Every year, the world generates 7-10 billion tonnes of waste. Rapid population growth, urbanisation, and increased consumption is projected to increase this number by 70% in 2050. Asia generates the most waste globally and also imports a significant amount of waste from other regions. Waste valorisation transforms waste into higher value products and can be a crucial solution for sustainable waste management in Asia. This research builds on the Technological Innovation System (TIS) Framework and adapts it to the contexts of Asia and the waste valorisation industry with new drivers and barriers. The adapted framework was applied to four case studies of Asian waste- valorising companies: EnviroTech in the Philippines, Ricron Panels in India, Kinava in South Korea, and Less & Co in Singapore. The TIS framework analysis identified barriers that can be grouped into 3 categories: 1) lack of customer demand, 2) incomplete or inefficient operations, and 3) lack of institutional support and resulted in a total of 41 niche strategies that can serve as a resource for companies facing similar barriers.

The fashion industry's shift to a circular economy (CE) is vital to reducing its environmental impact. Currently responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than aviation and shipping combined, the fashion industry's emissions are projected to rise by 2.7% annually without increased decarbonisation efforts. Circular-born start-ups (CBSs) are crucial in this transition by introducing circular innovations (CIs) that close, slow, or narrow resource loops. However, CBSs face challenges in market entry, and research on this topic is limited.

This study, using a multiple-case study design within the French fashion industry, explores how CBSs introduce their CIs. Data was collected from nine French CBSs through semi-structured interviews and primary sources, complemented by two expert interviews. The study found that CBSs use circular strategies and approaches like recycling and repair to position their CIs, communicating value propositions through tangible and intangible benefits. Collaborations with brands, suppliers, and research centers are essential for market entry, knowledge development, and resource mobilization. CBSs face challenges such as regulatory compliance and market perceptions, which they address through continuous R&D and pilot projects. The study identifies six inducement mechanisms (e.g., regulatory support) and six blocking mechanisms (e.g., data gaps) influencing CI introduction.

The research provides insights into the CE in the fashion industry, contextualizing CIs and offering empirical insights into CBS operations and interactions. It contributes to the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) literature and has practical implications for enhancing CBS collaborations and supporting innovation in the industry.

Latin America faces significant environmental and socio-economic challenges due to its predominant "extract, transform, and dispose" economic model. The Circular Economy (CE) offers a crucial alternative by focusing on sustainability through rethinking and redesigning production processes to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. Within this framework, Circular Innovations (CIs) play a vital role in promoting sustainable practices. This research seeks to adapt the Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework to better identify and overcome barriers to CIs in Latin America. The study began with a comprehensive literature review, which provided a foundation for adapting the TIS framework to both the principles of circularity and the specific context of Latin America. This adapted framework was then applied through case studies in the region, offering a practical examination of the challenges and opportunities for CE in Latin America. The research synthesized insights from literature, case studies, and expert interviews to develop definitions of CE and CIs that are tailored to the Latin American context. The Circular Economy in Latin America is defined as the process of rethinking and redesigning production and consumption systems to minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. This approach emphasizes waste management, recycling, and the transformation of waste into valuable resources throughout the entire lifecycle of products and services, aiming to achieve sustainability through regulatory alignment, technological innovation, and societal engagement. Circular Innovations are defined as innovations that align with these principles, focusing on waste minimization, resource efficiency, and sustainability. The application of the adapted TIS framework revealed several significant barriers to the diffusion of CIs in Latin America. These include challenges in scaling up circular production processes efficiently, inefficiencies in transportation and distribution networks, and a significant lack of customer awareness and understanding of circular economy products. Additionally, there is a low willingness to pay for sustainable products, exacerbated by the lack of alignment in regulatory frameworks and inconsistent environmental laws. The framework also highlighted issues such as unclear and overly stringent regulatory requirements, the absence of standardized norms, competitive pricing challenges, and a lack of supportive infrastructure and incentives for circular economy initiatives. To address these barriers, the research developed a series of niche strategies tailored to the specific challenges identified in the Latin American context. These strategies include the Demo, Experiment, and Develop Niche Strategy, which focuses on creating experimental spaces for innovation; the Subsidized Niche Strategy, aimed at providing financial support to emerging circular innovations; and the Geographic Niche Strategy, which targets specific regions with unique challenges and opportunities. Other strategies include the Educate Niche Strategy, which emphasizes the importance of raising awareness and knowledge among consumers and policymakers; the Top Niche Strategy, which focuses on leveraging high-impact innovations; and the Policy Advocacy Strategy, which involves engaging with regulatory bodies to align policies with circular economy goals. These strategies were derived from the adapted TIS framework by systematically analyzing how various influencing conditions affect the framework’s building blocks. The connection between these influencing conditions and the identified barriers provided a clear pathway for developing strategies that are both targeted and effective. The study highlights the critical role of niche strategies in promoting circularity in Latin America, ensuring that circular innovations can achieve large-scale impact and contribute significantly to sustainable development in the region.

This research addresses the revitalization of Balinese cultural values, which inherently embody circular economy principles and support sustainable communities. The key problem tackled is the decline in communal sharing and the shift towards individualistic behaviors, exacerbated by modernization and tourism, which undermine traditional practices and increase waste. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, the study involved desk research, interviews, and a community workshop to co-create an intervention. A major finding is the effectiveness of a barter market intervention, which aligns with traditional values like Ngayah and Tri Hita Karana, promoting non-monetary exchanges and fostering community bonds. The study recommends employing pulling, facilitating, and matching strategies to enhance participation and integration of well-being aspects in the Circular Value Flower (CVF) framework. This research provides practical insights for fostering sustainable practices and emphasizes the need for collective responsibility in climate change adaptation, making it relevant for researcher, policymakers and community leaders aiming to promote circular economies in culturally diverse contexts.

World Bank data from 2023 indicates that 75% of the global population resides in middle-income countries, mostly in the Global South. Improved living standards in these regions have led to increased consumption and environmental impacts, including pollution, land use changes, and resource over-extraction. Colombia, known for its biodiversity, heavily relies on landfilling for waste management with low recycling rates. With a projected population of 57 million by 2050, sustainable waste management is crucial.

This study addresses the lack of research on community-led circular economy initiatives and women's roles in such projects in Colombia. Focusing on the "Guardianas del Manglar" (GdM) project on Colombia’s Pacific coast, it employs the Circular Value Flower (CVF) framework to analyze the values generated by the initiative. The GdM project, involving 133 women, collects approximately 4000 kg of waste per month, demonstrating environmental, economic, cultural, aesthetic, and social values.

The study's methodology includes semi-structured interviews and workshops, adapted to the contextual realities of Buenaventura. This approach highlights the importance of flexible, participatory research methodologies and the role of companies like Organización Carvajal in integrating informal waste pickers into the industrial sector. Despite challenges such as outdated waste management plans and social stigmatization, the study underscores the potential of community-led initiatives in fostering sustainable development in the Global South.

As the aviation industry faces mounting pressure to mitigate its environmental impact and with zero-emissions aircraft still likely years away, it is crucial that airlines find intermediary steps to make progress in the meantime. An opportunity with massive potential is for airlines to leverage IT technologies to reduce their footprint, otherwise known as Greening by IT. Through applications such as better flight planning algorithms which could reduce 0.5-1% of annual emissions or better data oversight to more easily identify polluting elements of the operation, the ways in which Greening by IT can help airlines is numerous. Despite its promise and several demonstrated examples in the industry, airlines still seem to lag in fully implementing Greening by IT solutions and realizing its full potential. A good example of this is within KLM Dutch Royal Airlines, where most efforts to improve sustainability within IT have been put into Green IT, which consists of measures to make IT itself more sustainable. While many of these efforts are admirable, one should question why so much effort is put into reducing IT’s contribution to the total footprint, which makes up less than 1% of total emissions from KLM. When one looks closer, it is easy to see that implementing Greening by IT is more complicated, as coordination with stakeholders outside of IT is needed and the impacts of changes you make are less clear. If navigating tight resource constraints, balancing many other high priority needs, and complying with aviation’s many regulations wasn’t enough, the research on how to best implement Greening by IT is scattered and lacks concrete answers. There is a lack of an understanding in which factors influence implementation the most, which strategies can be used, and a lack of a widely-accepted adoption model which could be used by practitioners and researchers alike. Beyond this, there is a complete absence of prior research on Greening by IT’s application within airlines, nor any unique aspects which must be considered. As a result, the purpose of this study was to explore the key factors impacting Greening by IT implementation, the strategies to guide it, and to integrate these together into a decision support framework. This framework is designed to be used primarily by IT practitioners within airlines to understand the implementation process, select the barriers which impact them the most, and choose strategies which can be used to help overcome them. In order to design a framework that is relevant in practice and to understand the complex phenomena involved with Greening by IT in practice, the study was carried out together with KLM’s CIO Office. Conducting this study with KLM enabled access to important documentation and stakeholders within the company. More specifically, the use-case within KLM Information Services was defined as Data & Technology platform, which combines business and IT elements to provide IT services for several KLM-specific business streams. Three qualitative research methods were used, consisting of a literature study, desk research of KLM documents, and stakeholder interviews. The research process was broken down into five sub-questions which were used to guide the research...

The study embarks on a comprehensive investigation into the domain of circular innovation within Dutch high-tech firms, probing the dynamics of drivers, barriers, and the strategic impact of niche strategies. The research methodology builds upon the adaptable foundation of the Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework, adapting it to the unique contours of circular innovation. This framework guides the research objectives, which encompass discerning the propulsive forces driving circular innovation, unraveling the contextual intricacies, and critically evaluating the applicability of the adapted TIS framework.

Guided by this framework, the research addresses three pivotal sub-questions that delve into the nuances of drivers, barriers and the strategic potency of niche strategies within the circular innovation landscape. The methodology seamlessly interweaves an expansive literature review with in-depth case studies of four distinct Dutch circular high-tech firms. Through rigorous qualitative analysis, recurrent drivers emerge, including the catalytic influence of emerging regulations, collaborative partnerships, strategic product design and value proposition, and intrinsic motivation. On the flip side, barriers encompass the complexities of production systems, complementary products and services, network formation and coordination, and the intricate maze of customer engagement challenges.

Embedded within the empirical insights are four distinct niche strategies, meticulously tailored to specific contexts: the Redesign Niche Strategy, the Decentralization Niche Strategy, the Turnkey Product-Service System (PSS) Niche Strategy, and the Compliance-Driven Stepping-Stone Niche Strategy. These strategies come to light as potent tools in surmounting the entrenched barriers, underscoring the significance of strategic alignment with regulatory shifts, the formation of collaborative networks, and the innovation-driven approach to product design in propelling circular innovation.

The strategic adaptation of the TIS framework to circular innovation not only enriches analytical depth but also highlights its pragmatic relevance. Consultations with experts from HollandCircularHotspot - a platform driving the advancement of the circular economy by facilitating collaboration, knowledge sharing, and representing Dutch circular companies on an international stage, serve to validate the framework's utility, affirming its efficacy in dissecting the ever-evolving landscape of circular innovation. Acknowledging its limitations, such as the limited scope of case studies and the geographical focus on Dutch high-tech companies, the study sets the stage for future research endeavors.

In summation, this thesis offers a substantial contribution to comprehending the dynamics of circular innovation within Dutch high-tech enterprises. It underscores the pivotal role of specific strategies and reaffirms the pertinence of the adapted TIS framework. With its blend of empirical insights and theoretical foundations, the study illuminates potential pathways for circumventing barriers to circular innovation, paving the way for transformative change within the high-tech circular landscape.

The increasing water scarcity and the greater EU costs of horticultural production are pushing Morocco in innovating its food sector by transitioning to a more sustainable horticultural production. Sustainable high-tech greenhouses, in particular, is a promising technology for the generation of greater yield for export and reduction of resource use. Moroccan horticultural leader companies and some universities have already adopted the technology, which is currently diffused on a niche level.
Nevertheless, the ambitious implementation of Sustainable greenhouses does not come without problems in various aspects of construction and adoption. The technology is facing multiple challenges from the high initial investment required to the lack of a water and energy infrastructure capable to sustain its operations. Most local companies and growers are struggling with the adoption of the technology and are suffering the consequences of increasing water prices and taxation. Similarly, the lack of an alignment among the different market players and the lack of a governmental long-term vision is limiting the instance of goal- oriented subsidies. This shows that there are a complex series of factors that might hamper a technology's large-scale diffusion. Consequently, this research aims with the use of the Building Blocks framework by Ortt & Kamp (2022), to explore the barriers to different market applications of Sustainable Greenhouses and formulate niche introduction strategies to overcome the obstacles and reach large-scale diffusion in the Moroccan market. The use of the framework is taken into consideration the socio-technical system from a company perspective. The result of the study is a list of seven building blocks, which must be analysed to develop an ‘ad-hoc’ niche introduction strategy. However, if any of the building blocks are incomplete or incompatible, a barrier to large-scale diffusion is formed, hampering the diffusion of technological innovation. Yet sometimes the state of the barrier does not provide enough pieces of information for the development of a niche strategy. Thus, the investigation of the other seven influencing conditions is required to individuate the cause of the barrier, by providing important information to formulate a specific niche introduction strategy.
Previous research conducted with this study is often solely used to analyse the technological concept without fully considering that the same technologies might encounter different market applications. Nonetheless, when analysing sustainable greenhouse, multiple market applications must be considered. For the specific case of this study, three different market applications of sustainable greenhouses were revealed: sustainable greenhouses for tomato production, sustainable greenhouses for soft-fruits production and sustainable greenhouses for herbs production. Because the differences within internal components and running operations might lead to different obstacles to large-scale diffusion, the analysis requires the adaptation of the framework to develop a singular Building Blocks analysis for each market application.
In addition, this research focuses on examining the process of international technology transfer from the Netherlands to Morocco. The motivation behind this transfer is the increasing impossibility of European countries in growing food during winter due to the war in Ukraine. Previously, profit margins were limited, and now with higher energy prices, they are almost non-existent. Consequently, there is a strong push from the Netherlands to transition local production to Morocco by implementing Sustainable greenhouses. This study employs stakeholder analysis and a two-sided perspective to shed light on the varying opinions of researchers, growers, technology providers, and governmental actors from both countries. What is more, it uses, for the first time, the TIS framework in the case of international technology transfer to assess the barriers and influencing factors affecting the large-scale diffusion of three different types of sustainable greenhouses.
The research continued, with the development of tailored Niche introduction strategies per each market application. These strategies aim to overcome the barriers and prepare sustainable greenhouse companies to diffuse on the Moroccan national level. To illustrate, there have been identified multiple barriers to large-scale diffusion such as the high initial investment costs, the lack of a skilled workforce, the potential customers sceptically and the lack of a final product market. To overcome these obstacles, this study proposed to Moroccan companies some niche introduction strategies. For instance, the development of a network of knowledge share and knowledge development through showing or the establishment of a shared long-term vision from the government.
The paper progresses by reflecting on the analytical capacity of the adapted Building Block framework and gives some suggestions for improvements. It firstly reflects on the use of the adapted framework for the evaluation of the different barriers per market application. Then it discusses the implementation of a yardstick of judgement to develop an objective guideline for the future framework users so that the building block/influencing conditions status evaluation would be more impartial. To conclude it highlights the possibility of another useful adaptation could be the implementation of another building block, specific for sustainability as the lack of it could be an obstacle to diffusion and a key element to be considered toward the ecological transition.
The paper concludes by discussing the findings for each research question, and how the evidence, from the study, shows that there is an international push toward the adoption of more advanced horticultural technologies in Morocco. Similarly, from the gathered data, it is perceived that prevalently foreign countries would be benefiting from Morocco’s technological shift. The technology adoption is facing an increased push after the war in Ukraine and the subsequent shrinkage in the profit margin for local food production. These findings raise the question of whether the introduction of Sustainable greenhouse technology is sustainable as it appears to be or whether this technological implementation might just be another example of green colonialism. Finally, the study addresses its limitations and gives some recommendations for further research.

Industrial biotechnology is labelled by the European Commission as one of the six key enabling technologies to fight climate change. Industrial biotechnology is a sector where biocatalysts (cells or enzymes) are used to convert renewable feedstocks (e.g. sugars) or even waste into valuable compounds such as renewable chemicals or food (ingredients). Unfortunately, the road from invention to commercial production is long in industrial biotechnology, and most biotechnologies that look promising after laboratory development fail to cross the Valley of Death and reach industrial scale. Industrial biotechnology has a long technology development time before being commercialised, is capital intensive, has economies of scale, and usually produces bulk products with low profit margins requiring large industrial-scale production for economic viability. Scale-up support can facilitate scale-up towards industrial scale. Scale-up support was, for example, offered with the Bioprocess Pilot Facility at the Biotech Campus Delft, before its bankruptcy in November 2022. This bankruptcy occurred while being fully booked. This has left the Planet B.io - Biotech Campus Delft scale-up support ecosystem with a lot of potential. In an attempt to scientifically address this scale-up support problem, a knowledge gap was found on the verge of technical scale-up, industrial biotechnology, and scale-up support ecosystems. This led to the main research question: How can a scale-up support ecosystem for industrial biotechnology be best organised and operated?

To answer this, a multiple case study was conducted on the scale-up support ecosystems of Planet B.io - Biotech Campus Delft, Copenhagen, and Brightlands Chemelot. This case study was performed through desk research and semi-structured expert interviews with 3 different types of experts (ecosystem, technical scale-up and start-up expert) per ecosystem, resulting in 9 interviewees. This case study applies the Technological Innovation System (TIS) framework to a novel context and integrates it with the four identified scale-up support elements (technical facilities \& services, funding \& business services, network formation \& coordination, and knowledge \& talent) offering a framework to study scale-up support ecosystems. This study identified the scale-up support requirements for industrial biotechnology. These scale-up support requirements are, among others, a flexible and fully-serviced shared piloting facility up until TRL 6 ($\approx$ 2000 L bioreactor), a lab- to pilot- and industrial-scale technical support service, investment planning service and help with raising funding. These should be offered within a scale-up support ecosystem using milestone-based billing as a preferred revenue model, whereas a government voucher system should be set up to pay for the lab- to pilot- and industrial-scale technical support service. Also, the most important stakeholders for a scale-up support ecosystem were identified, including multiple large corporations, government institutions, universities (and other types of education), suppliers, and service providers. Based on the findings, a roadmap for the development of the Planet B.io - Biotech Campus Delft scale-up support ecosystem was proposed, focusing on strengthening the network, knowledge, talent, and funding before offering a piloting facility and business services. This study contributes to the field with a framework to study scale-up support ecosystems as well as with practical recommendations for scale-up support ecosystems in industrial biotechnology and similar industries, identifying the scale-up support requirements, its business models and required stakeholders.

The Dutch horticulture sector (Dhc sector) is a significant contributor to the country's GDP and a global leader in horticultural production and trade. However, despite government efforts, the sector faces challenges in achieving sustainable targets. Sustainable startups, the suppliers of innovative solutions, also encounter barriers hindering the implementation of their sustainable business models. This study aims to identify these barriers and propose niche strategies to help sustainable startups effectively implement their business models in the Dutch horticulture sector.
To address the research question, the study develops the Sustainable Transition Navigator (STN) model, which integrates the Sustainable Business Model Canvas (SBMC), Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) framework, and niche strategies. The model assists startups in visualizing and optimizing the impact of their niche strategies on their sustainable business models.
The STN model is validated and applied to two sustainable startups in the Dhc sector. Through stakeholder analysis and qualitative interviews, the study identifies six clusters of innovation barriers specific to the sector. These findings are incorporated into the STN model to highlight the barriers that sustainable startups must overcome.
The practical implementation of the STN model reveals its benefits. Startups find the model valuable for assessing technological viability and selecting appropriate niche strategies. The visual representation of the model facilitates communication within startup teams, emphasizing the importance of regularly revisiting and adjusting strategies. The STN model serves as an online tool for iterative evaluation and adjustment.
The flexibility of the STN model allows startups to adapt it to various stages of their journey. By accurately assessing hindering building blocks and influential factors within the TIS framework, startups can identify areas for improvement and formulate relevant niche strategies. Multiple niche strategies can be organized into a timeline, creating an implementation plan that can be continually revisited.
This study contributes to scientific and managerial fields by expanding the applicability of the TIS framework, introducing the STN model, and providing practical insights for startups and business leaders. The findings offer guidance for navigating barriers and driving sustainable transitions in the Dutch horticulture sector and other industries.

This thesis serves as an attempt to establish the initial empirical linkage between environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors and startup valuation by venture capitalists. While substantial academic work has addressed the ESG topic and how firms’ ESG characteristics impact their financial performance and valuations, relatively little ink has been spilled on the issue in the entrepreneurial finance literature. An important impediment for researchers and for investors in the entrepreneurial finance markets wanting to adopt the practice of responsible investing has been the lack of a unified framework for the assessment and quantification of startups’ ESG characteristics. This thesis proposes a startup ESG framework that is based on the status quo of existing ESG frameworks and related literature. The study then analyses a proprietary dataset of 47 technological startups that seek funding from the Dutch venture capital (VC) firm FORWARD.one, to empirically investigate whether the positive relationship between firms’ ESG characteristics and financial valuation, found in the public market setting and the crowdfunding and token offering setting, also holds in the VC context. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) analysis and Independent Sample t-Tests are used to examine the impact of the startups’ ESG risk scores on their financial valuations. The results indicate that the amount of ESG risk in a startup is negatively correlated to its financial valuation, meaning that venture capitalists do value startups’ ESG characteristics. As a result also those entrepreneurs that seek funding from venture capitalists have an economic incentive to work on their sustainability performance. However, this study finds that sustainability performance is only valued to the extent that it concerns ESG risk management, i.e. minimizing ESG-related negative externalities. The creation of ESG-related positive externalities is not valued by purely financially driven venture capitalists. The study does not attempt to establish a causal mechanism. The findings contributes to the still emergent literature around the role of ESG in entrepreneurial finance markets and several promising avenues for further research are suggested.

In the context of the ongoing transition towards a more sustainable system, grassroots innovations, particularly Circular Initiatives (CIs), are emerging as crucial players, understanding Circular Economy as a promising pathway forward in this sustainability shift. Within this context, the Circular Value Flower (CVF) method was developed by Els Leclercq and Mo Smit during their experiences working with CIs in the Netherlands.

The purpose of this project is to contribute to the development of the CVF by exploring its potential as a design method to support circular initiatives in Argentina while creating positive social impact. Argentina’s relevance in this project is twofold. Firstly, its rich landscape of initiatives and social movements is highly influential, shaping not only the prevailing system within the country but also across the entire Latin America. Secondly, this project seeks to amplify the voices of the Global South within the design discipline and the academic sphere of CE, areas predominantly influenced by voices from the Western Global North.

As the CVF is designed for community engagement, this project centers on working closely with two Argentinean CIs (ReUSAR and Siempre Monte) with a decolonial and participatory approach. Given the complexity of this endeavor and the need to challenge traditional knowledge hierarchies, the overarching mode of thinking leading this project is Sentipensar (feel-think).

In order to cast light, with a sentipensante mindset, on the potential of the CVF to leverage the participating CIs, four phases constitute this project: Reserch for Design, Redesigning the CVF, Action Research and Guideline Design. The first phase aims to define and situate key theoretical concepts, gain a deep understanding of the local context, analyze the current state of the art, and initiate my self-deconstruction as a researcher. The second phase, Redesigning the CVF, focuses on adapting the method and its tools to align with the project’s mindset and the Argentinean context. The design outcomes of this phase are named the Circular Reflection toolkit and Circular Value Map. These tools are designed to facilitate the participatory application of the CVF method during the third phase, which is the Action Research phase involving ReUSAR and Siempre Monte.

After several weeks of active engagement with the CIs and numerous group and individual reflections, the primary insight discussed is the CVF’s potential to support Argentinean CIs by creating a space for pausing, reflecting, and engaging in meaningful conversations. These conversations center on addressing member alignment and both internal and external communication, which are among the primary uncovered issues faced by Argentinean CIs today. Moreover, tackling these challenges aligns with two of the three essential conditions for their success, as identified in the existing literature: shared expectations and networking.

To enhance the accessibility of this research to other practitioners, the primary insights have been translated into a practical guideline referred to as the Tomate Un Mate guideline. This constitutes the fourth and final phase of this graduation project, the Guideline Design phase, with the hope that it will also serve as a starting point for further developments.

Nature-based solutions are solutions that (partly) consist of, or contribute to, living nature, which can provide economical, social and environmental benefits. Especially in the building sector they can have huge benefits over conventional (grey) solution as this sector uses a lot of resources and energy. The benefits that nature-based solutions can offer range from air purification to carbon sequestration to insulation. Even though nature-based solutions are known to have these benefits, large scale diffusion of nature-based solutions has not yet happened. The EU states that in “order for NbS to be implemented effective new business and partnership models should be created”. To foster the creation of these business models an appropriate business model framework is necessary. However, this framework was not yet existing. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to create a novel sustainable business model framework for nature-based solutions in the Dutch building sector. The novel framework was created through performing first literature research followed by a creation phase. This led to a preliminary framework which was then improved with the use of a focus group consisting of 7 experts from the Dutch building sector, who are currently working with, or involved with, nature-based solutions. With valuable insights and tips from the focus group the framework was then improved. This led to a framework consisting of a business model canvas supported by a few sections providing extra information. These extra sections help the user to fill in the business model canvas. On top of the improvements the focus group meeting also gave insights in how, and by who, the framework should be used. It became clear that the framework should primarily be used for creating an overview of an organisation, rather than for ideation. The framework should be used by organisations working with nature-based solutions and especially organisations who care about their impact and their ‘raison d’être’. The framework is a big improvement compared to the alternatives mainly because it is compact, but also comprehensive. It offers the user a way to perform a thoroughly impact assessment and the canvas includes many aspects/elements which are of high importance for implementing nature-based solutions.

This project addresses the inequality gap that exists between the city and the countryside in Colombia in terms of education, access to opportunities, and
technology literacy. By using design and entrepreneurship together with the “Más Por TIC” foundation, we developed the program “1,2,3 x TIC”, an entrepreneurship program for rural adolescents for providing them with an entrepreneurial mindset whilst they learn about updated digital tools. Being a program that aims to be the entry point of rural youths to the “Más Por TIC” network, to ensure the sustainability of the NGO, and ensures the possibility of providing its services to the countryside in the future, creating knowledge from the communities for the communities.

During the XXth century, technological breakthroughs in genetics, machinery, and improved inputs led to dramatic increases in crop yields (Pingali, 2012). This agricultural revolution was a remarkable success in food production, tripling yields while increasing the area devoted to production by only 30% (Pingali, 2012). This increase in crop yields was necessary to avoid famine, as the world population more than doubled during this period (Pingali, 2012).Unfortunately, this form of industrial agriculture, which relies on crop uniformity, heavy machinery and the intensive use of agrochemicals, leads to the loss of soil fertility, and an acceleration in soil degradation (Gomiero et al., 2011). The current system is reaching its limits, with yields either stagnating or growing much slower than needed to meet the projected demand (Hawkesford et al., 2013). In response to this looming crisis, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture aims to convert the Netherlands to circular agriculture by 2030. This shift requires the need to develop new ways of farming (Ministry of Agriculture & food quality, 2020). Strip cropping is proposed by researchers at Wageningen University and farmers as a potential solution. Strip cropping is a form of agriculture, which is less reliant on agrochemical inputs and promotes biodiversity by planting narrow rows (or strips) of different crops next to each other (Zhang, 2019). Researchers at Wageningen University and farmers in the Noordoostpolder want to investigate the future economic performance of this new type of agriculture compared to traditional intensive farming. This problem is formulated in the following research question: What are the economic opportunities and risks associated to the implementation of strip cropping in the Netherlands? This research is relevant to the MSc Engineering and Policy Analysis as it can guide decisions related to horticulture. Given that agriculture is a complex socio-technical system and food security is a global challenge, this topic is an adequate fit for an EPA master thesis. The EPA master promotes the use of mathematical modeling to gain insight into societal challenges within a context of high uncertainty. The problem at hand is to determine the future economic performance of alternative farming methods, namely strip cropping, through a mathematical model with currently available information. The resulting document should enable farmers and policymakers to make informed economic decisions about the adoption of strip cropping. The detected knowledge gap relates to a lack of understanding of the economics of the strip cropping farming method. Through a study of the literature, the ecological benefits and drawbacks of strip-cropping and monocropping are examined. By gathering information from agricultural specialists, the financial impact of strip cropping is examined. A mathematical model is then used to process and analyze this data. Microsoft Excel is the program of choice because farmers and researchers are familiar with it and it would enable farmers to input their unique parameters and simulate their future financial returns for both monocropping and strip-cropping configurations. Initially, the information provided by the farmers is used to identify the pertinent financial variables. Revenue and Costs are the two groups into which these variables are divided. Yields, price per kilogram, and byproducts are all factors that affect revenue. Seeds, fertilization, crop protection, fuel price, fuel usage, labor cost, labor hours, and miscellaneous costs are variables in the Costs category. More specifically, a Monte Carlo analysis was chosen for the simulation since it has been shown to be effective for assessing the adaptability of various cropping systems to climatic uncertainty (Cary & Frey, 2020). This entails assigning probability distributions to the variables affected by high levels of uncertainty and executing an experiment several times to determine how the investigated farming systems would behave in various scenarios...