The purpose of this research was contributing to better understand the drivers of public authorities in the Dutch infrastructure sector to change their contract strategy. In the awareness of the complex multi-layered phenomena of change in the public sector, this deductive research adopted the theory of Kuipers et al. (2014) and implemented it for a holistic multiple case study. For the concretization of the holistic multiple case study, a total of three cases over different time periods, from Rijkswaterstaat and the Water Authority Delfland have been reviewed. In this, the multi-method qualitative research strategy has been adopted, where both secondary and primary data have been gathered with respect to these three cases. At length, both types of data have been analysed using the concept-driven analysis procedure, modelled accordingly to the five-factor framework of Kuipers et al. (2014). Substantively, the conclusion of this research is two-folded; that public authorities are driven by extrinsic as well as intrinsic drivers. Firstly, in two of the three cases, the effects of the (external) contextual factors could be seen as direct triggers in the process of change. The significance of extrinsic drivers was already traditionally known and corresponds primarily with the institutionalist perspective. Essentially; the predominate presumption that changes are ‘made to’ organizations. Be it that this research found that the conjunction of these triggering factors was less intricated than priorly expected, only one or two macro external factors per case. Secondly, in the remaining case - the intrinsic motivation of the organisation could be seen as the principal driver of the change. This finding is in accordance with the change management perspective. A perspective with its roots in private sector research, that only recently emerged as a theory for public sector research. Principally, this rational-adaptive theory places significant attention on the intentional actions of agents. Herein, the main attention is focused on the roles, activities and behaviours of individuals, rather than an orientation that highlights the personality, character or traits of the leader (Burke, 2017). In view of this, however - this research found that for one case - the intrinsic drive from an organisation was predominately based on the personal believe system of an individual leader. Therefore, for future research, the objectivistic-based positivism philosophy that underlies both previously mentioned perspectives - should be complemented with more a subjectivistic-based research philosophies such as the social constructivism theory. In sum, future research that aims to identify driving factors for specific changes at public authorities, specifically for first and second order changes – should focus on both the macro level and micro level, in order to minimize the possibility of drawing unintentional preclusions. Therein, striking a balance between subjective and objective (primary) data.

The use of the North Sea has transitioned into an intensely used industrial area, with the climate agreement as a driving force. The Paris agreement demands countries to change their main energy resources from oil, coal and gas to renewable resources such as wind. The Dutch government chose to use the space offshore for the development of wind farms. These developments require a durable collaboration between the various stakeholders in the North Sea. Tensions exist between the different stakeholders in the North Sea, and the projected developments are expected to pressure these relationships even further. The need for shared multi-use areas grows as the North Sea is used more and more intensely. This report presents a multidisciplinary design for an artificially enhanced fisheries system within an offshore wind farm (OWF). The goal of this design is to provide a nature inclusive solution to increasing pressure on the fishing industry by the growing offshore wind sector. The possible implementation of a fishing industry within OWFs was analysed. This resulted in a number of applicable solution spaces. A notable solution was the Fish-as-a-Service concept, which resolves several issues that currently hinder the development of multi-purpose OWFs. In this solution, a company would fulfil the role of managing the fisheries in OWFs without the need for wind farm clients to actively partake in the fishing industry. Five target species were selected that could be harvested from an artificial reef system within an OWF. These species were European lobster, Brown crab, Atlantic cod, European seabass and Cuttlefish. The selection of these species was made based on economic interest, ecological interest, the potential for non-intrusive fishing methods and previous successes in other studies and/or projects. These species formed the basis of further ecological and financial examinations. Based on the biological and technical criteria following from the stakeholder and biological analysis, the most suitable wind farm site where an artificially enhanced fishing area could be implemented was selected. It was concluded that the Borssele Wind Farm Zones 1 and 2 would be the most suitable sites. The bathymetry, soil conditions, seabed dynamics and metocean data were further analysed in order to create a design for the artificial reef. A range of possible reef concepts were developed, including loose rock revetment, placed block revetment, layer cakes, biohuts, block reefs, layered pipes, shipwrecks and decommissioned oil or gas platforms. These concepts were verified for their operability and whether they met the requirements for bio-enhanced fisheries. Three preliminary designs for an artificial reef system in the Borssele OWF were made based on these reef concepts and the circumstances at the site. Of these designs, the most desirable one includes block reefs, natural stones, layer cakes, decommissioned oil or gas platforms and shipwrecks in order to promote biodiversity and yield as much biomass as possible. An Ecopath with Ecosim model was designed using available literature studies. This model was used to predict the amount of biomass produced in an OWF with and without hard substrate. An immense biomass increase in the target species European lobster (2.157.265%) and Brown crab (857.281%) was predicted with the addition of hard substrate. additionally, target species Atlantic cod and cuttlefish showed an increase of 1897% and 175% respectively. Surprisingly, European seabass was predicted to decrease with 93%. The estimated biomass was included in a study in the strengths and weaknesses of the business opportunities based on the Fish-as-a-Service concept. Costs and revenues throughout the lifetime of the sustainable fishery were taken into account, resulting in a final investment advice. The PERTH method was used to account for the uncertainty of estimating the costs of such a project. A detailed cash flow analysis was carried out in order to present a clear view on the different financial scenarios. The cash flow analysis showed a final Net Present Value (NPV) at year 25 of values between 3000 and 6000 mln EUR. This shows the profitability of the proposed design, with an Internal Rate of Return after tax of 69,90%.