efficient, lowering the cost. This analysed investment gap created the base for the research, showing the need to understand the financing landscape and the relationships between the financial actors and public policies.

Once the investment gap had been estimated, the focus of the research turned to understanding its underlying causes and potential solutions for this underinvestment. A comprehensive primary data collection began when data on private financing for specific financial actors in the Netherlands proved to be missing. The results derived from the created database are various. Firstly, a sustainability index for the Dutch banks was created. This sustainability index serves as a measure of each bank’s commitment to funding aimed to mitigate climate change, relative to their respective market size. Based on this sustainability index, the analysis reveals substantial differences between those banks. Triodos, with the least market share, scores the highest in sustainability while ING which allocates the largest figure
towards sustainability is ranked second last in regards to sustainability in the banking sector relative to its size. This highlights the importance of the bank’s commitment to sustainability, irrespective of its size. Secondly, in regard to the government, expenditures for mitigating climate change are mostly in the form of subsidies towards renewable energy projects. On average subsidies were 88,62% of the total government expenditures towards mitigating climate change. The largest subsidy fund is the Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie en Klimaattransitie (SDE++). Lastly, the research identified Dutch pension funds as the leading entity in the Netherlands’ green bond market. As of March 2023, these pension funds accounted for 53% of the country’s total green bond holdings. Moreover, they have shown an impressive increase of 286% in their green bond holdings from 2019 to 2023

The statistical findings show a positive effect of direct public financing on private financing in the Netherlands. More specifically, with a 10% increase in public financing, private financing increases by 6%. Monetary policies such as increased environmental taxation and low interest-rate lending positively affect private financing, or for a 10% increase in direct public policy support, private financing increases by 7%. Findings show that with increased renewable energy consumption, private financing increases. FITs and total energy consumption (including both renewable energy and non-renewable energy sources) show an inverse relationship with private financing, with a 10% increase in total energy consumption and price setting by FITs, the private financing decreases by 9,9%. The crucial findings emphasize the urgent need to mobilise private actors, who possess significantly more financial resources compared to the government, in mitigating the climate crisis in the Netherlands. Their active participation is essential for effectively addressing this pressing environmental challenge.

It is crucial to emphasize that, consistent with the literature review and validated by the interviews, the government does risk mitigation and helps to accelerate the renewable energy transition by subsidising heavily on the R&D phase. The Dutch government takes on the role of a market-shaping, rather than merely a market-fixing, as evidenced by their control over which technologies receive substantial subsidies. Furthermore, consistent with the literature review and validated by the interviews, the primary challenge for the Netherlands in implementing renewable technologies pertains to the commercialization phase. This phase, characterized by high-risk projects with inconsistent cash flow, simultaneously demands substantial capital investment. Financial stakeholders identify this as the Achilles heel in climate
change mitigation efforts.

Considering this vulnerability, a possible policy implementation might involve the government to alleviate the risks associated with the commercialization phase, attracting investors who are less inclined to risk, like pension funds, who possess significant capital. This could be achieved by assuring these investors that if they begin to invest in more high-risk projects, they would receive a portion of their investment back in the event of project failure, acting as a guarantee.

This thesis investigates the unprecedented labour market tension in the Netherlands post-2021, by analyzing the core drivers behind the labour market. A framework based on labour demand and supply is made in order to study the key drivers of the labour market. Through quantitative analysis it is found that the labour market tension after 2021 is primarily caused by a surge in the demand for labour, which in turn is likely to be caused by four key factors, government spending, more expenditure due to COVID-19 savings, exogenous investments in some sectors and increased net exports. It is advised to policy makers to focus more on tempering the demand for labour, if they desire to loosen up the labour market.

The executive summary offers a concise overview of the thesis research conducted, focusing on enabling risk management for parachute mortars on sounding rockets from a socio-technical perspective. The study aimed to address safety and performance risks associated with these systems and bridge the gap between theoretical risk management methods and practical applications.
The research was initiated with a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, which identified several gaps in the existing knowledge. These included a lack of detailed coverage on risk identification, assessment, and evaluation in case studies, limited information on parachute mortar systems specific to sounding rockets, and a lack of application of socio-technical systems to technical subsystems in spaceflight. The primary objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive risk management guideline specifically tailored for parachute mortar systems, integrating a socio-technical systems approach. The guideline aimed to be grounded in conventional risk management practices while being validated through a practical case study to ensure its feasibility. Throughout the research, various results were obtained. The evaluation of conventional risk management methods, including ISO31010, industry practices and socio-technical views, led to the initial design of the risk management approach. This approach was then applied to a case study involving the DARE mortar, allowing for the reflection on each method’s effectiveness. Key risks identified were
related to the carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) canister of the mortar system and risks of underperformance due to pressure leaks in the system during flight. These critical risks were successfully reduced through redesign and testing activities in the risk treatment phase of the case study. The final Risk Management Guideline was developed by incorporating the lessons learned from applying the approach to the case study. By applying the developed framework to a real-world scenario, this research went beyond theoretical considerations and demonstrated the practical applicability of the socio-technical system approach in mitigating risks associated with parachute mortars on sounding rockets. The combination of a practical
case study, a socio-technical approach, and risk management on sounding rocket subsystems is considered novel and has the potential to advance risk management activities in this domain.

The research also identified several future research directions. These include performing more case studies on smaller technical subsystems using a socio-technical systems approach, exploring and establishing consensus on definitions and boundaries of socio-technical systems, integrating qualitative results of human reliability analysis with risk management methods, and defining objective methods for
risk evaluation and establishing risk acceptance criteria. Overall, this thesis research contributes to the field of risk management by addressing the unique challenges
of parachute mortars on sounding rockets through a socio-technical systems perspective. The developed risk management guideline, validated through a practical case study, provides valuable insights and practical applications for mitigating risks in this specific context. It is anticipated that this research will facilitate further advancements in risk management activities for parachute mortars and socio-technical systems while also having the potential to be applied to other sounding rocket subsystems.

In this research, I delved into the dynamic role of TikTok in shaping democratic practices, with a particular focus on its effects on informed decision-making and activism. The rapid increase in social media usage has dramatically reshaped our lives, bringing several benefits but also significant concerns, especially regarding information spread and its influence on democratic processes. To explore the mechanisms of information dissemination on TikTok and its impacts on democratic practices, I conducted an extensive literature search and performed interviews with experts in the field. The findings present a nuanced landscape where TikTok both empowers and challenges democratic practices.

I discovered that TikTok's unique features like algorithm-driven content discovery and short- form video format create a space for users to voice diverse perspectives, raise awareness, and mobilize for social change. This leads to the democratization of discourse and gives voice to individuals who might have been marginalized or overlooked, particularly in the realm of activism. However, I also identified significant challenges, including the spread of misinformation, algorithmic biases, the creation of echo chambers, manipulation by malicious entities, and many more. These issues pose substantial threats to democratic values and processes, undermining trust in reliable sources and obstructing informed decision-making.

Drawing from these findings, I designed strategies to enhance the informed and ethical usage of TikTok. However, implementing these strategies demands a collective effort from a variety of stakeholders, including TikTok as a platform, its users, regulatory bodies, and wider society. A critical challenge is balancing promoting democratic values and maintaining a user-friendly, engaging environment. Implementing all the suggested strategies may not be feasible due to the platform's profitable objectives and complexity. Therefore, I recommend prioritizing the most critical and impactful measures and committing to continuous research, monitoring, and adaptation in response to the ever-changing social media landscape.

Furthermore, I highlight that the responsibility for fostering a responsible information ecosystem extends beyond TikTok. It calls for collaboration among social media platforms, regulatory bodies, educational institutions, and society at large. With concerted effort, we can envision a future where platforms like TikTok serve as spaces for entertainment, and relaxation, as well as catalysts for positive societal change, informed civic engagement, and potent activism.

As the social media landscape continues to evolve rapidly, further research into this domain is essential. We need to keep exploring and understanding the interaction between technology, legislation, and democratic processes to effectively navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by platforms like TikTok.

What started as a research on Australian Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the circular economy (CE), turned into a much more complex and personal journey of what it means to do respectful and collaborative research with Indigenous communities. In this thesis, I attempted to build an understanding of the very rich and complex tapestry of Australian Indigenous knowledges, to explore how they may inspire alternative designs for a CE. The main assumptions, principles, and limitations of the conventional model of the CE are explored, and an Indigenous-inspired circular economy model is proposed. Alongside this research aim, I also documented my own learning process as I grappled with the challenges of conducting Indigenist research, and confronted the essential question of how we can genuinely value and engage with Indigenous communities in the realm of academic research.

With the growing threats of climate change, plans such as the European Green Deal (EGD) aim to mitigate climate change effects. However, the mining needed for the materials for renewable energy technologies could exacerbate threats to biodiversity and other ecosystems. Herein, nickel is one of the key materials required for a range of energy transitions. An area where this comes together is the Raja Ampat region in West Papua, the world’s richest coral reef area. However, since West Papua has been marked over the last decades by internal armed violence, military rule and isolation since the recolonisation from The Netherlands to Indonesia in the 1960s, nickel mining is taking place on colonised lands of Indigenous Papuans. Therefore, this research set out to investigate how nickel mining in West Papua is related to colonial injustices. Using desk research, interviews, and decoloniality in praxis, this research has been set out through three different time periods through the history, present and future prospects. Thereby, this research finds that colonial and racist structures that were set out by the Dutch as nickel mining exploration activities have been taken over by Indonesia, where nickel mining has been developed further which the Papuans often experience negative consequences. Now, with the growing demand for nickel for energy transitions, colonialism can be legitimised for the ‘green’ energy transitions. As a consequence, Papuans will continue facing their struggle against colonial injustices of not having their right to self-determination, freedom of culture and identity expression, and ongoing traumatisation.  

Small modular reactors are a new type of nuclear reactors with multiple advantages over conventional nuclear reactors. Due to their smaller size, they are safer than conventional nuclear reactors. They can be produced in factories, which solves the problem of nuclear energy projects going over budget due to delays at the installation site. With the increasing demand in energy, small modular reactors can play an important role in the energy transition. Multiple small modular reactors can be coupled together if the energy demand suddenly rises, which reduces the need for a completely new reactor site.

Currently, 72 different models of small modular reactors are being developed. However, this sector faces various challenges, such as safety and standardization challenges. Furthermore, some designs are based on conventional technologies, while others are based on new technologies. These different generations of reactors could pose to be threats to each other and delay the development of reactors. Small modular reactor designs require multiple units of the same design to be deployed in order to be profitable and offer economically competitive energy. Therefore, the sector is highly competitive as not all designs can become successful.

To deal with these challenges, a consensus on technology selection could be beneficial. The Delphi method is used to evaluate if a consensus can be reached. In the Delphi method, experts cooperate by responding to the opinions and views of other experts over multiple rounds of surveys. This creates a sense of understanding of other views which should lead to a consensus on questioned aspects.

Two rounds of the Delphi study have been held. In the first round, 19 participants have filled the survey, while the second round consisted of 14 participants. Participants were contacted via e-mail and LinkedIn. Participants work in the nuclear energy sector as either regulators, advisors, managers or engineers.

This study is based on an idea of the Organization for Economical Cooperation and Development (OECD), which states that the SMR sector could adopt a standardization model used in the aircraft sector. The aircraft sector can be used as an example for successful cooperation to deal with global licensing challenges and development of safety standards. The use of passive safety systems in SMRs could provide safe operating conditions at a fraction of the costs of active safety systems, and thus should be the aim when designing SMRs.

This study finds that cooperation within the SMR sector can lead to a consensus on standardization of parts and standardization of regulations, which reduces the financial risk for stakeholders and improves the chances for a viable global deployment of SMRs.

The societal need for sustainability transformation is crucial in light of climate change, and the role of individual action and behavioural changes is considered critical in meeting the Paris agreement. Radical shifts in social norms are required, which could be achieved through reaching social tipping points. These tipping points could be reached earlier by focusing on ‘greening’ communities rather than individuals. Any type of social change however, needs initiation in one way or another. Knowing what makes people advocate for pro-environmental behaviour within their community or communities, could help initiate the needed sustainability transformation. A knowledge gap was found as the literature only partly covered this topic. Sports clubs in the Netherlands are popular and relevant community settings that are increasingly stimulated towards more sustainable practices, therefore this was the setting that was focused on in the study. An exploratory approach was taken to pinpointing which helping or facilitating conditions in sports clubs are experienced by individuals who make efforts in the sustainability transformation at their club. To do this, a conceptual model was created, taking a multi-level approach and combining the capability-opportunity-motivation-behaviour (COM-B) model with environmental citizenship. A total of 17 participants who considered themselves an initiative taker or achiever for sustainability at their sports club were consulted through semi-structured interviews. Elements of grounded theory were used to shape the analysis of the acquired data. The interview transcripts were coded and analysed using the COM-components of the conceptual model. The analysis shows that there is a multitude of factors that stimulate partaking in sustainability transformation at sports clubs, with community feel or communication, and (resulting) availability of skills and knowledge standing out. Limitations of the study included taking a rather broad approach, advising future studies to further deepening more self-contained dimensions. Recommendations for supporting organisations, policy makers and sports club members with environmental concerns, included communicating about concerns and providing support regarding sustainability transformations, among others.

The current food system is increasingly revealing its detrimental to people and the planet and thrives on an economic system that exacerbates these grievances. In the face of this, alternatives are arising in the hopes of showcasing what a better food sys-tem may look like—the Alternative Food Movement (AFM). This speculative nature of the AFM is one rife with visions of a better future, and efforts at enacting them. This thesis looked to answer the following research question: How do the visions of the Alternative Food Movement (aim to) contribute to transformative change in the food system? The answer to this question was built on an exploration of the AFM in Utrecht as a niche, followed by the description and evaluation of the visions that different Al-ternative Food Initiatives (AFIs) voiced. This evaluation consisted in approached the visions as social innovations and subsequently establish the transformative intent un-derlying them and their prefiguration.....

A fair part of the surface of the Netherlands consists of peat grounds. A large part of these grounds is used for livestock farming. However, the peat needs to be dried to prevent cows and other cattle from sinking with their hooves into the soft, wet peat. This drying starts a process called oxidation. This reaction with oxygen in the air and warm sunlight results in the forming of CO2 and some methane gas, which are added to the atmosphere. Since this contributes considerably to the CO2 emissions in the Netherlands, it requires solutions to stop the oxidation process and the subsequent subsidence. It seems impossible to find a solution for this problem with which every stakeholder can agree. Five main stakeholder groups are identified in this research: the research organisations, the agricultural stakeholders, the water management organisations, the nature preservation organisations, and the administrative bodies. These parties all have their own worldview and their own ideas about the situation. This forms a controversy, which contains many different elements and different actors, in which the different stakeholder groups disagree on different elements. This controversy slows down the process of stopping the oxidation of the peat meadow grounds. Therefore, the end goal of this research is on the one hand for the different stakeholder groups to gain insight in the motives of the viewpoints of the counteracting parties. On the other hand, a new base for these stakeholder groups should be formed in which a productive situation for (renewed) collaboration is created, which can lead to more effective conversations on the future solutions in peat meadow areas. This study is approached using the methodology concept of Design-based Research.
To create a situation in which stakeholders can work together towards a solution instead of just focusing on their own priorities, the stakeholders should take a step back and build trust on other levels with the different stakeholder groups. This should help them to open up to insights that other stakeholders may have, which could lead to a situation in which they could work together. With this as a foundation, a participatory tool was chosen that could help to build a situation for a more effective collaboration: a serious game. The digital board game ‘Samen door het veen' (translation: Together through the peat) was designed, played with representative players, and analysed with the concepts of collaboration and double loop learning. The results showed that the players built more trust during the game and gained more insight into the perspective of other players, so the game seems to achieve its goals quite well. It can be concluded that the game is fun to play and that it has quite some potential for stimulating double loop learning and creating a situation in which more effective collaboration could take place.

In 2018, the European Union laid the foundation for a large-scale energy transition: away from fossil-based energy and towards renewable, sustainable energy solutions. The need for a transition is mainly accepted, but it is questioned whether all European Union citizens benefit from such a change. In fact, the greenhouse gas reduction will lead to a costly restructuring of carbon-intensive regions. Consequently, the European Union and its critics expect extreme job destruction and decreased economic activity in such areas. To cope with the ills that an energy transition brings, the Just Transition Fund is proposed. It serves as a financial buffer and provides strategic support for the successful energy transition to decrease injustices. Support for the most affected regions is undoubtedly necessary but is the Just Transition Fund increasing justice for these regions? The European Commission provided a similar strategic support program earlier with the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition, which included providing support to apply for funding. As such, the question arises whether the Just Transition Fund increases justice when comparing to the predecessor programs.
This master thesis serves as a first insight into the justness of the European Union’s proposed Just Transition Fund. To do so, several projects of the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition are compared to the current setup of the fund. The data for the Just Transition Fund has been gathered in previous research while information on the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition was acquired with an exploratory desk research approach. The gathered data was structured coherently by the creation of two main categories, the project and contextual factors. Each was complemented with subcategories allowing allowed the comparison of the projects. Ultimately, these findings could be evaluated with a transition justice framework that has been adapted to the research needs.
It becomes clear that many injustice issues were present and often left unresolved in the assessed projects. Compared with the Just Transition Funds current criticism, many of these issues can be detected again. The most prominent justice issues found were of distributive nature due to scarce funding and a lack of stakeholder participation. The interplay of both problems leads to the desire to reach one goal: receiving as many funds as possible. As a result, the eligibility criteria seem to be seen as obstacles to overcome or boxes to tick leading to window dressing to meet imposed requirements. Implementing the same process kind for both programs is thus an inadequate path to take as the most critical justice issues stem from precisely this process.
The inadequacy of some criteria leads to the conclusion that the Just Transition Fund merges indicators of funding needs with requiring solutions to grand societal problems. The European Union needs to reassess the posed criteria on their ends and make the said challenges a priority to be addressed during the energy transition. Furthermore, it becomes evident that the application process can lead to injustice due to a lack of capacities and political capabilities of the regions in need.
With the current setup of the fund, transition justice can only increase to some extent. Still, there is potential for this program the first step is made towards a more holistic approach to coping with justice issues. The monetary aid, although insufficient now, can help the most affected if distributed and spend adequately. Besides, the fund serves as a symbol of solidarity with the most affected regions currently left behind. Policymaking is always a trial and error. Now, the identified shortcomings must be addressed to increase the fund’s impact.

Worldwide, material consumption has expanded rapidly. The Netherlands has become wealthier, citizens can afford more products and therefore the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) increased enormously. The distribution of MSW is associated with environmental problems and health risks. MSW consists of everyday items disposed by households, such as furniture, clothing, electronics, food and product packaging. A large share of these products are not only suited for recycling but could also be re-used. The step from recycling towards re-use is desired as re-use is more sustainable and effective in reducing the associated (environmental) problems and risks than recycling. However, current local waste management systems are not equipped for re-use. Facilities to handle re-use already exist. The main problem is, that the MSW products are in most cases not ending up at these facilities because the current local waste management systems are designed to stimulate recycling instead of re-use. Re-use is solely in the hands of the citizens themselves. There is insufficient knowledge of what kind of re-use policies are preferred by different citizens. The policy-makers do not know about the trade-offs citizens make regarding re-use. Therefore, this research aims to find what the preferences of the citizens are regarding re-use measures of MSW, and if these preferences are heterogeneous among the citizens or not.
The results of the research showed that citizens were willing to change from the current system towards re-use of MSW. In 80% of the choice situations, a re-use measure was chosen over the base alternative (current situation). This is a positive result as re-use can diminish waste levels and indirectly the negative effects associated with waste. Citizens preferred the “Platform” and “Bringing to the waste disposal centre” alternative the most and preferred these two measures more than the base alternative (current situation). The preferences were related to multiple citizen characteristics such as age, ability to bring (small and big) products to the waste disposal centre, and having a divers’ license

A replication of the classic Foot-in-the-Door experiment to observe if it can be used as a driver of fruit and vegetable waste separation. Move over, for the first time the transparency and the online use of this behaviour influencing tool are discussed within this thesis.

This thesis represents the culmination of six months of research into the investment behavior of Dutch DSO’s in the context of the energy transition. Through a combination of interviews, analyses of annual reports and a qualitative analyses based on principal-agent theory, I tried to find the effect of the actor network, regulatory regime and investment uncertainty on the investment behavior of the DSO’s. This research is important due to the fact that the Dutch grid is currently experiencing increasing levels of congestion due to grid over-taxation, a problem that is actively discussed within the Dutch political arena. I found that there exists a misalignment of goals within the DSO actor-network, with government principals pushing towards realization of the energy transition, whilst the regulator is still mainly advocating efficiency incentives. Because the regulator is in a rather dominant position with respect to the DSO’s, these efficiency incentives are causing mainly risk-averse, or tentative, investment behavior. Solving the investment problem requires a change that can be found in two directions, regulation or by tackling the investment risk through a reduction of uncertainty. In my research, I found that the notion of changing the regulation substantially is not viewed as a particularly realistic solution, with parties strongly preferring to keep the current system in place and tweak it as necessary. Therefore, the current solutions target the reduction of uncertainty through the creation of programs such as the regional energy strategies. Less investment uncertainty leads to higher, and easier DSO investments and can serve as a key solution to the congestion problems. By creating a more centrally coordinated approach to the development of renewable energy infrastructure, through programs such as the regional energy strategies, a more open forum of information can be created that could allow the DSO’s to make the required additional investments within the bounds of the current system. In the end, this thesis shows how the combination of the uncertain investment climate and the regulatory influences has created a system with very little room to manoeuvre for the Dutch DSO, but that they are actively trying to work on solutions within the bounds of the system.