Lock-ins are typically seen as barriers to sustainability transitions, particularly in the energy sector, where they can impede the radical changes needed for decarbonization. This study, however, argues that lock-ins can also act as catalysts for innovation within grid operators’ operational practices. Focusing on a Distribution System Operator (DSO) in Central-North Netherlands, the research explores how material, behavioural, and institutional lock-ins influence grid capacity planning for energy transition. Using a qualitative system dynamics methodology, the study reveals how these lock-ins contribute to grid congestion and delayed infrastructure development, but they also create pressure for adaptive change through three key mechanisms: (i) reframing questions, (ii) reorienting synergies between actors, and (iii) rediscovering solutions. These efforts have shifted the organization’s focus from reliability to flexibility, restructured internal operations to manage congestion, and enhanced collaboration with customers, regional authorities, and other energy system actors. However, challenges remain, including the need for a more innovation-driven organizational culture, stronger cooperation between regional and national grid operators, and greater public engagement in congestion management. By framing these findings within the tactical level of sustainability transition management—where strategy meets operations—this study demonstrates how electricity infrastructure can respond to lock-in conditions through adaptive strategies that turn systemic constraints into drivers for innovation, fostering more sustainable and resilient energy systems. ... Read more

Understanding the current status and historical path dependencies of infrastructures is crucial for planning future interventions in sustainability transitions. However, studies that examine the interplay between sustainability transitions and civil infrastructures remain limited. This paper presents a systematic review of 97 empirical studies that analyze how infrastructure systems and sustainability transitions influence one another. Infrastructure is found to play a dual role—as both a structuring force that enables or constrains transitions, and as a domain reshaped by transition processes. The review identifies key knowledge gaps and transdisciplinary opportunities. Firstly, capacity-related challenges—across technical, managerial, institutional, and policy dimensions—emerge as a shared concern and a promising entry point for deeper integration of infrastructure- and transition-oriented perspectives. Notably, the tactical level, where strategic ambitions are translated into infrastructure practices, remains significantly underexplored across the literature. Finally, most studies focus on individual systems, overlooking interdependencies across infrastructures and transitions, highlighting the need for a more networked, cross-sectoral approach. ... Read more

At TU Delft, we are not just educating engineers; we are shaping the future of engineering and engineering education. We are empowering our students to become the kind of leaders who can navigate complexity, embrace change, and build a better world, also under VUCA conditions. In this manifesto, we develop a line of reasoning to rethink our education, moving away from ‘professional problem solvers’ to ‘individuals who care for our collective future from an engineering background.’
We believe that TU Delft has a unique opportunity to lead the way in reimagining engineering education for the VUCA world. By embracing the principles outlined in this manifesto, we can empower our students to become the future-proof engineers that our society needs. We invite all members of the TU Delft community – faculty, students, and staff – to join us on this exciting journey. ... Read more

Cross-domain coordination and nexus thinking are increasingly recognized as vital for addressing complex sustainability challenges in infrastructure systems. Transitions in one infrastructure system often reshape others through socio-technical interactions, revealing critical interdependencies. However, research on these interdependencies during transitions frequently focuses on technological innovation within specific regimes (e.g., renewables in energy) and lacks insights into how strategic ambitions are translated into operational realities. In this study, two different infrastructure regimes, as electricity and drinking water, will be investigated which will explore how the energy and water transitions influence each other by focusing on two Dutch public utility providers to identify cross-learning opportunities. Using the theoretical lens of socio-technical interdependencies and multi-regime interactions, the research investigates the mechanisms behind implementing electrification for renewables and sustainable water management strategies, as well as the common and unique challenges these systems face in achieving their transition goals. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews and secondary data, the study employs qualitative system dynamics models to highlight key interdependencies and challenges. The research identifies four critical interaction moments: (1) competition for limited space and resources, (2) symbiosis in aging infrastructure renovation, (3) integration through shared funding and political support, and (4) spill-over effects from grid congestion and social prioritization. By uncovering lock-in mechanisms, interdependencies, and cross-sectoral interactions, the study provides insights into fostering collaboration within infrastructure systems undergoing transitions. ... Read more

In addition to the tools and techniques available, project risk management also depends on the attitudes of people in an organisation, how the available tools are used, and how the procedures are followed. Therefore, efforts to improve the project risk management capacity of organisations may fail if the diversity of people (characters, traits etc.) involved is neglected. Based on this argument, the aim of this study is to demonstrate that companies can improve project risk management using the perspectives of their key experts. In this context, an approach was proposed based on Q-Methodology and a case study has been conducted in a construction company in the Netherlands. The quantitative output obtained through Q-Methodology application was evaluated in conjunction with the qualitative data gathered from interviews conducted with the managers of different units within the company. As a result of this evaluation, three common perspectives were identified among the respondents under the names of ‘Experience and Belief’, ‘Procedures and Management’ and ‘Culture and Communication’, respectively. Then, a number of recommendations were made to the company. First, customized management approaches that integrate and balance the identified perspectives should be adopted. Second, a mature organisational risk management culture should be promoted. Project charters that specifically target risk management culture in projects can be used for this purpose. Third, risk management should be integrated into other activities, making it a normal part of employees’ daily work. Finally, but not exclusively, the employees should be instructed on the use of risk registers and guidance should be put in place on how often they are expected to update the risk registers. This study demonstrates the benefit of considering employee diversity and leveraging perspectives in unlocking the potential of construction companies in terms of project risk management. ... Read more

In today’s construction projects, which are getting more complex as a consequence of especially technical, organizational, and external aspects, complexities are considered a major source of risks. Moreover, risks may turn to complexity-creating elements and propagate additional risks through a bidirectional interaction. Complex construction projects, typically large-scale dynamic endeavors, require the realization of a high number of interdependent tasks through the consumption of various resources such as time, money, labor, and materials. In such projects, while complexities are usually assumed to be given or embedded, due to the subjective and dynamic characteristics of complexities, a tailored approach is required in order to manage them holistically without ignoring their interactions with risks. In this context, the aim of this study is to propose a practical approach that could be utilized to incorporate project complexities in the risk assessment of complex construction projects. The proposed approach entails the integrated usage of risk registers, risk breakdown structures, and complexity-incorporated risk-influence diagrams along with the utilization of a previously developed complexity assessment framework. The underlying basic assumption was that the complexities could directly or indirectly trigger risks, while the risks in turn affect the project objectives. The implementation of the approach in the case of an airport expansion construction project showed that linking the risks to project objectives starting from complexities based on this assumption is possible. In this way, it was shown that multidimensional cause-effect relationships between the complexities and risks, among the risks themselves, and the impact of this interaction on project objectives could be detected and diagrammatically evaluated. Furthermore, it was observed that incorporating complexities in the earlier stages of a project would lead to improvement in the assessment of risks. Considering the results of the case study, the proposed approach has the potential to contribute to improved risk management. ... Read more

The outcomes of complex projects regularly reveal the failure of management, when trying to control them towards a predicted outcome. This article reports on a study looking at the emergence of unmanageability in these projects. It takes as a point of departure that the occurrence of unmanageability cannot be attributed to a limited set of discernible decisions, but instead depends on broad trade-offs, often with double bind character. This then leads to the observation that a different approach is also needed to fight unmanageability. While individual trade-offs do not necessarily lead to unmanageability, the research identifies patterns of trade-off outcomes that can cause a project to spiral out of control. Finding coherence towards more manageable projects is shown to be difficult though, since the trade-offs are made separately in different phases of the project and on different levels in the project hierarchy. This article does make a case for more awareness of the coherence of trade-offs by referencing later phases in time and more operational levels in the hierarchy, and suggests aids to achieve higher manageability using such coherent approach. ... Read more

Complex underground infrastructure construction projects tend to develop in a state of “bounded manageability”. Various types of uncertainties are inherent to these projects and put the project manager in front of serious challenges, risking budget overruns, delays and sometimes even technical failure. Managing such a project is a matter of considering the options to keep ambitions and means in balance, without losing control. In practice this means that project managers, when confronted with these uncertainties in their projects, have to make trade-offs that have strong “double-bind” characteristics. With every advantage come serious downsides. This disables them to make optimal decisions. Moreover, a chosen path pre-defines conditions for later trade-offs that were often not considered explicitly when choosing this path. This research provides a new framework for understanding uncertainty in the management of projects. It maps out the typical manageability dilemmas that evolve in complex underground infrastructure projects and comes with suggestions to improve this manageability. ... Read more