A Simulation-based Analysis of Transition Pathways for the Dutch Electricity System

Recent developments constitute a backdrop of change for the Dutch electricity system. Institutional change driven by liberalization, changing economical competitiveness of the dominant fuels, new technologies, and changing end-user preferences regarding electricity supply are some examples of these developments. In order to analyze the conjoint...

Essential Skills for System Dynamics Practitioners: A Delft University of Technology Perspective

There is little consensus on the skills set required of a system dynamics practitioner. In this paper we use the teaching approach and learning goals of the system dynamics courses at the Delft University of Technology as a starting point to explore the development of system dynamics modeling skills. System dynamics is embedded in the curriculum...

The Impact of Aggregation Assumptions and Social Network Structure on Diffusion Dynamics

Diffusion problems in general, and innovation diffusion problems in specific, are one of the most frequently revisited issues in system dynamics domain. Although the models used for analyzing specific diffusion problems differ in details, in most cases a set of assumptions is recognized to be common. In this study, we aim to conduct a set of...

Hop, Step, Step and Jump: Towards Real-World Complexity @ Delft University of Technology

This paper deals with System Dynamics education at Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. It focuses more specifically on the quadruple jump approach towards dealing with real-world dynamic complexity. The paper starts with an overview of the System Dynamics courses, situated within the broader curriculum. Then recent innovations in...

When does it really make a difference? Experimenting with the level of actor-heterogeneity in the context of modeling sociotechnical transitions

This study constitutes a methodological inquiry in a larger research context on transition dynamics, and it focuses on the issue of actor heterogeneity in modeling such processes. On the one hand heterogeneity at the actor level (i.e. heterogeneity among actor groups, heterogeneity among actors in a particular group, etc.) seems to be a very...